Layout ideas for basement bar space

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

Not sure if this is the right place, but I'm looking for some help. We have a large open room that we are planning on putting a bar in. However, we are having a really hard time with the layout and the overall look of the space. The walls are hardboard paneling that was previously covered in wallpaper, and then at some point plastered over. We are not against repainting. What needs to be included in the bar is a sink and a 37.01"L x 21.65"W x 33.27"H chest freezer that will be a kegerator (technically called a keezer). A mini fridge would be nice as well. There is a water connection already there, and an in-wall ac unit that we are not against removing, but it will be very hard to do so. Excuse my poor layout skills, but you can get a basic idea of the room layout and door placements. The rest of the basement includes a living area with a 92" projection tv screen, and a "Library" area containing a fish tank, bookshelves, and seating. We have parties where we will watch a UFC fight down there, or will having gaming parties. The bar will not be used as a hanging out place very often (once a month or so) But we are homebrewers and bottle collectors, we would like to have a place to hold everything. In the image, the water connection is wrong, it is 42" from the corner. The start of the base cabinets is 36".

Old photo, but you can see the wall and floor coloring

And finally, our initial design. The back bar area would be 96" long by 24" deep and 36" high. The top cabinets and shelving (to hold bottle collection) are not a must, but some sort of bottle display is, hiding the ac unit would be even better, we don't use it. There is a 36" space between the back bar and seating. Bar seating is 72" long, 15" deep and either 36" or 42" high. The half bath is the door closest to the bar area, and the second door leads to a storage room.

Feel free to make any changes or suggestions, we really have no plan.

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Comments (6)

Annette Holbrook(z7a)
8 years ago
I'm a total cocktail nerd, so keep this in mind. If you spend any time on Reddit, check out barbattlestations for some ideas. Depending in your budget, I would get a decent undercounter fridge with a small freezer compartment and space to stand up opened bottles. Then a small ice maker either undercounter or countertop. You need to have space to store the countertop model when not in use. Make sure in those cabinets you have a few drawers. This makes it easier to store and access small things like corkscrews, hand juicers, small measuring cups, etc.. I don't know how old you are, but while beer is your focus now you may morph into enjoying wine and cocktails just as much. We were total beer drinkers when we first got married and have now switched out a lot of our beer gear to accommodate new things. You have way more space than we had so it should be easy to have a versatile set up from the start.
Annette Holbrook(z7a)
8 years ago
Is the center of the ac unit at 60" from the corner or the edge? Also how high off the floor is the ac unit?
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kaitie09
Original Author
8 years ago
Our budget is $1,000-3,000, depending on what we want to spend :) Thanks for the suggestions and to check out Reddit. I'm not a huge drinker, but my SO is exclusively beer or scotch. The counter top icemaker would probably be good to have, but we also have a chest freezer in that storage room right off the side so we could putice in there too. I keep suggesting the undercounter fridge, but I think I''m going to be shot down on that one. The AC center is at 60", and 6ft (from center) off the ground. We went and looked at base cabinets last night and figured out that the chest freezer will be in a modified 60" sink cabinet, and then we will have 2, 18" cabinets flanking either side
Annette Holbrook(z7a)
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
What is ceiling height in there? Will you be able to have working counter space on top of the cabinet with the chest freezer? What are the dimensions of the ac unit and distance from edge to corner. I'm trying to hide it behind a display shelf but not sure how big I need to allow for.
Ron Natalie
8 years ago
I'm working on my bar now. Make sure you allow sufficient front to back space for your back bar and your bar and whatever units you intend to put in the front bar and enough room to work. A lot of things like ice chests, beer coolers are a little deeper than your standard undercounter stuff so take that into consideration.

In addition to the bar I also have to allocate room for the 16 bottle wine dispensing unit I picked up from a defunct restaurant on ebay a few years ago.
Annette Holbrook(z7a)
8 years ago
This depends on dimensions of ac unit. Undercounter fridge to right, 18" sink far left.

Layout ideas for basement bar space

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Annette Holbrook(z7a)

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Layout ideas for basement bar space

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Annette Holbrook(z7a)

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