Home bar ideas: hidden bars, bar cabinets & carts for holiday hosting.

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Four ways to build a bar, by how much you want to see it.

Architectural Digest’s designers say home bar requests are rising, and that many clients now want bars they don’t always have to see. One architect told AD the hidden wet bar is a detail they keep returning to, because it lets you make drinks without retreating to the kitchen (AD).

So choose by visibility. A hidden bar closes away completely. A bar cabinet looks like a sideboard until you open it. A bar cart moves to wherever the party is. A statement bar is the point of the room.

If people will sit at your bar, our bar and counter stool sizing guide covers seat heights and spacing.

Idea one

The hidden bar.

Our Timeless hidden bar is designed and made to order by our team in Los Angeles: wall-hung lacquered storage with deep walnut veneer drawers, push-pull doors and optional LED backlighting. You choose the finishes, and each unit is priced individually.

For a bar you stand at, Thomas Dawn builds a black walnut and epoxy counter at bar height, with size, base and edge quoted to your room.

Made in L.A.

Modern Studio · made to order in Los Angeles

Timeless Hidden Bar With Nexus Lift 1

$8,900

Lacquered units · walnut veneer drawers · optional LED backlighting

Wall-hung storage with push-pull doors and drawers, designed and built to order by our team in Los Angeles. Priced per unit; the final price depends on size and finish.

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Thomas Dawn · made to order

Black Walnut Epoxy Bar Counter

From $4,114

Black walnut slab · black epoxy · bar height

A bar-height counter in walnut and resin. Size, base, resin tone and edge profile are quoted to fit your room.

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Idea two

The bar cabinet: a sideboard with a secret.

Look inside before you choose. A stemware rack keeps glasses off the shelves, bottle cubbies keep wine flat, and adjustable shelves fit tall bottles. Measure the wall too: a 36–42″ cabinet suits most dining rooms, and the tall Modus cabinets put storage up to 66″ high.

Our pick

BDI · bar cabinet

Corridor 5620 Bar

$3,999

36″ W × 18.5″ D × 41″ H · stemware rack · adjustable shelves

Slatted doors open onto a stemware rack and adjustable shelving, in chocolate stained walnut or charcoal stained ash.

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Modus · tall bar cabinet

Zinnia Bar Cabinet

$1,699

42″ W × 20″ D × 65″ H · 8 bottle cubbies · 32-glass stemware rack

Two drawers, a pull-out shelf and faceted brass-tone pulls in a white sand finish.

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Modus · tall bar cabinet

Zamba Bar Cabinet

$1,249

36″ W × 20″ D × 66″ H

A tall cabinet in wood veneer, solid wood and acacia, for a bar that stays closed when the party is over.

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Modus · bar cabinet

Tanner Bar Cabinet

$1,249

38″ W × 17″ D × 38″ H

Slatted doors in two finishes, Flaxen or Roux. A sideboard-height bar for a dining room.

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Modus · bar cabinet

Ravelle Bar Cabinet

$1,319

38″ W × 20″ D × 38″ H

Walnut veneers over rubberwood solids, with continuous grain across the doors and a subtle Deco influence.

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Modus · bar cabinet

Dorsey Woven Bar Cabinet

$1,379

42″ W × 19″ D × 40″ H

Woven door panels on wire-brushed acacia, for a relaxed, coastal bar.

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Idea three

The bar cart, for the party that moves.

A cart is the easiest bar to add for the holidays: it can be a coffee station in the morning and a bar by the sofa at night. Check the shelf spacing for your tallest bottle, and choose glass or stone tops that wipe clean.

The Oden rolls on wheels. The marble carts are heavier (the Vertelle weighs 104.5 lb), so they’re better parked in one spot.

Lievo Home · bar cart

Oden Bar Cart

From $1,185

32″ W × 17″ D × 31.25″ H

Polished steel with a clear glass top and a mirrored lower shelf, on wheels.

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Modern Studio · bar cart

Vertelle Marble Glass Bar Cart

$1,469

36″ W × 18″ D × 32″ H · 104.5 lb

Tendu marble and glass on an iron frame, in beige and antique brass.

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Modern Studio · three-tier cart

Loxren Marble Glass Bar Cart

$1,807

36″ W × 15″ D × 39″ H

Brown-and-green Bidasar marble with glass on an antique brass iron frame.

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Modus · bar cart

Langley Bar Cart

$879

33″ W × 20″ D × 33″ H

Elm veneer and turned legs in a Claystone finish: a softer, more traditional cart.

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Idea four

The statement bar.

Phillips Collection’s Onyx bar is a 56-by-48-inch L-shaped bar in natural onyx, 43″ high. Pair a bar-height surface with 29–31″ seats and add a pendant overhead: Hammerton’s Coppa is hand-blown glass, made to order in 4–6 weeks.

Phillips Collection · statement bar

Onyx Bar Table

$16,250

56″ W × 48″ D × 43″ H · genuine onyx

An L-shaped bar in natural onyx. Each one is unique in its veining.

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Arditi Collection · swivel bar chair

Matera Swivel Bar Chair

$2,600

Stainless steel · made to order

A customizable swivel bar chair with an upholstered seat and back on a stainless steel base.

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Before the first party

A holiday bar setup checklist.

• Landing zoneLeave clear surface next to the bar for mixing and for guests to set down a glass.
• GlasswareStore the glasses you use most at the front, and stemware in a rack so it doesn’t tip.
• Ice and waterKeep an ice bucket and a water pitcher at the bar, so the kitchen isn’t the bottleneck.
• LightA pendant or a cordless lamp makes a cabinet feel like a bar. Dim it as the night goes on.
• SeatingIf people will sit, check stool height against the bar, about 10–12″ below the underside.
• ProtectionUse coasters on wood and wipe up citrus and wine quickly on marble and onyx.