I love the look of in-home bar setups. Its very 1940's when they stored their liquor in glass ware and expensive tumblers. I have a bar set up in my house. When I was groing up, my father had a full size bar in the garage that was made to look like those b&w movies. No one is a big drinker in my family so it was more so for entertaining guests.

I did... but we were thirsty...

Thanks for the reminder, it's about time I restocked!

That acrylic bar is really cool.

I built a bar into a hallway closet. I have my espresso machine stationed there, some bottles displayed on top of the bar and some inside the bar. Cabinets hold napkins, stirrers, straws, etc. and custom glass shelves show off some knick-knacks and vintage bar wear.

I also added a glass tile backsplash (myself) to the wall around the bar to further solidify its identity as a bar. Since the opening is no longer a closet, I changed the light fixture out and put it on a dimmer to transform it into more of a swinging bar baby, yeah!

Thanks to the bar, we have regular happy hour at our place with neighbors in our apartment building.

I built the bar as a kitchen island with seating for 2 in my last apartment. However, my new place has no room in the kitchen, so I moved the island/bar to the living room and added a custom wine rack/stemware holder that lights up mounted on the wall.
The bar is hugely functional and where everyone hangs out at a party.
I would never go back to life before the bar.
It's also great for quick meals, a place to use the laptop, and storing extra serving-ware.

I do however seem to drink a lot more now. . .

I collect wine, so I store that in my second bedroom to avoid looking like a liquor store.

I love the look of a discreet home bar though, so I keep my liquor bottles on a shelf in my living room along with some old colored liqueur glasses I recently inherited.

I once visited an apt where the owners had converted their entire linen closet into a bar area (well it was all liquor from floor to ceiling, no supplies, just liquor) and I thought it was super cool.
Three guys lived there obviously, and I don't drink enough on my own to have anything that fancy, but I would love to have a "home bar" eventually.

My husband are in the midst of making a bar cart, and plan on keeping it in the living area. I think the key is to not cram it full of bottles, but instead just a few nicer ones. This way, it won't look like a house party.

We have a cool vintage wall unit with a desk, record storage, book shelves and, of course, a locked bar cabinet. So we use it, of course, but it's on the small side and sort of pathetically stocked.

I like the idea of a bar cart with key ingredients for making a vodka martini, a margarita, a gin and tonic, maybe even a manhattan. Not so much alcohol that one looks like a dependent lush but enough to say you're discriminating and sophisticated. My personal bar cart would be loaded with vodka but my friends would protest loudly (ergo the margarita mix). Homemade vodka cordials (fruit infused vodka) in beautiful decanters is another idea I like. Who wouldn't want a spot of that?

Art's description of his bar closet sound divine. What an ideal place to stop after work to take the edge off. Art, turn that dimmer switch down and get the ice bucket out!

When my husband (then my fiance) graduated from college and got his first job and first post-college apartment I found an old primitive-look, white-washed drysink at an antique store for him (and later us) to use as a bar. We made the investment (a couple hundred dollars) because we knew we wanted a bar to be a permanent fixture in any home we made. I spent the next four years keeping an eye out for a glass front cupboard to hang above it for glassware, and finally found one, really dirty, but painted an awesome shade of blue-green, at an architectural salvage store. Unfortunately I haven't gotten it cleaned up and in use yet, but hopefully soon! Meanwhile, the original bar remains well-stocked!

Ha! Mini-bottle of Chambord.

I keep my liquor in a big stainless steel credenza along with most of the glassware. I'd like to have it out, but being a cocktail geek I have way too many bottles to display easily. On top of the bar I keep the tools and shakers and such. I love having a nice bar, and I practice the Cocktail Hour religiously.

Oh, hell yes. We keep a small, antique, glass-front wooden cabinet (it looks like an oversized medicine cabinet, really) for drinks in the dining room. Mixers and pretty highball glasses are stored inside, with the liquor bottles in a tray on the top.

It's not particularly good for anything other than storage; it's too low to be a prep area. Some day, though, we'd like to have a proper bar with seating. We keep searching Craigslist for the right one.

I LOVE a good inhome bar set up. I just wish I drank more often to warrant it. Otherwise, it's just one more set of things I have to dust... :( But I will might put one in my living room, even if it's tiny.

I'm still living in a dorm right now, and will soon move to a basement apartment in a relatives house (baby steps to independence...) so a real bar is a far-away dream right now. I'd only want a small one anyway, with room for a few bottles of wine and few favorite liquors (Bombay Sapphire, Malibu, maybe some Peach schnapps and Midori). I do at least have some actual glasses that a friend gave out for gifts once, because we were tired of being trashy college students drinking alcohol out of coffee mugs :-\

Well, What can I say??? Its simple guys if you wanna be the man then there really is only 1 way................................. gentsandplayers.com this is where its at regards living the high life by having a home bar to any colour or spec... there great to deal with.. release the true lifestyle from within!!! have fun :-)

We love home bars but are biased towards wood for obvious reasons. Bar cabinets are fun for entertaining and make nice decor / displays too.

You'll find the storage, organization and above all convenience well worth it no matter what design or materials you happen to choose. Smaller units can perfectly complement a full size unit if you have room as well.