Living Room Bar Ideas

Having a bar in your home is a beer enthusiast's dream. I remember when I bought my first home. While I was walking through it, my wife was looking at all the possibilities while I was wondering where the best place for my bar would be.

We all have dreams and a beer enthusiast's dream is having a bar in the home. The only real problem that arises is where to actually put it. The design and the money for the supplies are only obstacles that are easily overcome once we put our mind to it. But, where to put the bar itself is a major issue.

Of course, it's easily beaten when we decide to put a bar in every room. But, let's be realistic for a minute. I'm not going to waste perfectly good home bar supplies building a bar in my daughter's room. She doesn't need one as bad as I do.

The traditional living room bar or even the bar in the den are perfectly good solutions. A simple bar on the side of the room with a beer sign behind it and its own kegerator is pretty much the staple of home bars across America. You can pick those bars up at a local hardware store or you can build one of your own with a little wood and a roll of leather.

Build yourself a shelf for the beer glasses and then start adding your personality. Posters with beautiful women holding beer bottles are always a winner. Of course, table top beer taps are the easiest solution ever. Just fill with beer and sit anywhere. You can have a home bar anywhere in the world that you feel like touting the table top beer tap.

Basement bars are pretty common across America too. The first one I ever saw had a black and white checkered floor. The bar wrapped around the room and there were about seven beer taps with different beer flowing through each one. I'm pretty sure I walked into that bar and I didn't leave for a couple of days. My wife went home and sent me a covered dish the next day. But then, I was on my own.

Patio bars are not common at all. But, they would make beautiful additions to the patio. A brick structure with wood shelves and a place for the kegerator will just pack the crowds in when you have a party. If you do it right, build yourself a grill and you have the perfect party convention.

Moving to the bedroom and then the bathroom, there are just some places a bar should not be. But, a bedroom and a bathroom bar are fine. Who wants to walk all the way down to the basement to get a drink after taking a shower? On top of that, who wants to make the same trip when you and your significant other are about to have some intimate time in the bedroom. If you can't make a drink right there at those moments, then you are just missing out on the home bar revolution.

If you can change a tire on a car and screw in a light bulb, you can build yourself a bar in your home. Using brick or wood or going for the faux designs with some cool looking veneer, they've got everything you need at the local hardware store. And if you save your lunch money, you can own your own home bar in just a few short months. Get a few things at a time and it starts to add up after awhile. Of course, you could be like me and just go hog wild right from the gate.

Like most colonials, our home has a family room and a living room. And like most homeowners, we spend a lot more time in our family room than our living room. In fact, my 7 year old still gets confused when I use the term "living" room. It's now just known as the "red" room in our house.

With some minor changes and a lot of inspiration, you can turn your living room into something you'd actually live in! Here are some possible uses and design tips to help you get started:

Home office - Home Office means different things to different people. It could be a place to pay bills and file paperwork, or a place for kids to do homework, or you may run a business out of your home. Whatever your definition, focus your design around the function of the room.