Home Inspiration on Tap for Beer Lovers
Designers share a keg-full of ideas for adding brew-centric home touches ahead of International Beer Day’s 10th birthday
When pubs in more than 200 cities around the world celebrate the 10th annual International Beer Day on Aug. 3, you could join them. Or, if you’re one of a growing number of beer lovers with a designated brew-centric space at home — or a space you’ve been meaning to convert into a beer zone — you could pour yourself and your friends a round of cold ones without ever leaving the comfort of your home.
If you’ve been eyeing an underused corner of a basement or rec room, pros say dedicating an area to beer or using beer as a theme can be as simple as hanging brewery label art on the walls or as involved as installing custom shelving around your brewing kettles. Here are a few ways design pros and homeowners have celebrated suds, and a few pointers if you want to do the same.
If you’ve been eyeing an underused corner of a basement or rec room, pros say dedicating an area to beer or using beer as a theme can be as simple as hanging brewery label art on the walls or as involved as installing custom shelving around your brewing kettles. Here are a few ways design pros and homeowners have celebrated suds, and a few pointers if you want to do the same.
This Fort Collins, Colorado, custom build takes the personalization a step further, creating a special label for the homeowners’ hobby and its designated room.
Hops Hideout
Beer brewing requires a lot of supplies and equipment. Hemingson tucked his client’s kettles behind a set of glass-front barn doors, shown here, to keep the main bar area tidier and showcase the elaborate brewing setup.
Beer brewing requires a lot of supplies and equipment. Hemingson tucked his client’s kettles behind a set of glass-front barn doors, shown here, to keep the main bar area tidier and showcase the elaborate brewing setup.
Other practical considerations for keeping up a bar or brewery area include making sure the space is well-ventilated if home-brewing will take place there (the hobby can be pungent, to say the least) and easy to clean, according to Michigan designer Kitty Golding of Kitty & Co.
In this Detroit-area basement brewpub that Golding designed, the homeowners opted for low-maintenance colored concrete floors and easy-to-clean tile behind the brewing equipment peeking out behind the bar. “The colored concrete floor in this project gave a nice warm hue, and an industrial feel, which the clients wanted. In fact, that was the one piece of the puzzle they knew when we started,” Golding says. Behind the barn door, they also hid a sort of pantry for brewing supplies and extra beer, as well as a larger refrigerator.
In this Detroit-area basement brewpub that Golding designed, the homeowners opted for low-maintenance colored concrete floors and easy-to-clean tile behind the brewing equipment peeking out behind the bar. “The colored concrete floor in this project gave a nice warm hue, and an industrial feel, which the clients wanted. In fact, that was the one piece of the puzzle they knew when we started,” Golding says. Behind the barn door, they also hid a sort of pantry for brewing supplies and extra beer, as well as a larger refrigerator.
Details On Draft
Few things make a home bar feel more like the real thing than filling up a foam-topped pint of draft beer. Installing your own tap system, like the one shown here in a Denver residence, can be pretty straightforward or a little more labor-intensive, depending on the space you’re working with, how many kegs you’re trying to add and how often you’ll realistically use them.
In Hemingson’s Minneapolis brewery project, the homeowner wanted four taps included: two to pour his own home brews and two for rotating local craft favorites. The basic assembly of a tap system involves a refrigerator to keep the beer cold, a beer keg, a tap and a canister for dispensing carbon dioxide (CO2) to keep things bubbly.
Setting up the system in Hemingson’s case required cutting openings in the quartz countertops to attach each kegerator and CO2 regulator to each tap. It’s a task Hemingson suggests homeowners leave to a professional, though if the counters are wood or another easy-to-drill material or your system won’t be built-in, a DIY approach could work too.
Few things make a home bar feel more like the real thing than filling up a foam-topped pint of draft beer. Installing your own tap system, like the one shown here in a Denver residence, can be pretty straightforward or a little more labor-intensive, depending on the space you’re working with, how many kegs you’re trying to add and how often you’ll realistically use them.
In Hemingson’s Minneapolis brewery project, the homeowner wanted four taps included: two to pour his own home brews and two for rotating local craft favorites. The basic assembly of a tap system involves a refrigerator to keep the beer cold, a beer keg, a tap and a canister for dispensing carbon dioxide (CO2) to keep things bubbly.
Setting up the system in Hemingson’s case required cutting openings in the quartz countertops to attach each kegerator and CO2 regulator to each tap. It’s a task Hemingson suggests homeowners leave to a professional, though if the counters are wood or another easy-to-drill material or your system won’t be built-in, a DIY approach could work too.
A kegerator, like the playful antler-handled system shown here, and its corresponding pieces take up some space, but they could be a favorite detail for real beer fans. Golding advises homeowners to do some research on tap systems ahead of installation to familiarize themselves with how to keep the contents of the beer container fresh, how to adjust the source of CO2, how much CO2 is needed and other particulars. Keeping beer lines and taps clean and well-maintained is also important, Golding says, as yeast and sugars can build up in them.
If you’re someone who uses the taps a lot, you may have to do less maintenance, Hemingson says, but if they sit unused for a while they’ll likely need more attention.
If you’re someone who uses the taps a lot, you may have to do less maintenance, Hemingson says, but if they sit unused for a while they’ll likely need more attention.
Bar-ty Time
Combining a beer bar or brewery area with a larger recreational space, like the comfy industrial Chicago basement shown here, may offer more entertainment flexibility. The pros said homeowners should shape the flow and feel of their beer center partly by assessing who will be using it.
“Think about how your space will function with your biggest crowd at one time,” Golding says. “How many seats do you want? Will there be a TV to watch behind the bar? Do you want a mini kitchen behind the bar as well, or only for drinks?”
Combining a beer bar or brewery area with a larger recreational space, like the comfy industrial Chicago basement shown here, may offer more entertainment flexibility. The pros said homeowners should shape the flow and feel of their beer center partly by assessing who will be using it.
“Think about how your space will function with your biggest crowd at one time,” Golding says. “How many seats do you want? Will there be a TV to watch behind the bar? Do you want a mini kitchen behind the bar as well, or only for drinks?”
Capping It Off
Creative custom details can take a beer-centric space from standard to outstanding. Hemingson and his team, for instance, put their homeowner’s collection of beer bottle caps (three 1-gallon buckets full, Hemingson estimates) to good use as an unexpected backsplash behind the bar. Hemingson mounted more than 600 caps on beams of reclaimed wood, poured clear epoxy over them and hid them behind the bar. “It’s not overwhelming,” he says. “It’s a cool little detail that only a few people get to see that are back behind it — but everybody points it out anyway.”
The artwork on the wall is another nod to the local scene, Hemingson says. The image depicts Minnesota’s own larger-than-life legendary lumberjack, Paul Bunyan, enjoying a mug with his trusty blue ox, Babe.
Creative custom details can take a beer-centric space from standard to outstanding. Hemingson and his team, for instance, put their homeowner’s collection of beer bottle caps (three 1-gallon buckets full, Hemingson estimates) to good use as an unexpected backsplash behind the bar. Hemingson mounted more than 600 caps on beams of reclaimed wood, poured clear epoxy over them and hid them behind the bar. “It’s not overwhelming,” he says. “It’s a cool little detail that only a few people get to see that are back behind it — but everybody points it out anyway.”
The artwork on the wall is another nod to the local scene, Hemingson says. The image depicts Minnesota’s own larger-than-life legendary lumberjack, Paul Bunyan, enjoying a mug with his trusty blue ox, Babe.
Beyond the bottle caps, the wide array of craft beer brands with colorful, interesting labels and graphics could be a smart place for beer lovers to look for home inspiration. The rustic open shelving in this Indianapolis built-in booth, for instance, is framed with a curated collection of growlers, as well as the vintage “Beer” sign.
“I think with the craft beer craze going, using logos or labels as artwork could be a fun way to insert a beer theme without the classic neon Budweiser sign,” says interior designer Angie Gardeck, of Illinois’ New Perspective Design.
“I think with the craft beer craze going, using logos or labels as artwork could be a fun way to insert a beer theme without the classic neon Budweiser sign,” says interior designer Angie Gardeck, of Illinois’ New Perspective Design.
Other more understated choices might include other references to regional history, as with New Perspective’s Chicago basement bar shown here. In addition to reclaimed Chicago bricks, the combination bar, gameroom and entertainment space honors its city with a vertical window (not visible here) that calls back to the city’s commercial buildings in the late 1800s, and the salvaged antique fire door shown here at left, stamped with the city’s name.
Cheers!
You get the next round: Tell us how you celebrate your love of beer through home design in the Comments.
More
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Cheers!
You get the next round: Tell us how you celebrate your love of beer through home design in the Comments.
More
Make Home Sweet Home Even Sweeter With a Brewery Or Winery
8 Popular Ideas in Home Bars
Minnesota designer and builder Ryan Hemingson of R|House Design Build says in recent years he’s gotten a lot more client requests for beer-inspired rooms — whether they’re basement brewpubs or all-out home breweries — and he sees that demand only getting bigger. “The craft beer scene has grown like crazy. It’s popping up everywhere,” Hemingson says.
As unique, locally crafted brews have reached peak hipness, the options for incorporating that same kind of funky personalization into your bar or beer space have become just as plentiful. Hemingson worked closely with a beer enthusiast client in the Minneapolis area to create this one-of-a-kind rustic, industrial bar and home brewery. In addition to the well-stocked beer fridges and Edison bulb pendants, the bar features custom taps, artwork, storage and a separate brewing workspace (more on this later) configured specifically to what the client wanted to use the space for: entertaining, brewing and enjoying his beers.