There's nothing like sipping on a refreshing beverage out in your backyard on a sunny day. And what better way to make the most of your garden than with an outdoor bar, perfect for entertaining friends and families. It can serve as an attractive focal point in your outdoor space and become a pleasant retreat for when you want to relax and forget about the stress of everyday life. What's more, outdoor bars for sale come in a myriad of designs for different tastes, budgets, and garden styles.
Outdoor home bars are great for showcasing liquor collections and preparing mixed drinks but only when they come with the right features. Some sets come equipped with accessories that are essential for a well-organized bar. These include a wine cooler, wine racks, glassware storage, shelves/cabinets for your bottles, and accessible storage space for bar tools.
The designs vary from traditional and masculine to modern and elegant. You'll also come across tiki-style patio bars that bring a tropical vibe to any outdoor space. Depending on your available space and the number of people you want to entertain, you can either choose a set for 2 people or a larger one that can accommodate 6 seats or more. If you have children, a lockable liquor cabinet is a must-have to securely store your liquor.
If none of the outdoor bars on the market interest you, consider getting a custom home bar. You'll have the freedom to personalize the bar all you want so that it completely suits your space and personal preferences. You can pick the material, color, size, design, and fixtures that come with it.
An alternative to installing a permanent bar in your backyard is opting for a portable home bar, which is a more affordable option. Portable designs either include wheels for easy mobility or have a lightweight structure that can be carried around easily from one spot to another. This is particularly useful for when it suddenly starts to rain during your get-togethers or when you need to protect your bar set from inclement weather. Besides, some movable designs can fold up and be stored away when not in use, ideal for those short on space.
Bars and bar sets can be the difference between a house and a home. Bar sets let you create romantic atmospheres for significant others, entertain friends and family on special occasions, or even have an indoor retreat to an authentic home "pub". Let's take a look at a few of our expert tips to choose the best bar set for you.
To make the best choice of home bar, you'll first have to have a basic understanding of the types and styles of bars available. Let's take a look at the most common styles available.
Bar Cabinet
A bar cabinet is a convenient way to transform any room into a functional bar or serving area. Bar cabinets remove the necessity of remodeling an entire room to facilitate entertainment or drinking. They normally include storage for drinkware, hard liquors, and even adequate storage for quality wines.
Home Bar
Home bars come in a variety of shapes and sizes and mostly emphasize style and aesthetic experience, over practicality and use. Many home bars do come with advanced features not offered in other bar sets, such as options for built-in refrigeration.
Bar Sets
A bar set is everything you'll need to have a full bar experience in any room of your home. These sets include storage for alcohol - usually including wine bottles - as well as seating for around three people. Bar sets often include wall bar, at the higher end of the price range, and thus are great for creating a full bar experience from home.
Wall Bars
Wall bars are handy add-ons for dens or can simply be a nifty add-on to your home bar. They add an authentic "pub house" feel to any home and provide a large amount of storage space for alcohol and glasses.
Wall bars are very well suited to homeowners who desire the authentic bar experience but may not have enough space for an entire home bar. If it can be managed, wall bars paired with a bar set including seating can be a perfect set up for a den or patio.
If you have an expensive collection of alcohol or want to preserve the taste of your liquor- then how you store it will make a tremendous difference in how long your alcohol lasts.
Liquor generally needs to be protected from 4 things, which is why storage has a section of its own in this article. Let's take a look at each of these things and what you should be looking for in a bar to keep your collection safe.
1. UV light
It is common knowledge that fermentation is the process that makes liquor what it is. Put simply, fermentation is a reaction that breaks down the sugars found in grapes (or other plants) to create alcohol and a few other by-products.
When liquor is bottled, this reaction does not stop. It simply slows down dramatically because the bottle acts as a vacuum chamber, preventing exposure to things that can alter the speed of the reaction. UV light is one thing that can momentarily speed up the fermentation process in wine, altering the flavor profile of a bottle.
Your ideal bar will have storage areas that isolate bottles from UV light. Storage that does not cover the entire bottle - for example, wine bars that store bottles by housing their necks, do not allow for optimal protection from UV light.
2. Heat
Heat affects bottled wine in the same way that UV light does, so ideally, your wine bar will come with storage that keeps temperature regulated at a stable temperature. Hardwood storage that covers the entire bottle (blocking out both heat and light) is a solid investment if you're interested in storing wine long-term.
The best wine storage would involve a refrigeration chamber or mini-fridge that can keep your wine chilled to around 12 degrees Celsius (55 Fahrenheit).
3. Humidity Fluctuation
Humidity does not necessarily affect your liquor directly, especially if it is stored adequately. Fluctuations in humidity can significantly affect the cork of your bottles. If your wine cork gets too dry, it may shrink, allowing oxygen to interact with your wine. This will alter the flavor profile in a similar way to UV light exposure, but the effects can be even more profound.
Horizontal wine storage solves this problem by keeping your wine in contact with your wine cork, preventing it from drying out completely, and avoiding this issue altogether.
4. Vibration
Lastly, vibrations can unsettle the sediment in some liquors -especially wines-, which won't permanently change the flavor of your drink but can significantly affect your drinking experience. Significant vibrations won't normally be a massive issue, but if you choose a wheeled bar, be sure to explore reviews prior to confirm that your wheels don't shake bottles much when moving your bar from room to room.
Material choice will determine how long your bar set lasts and how well it can resist the things that threaten most furniture at home: humidity, direct exposure to liquids, and normal wear and tear. Let's take a look at the best available choices.
Hardwood
If you're thinking about longevity, then hardwoods are the best possible bet for you. Hardwoods are naturally resistant to humidity and temperature changes, which are the most common household threats to wooden furniture.
Hardwoods also handle direct exposure to liquids well, especially once they are properly and regularly treated. So, you won't have to worry too much about spills or poorly used coasters.
Manufactured Wood
Manufactured woods are inferior to hardwoods when it comes to longevity, but because of how much cheaper they are, you can find them available in combination with more materials and in an arguably wider array of style options.
Avoid medium density fiberboard where possible since it struggles against humidity and water. Manufactured woods with a solid wood core tend to fare better as regards longevity.
Now that we've covered the fundamentals of a good home bar, here are some features that can add even more convenience to your home bar experience.
Locking Doors
If you live in a family with individuals who may be interested in having a drink but aren't necessarily the right age to do so, having locking doors is probably a good idea. Locks on home bars are typically simple and don't impede your access to your own supply while keeping underaged individuals safe from early exposure to alcohol.
Adjustable Foot Levers
When it comes to storing wine, cabinets and buffets need to be tended carefully. Uneven wine storage can lead to sediment being disturbed and ruining your bottle or your cork becoming dried out and rotting away. Exposing the wine inside to oxygen and dramatically altering the flavor profile.
The usual cause of uneven wine storage is an uneven floor, which is where having adjustable foot levers comes in handy. Regardless of how uneven your floor is, you can adjust your bar to maintain perfectly level storage.
Stemware holders
Stemware is a necessary add on to every home bar experience. This becomes especially true if you are a regular wine drinker since wine is typically best experienced in high-quality stemware. Wine glasses accentuate flavors by trapping flavor particles in the air above your wine.
As you sip, the aroma trapped in your wine glass adds a significant contribution to your experience of flavor, so having adequate storage for your wine glasses is 100% necessary in a home bar.
Wheels
Mobility in a well-proportioned buffet-style bar set can be incredibly useful. For example, imagine you did not have a full home bar installed, or you did but wanted to entertain on your patio instead of your den.
Having the ability to relocate your bar all at once can save you the effort of Packing and unpacking bottles and glassware. Be careful to limit bumps and knocks as much as possible during transport. As mentioned earlier, the sediment in wine can ruin a good drink when disturbed.
