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Jazz Up your Kitchen Bar

Article Summary: A bar is one of the best pieces you can add in your kitchen. It’s a nice area to hang out, chat, or have a meal during the day, as well as receive friends during parties. It can also double as an office when you need some extra space. Properly placed and decorated, a kitchen bar can make an attractive focal point for any home.

A bar is one of the best pieces you can add in your kitchen. It’s a nice area to hang out, chat, or have a meal during the day, as well as receive friends during parties. It can also double as an office when you need some extra space. Properly placed and decorated, a kitchen bar can make an attractive focal point for any home.

Designing your kitchen bar can be enjoyable, but as with any home project, there’s still a couple of work involved. As a matter of fact, a poorly decorated bar can do your kitchen more harm than good. How do you ensure your bar is up to the job? Here are some tips to remember.

Bar types

You can buy off-the-shelf bars at several home supply depots, but this will only work if your kitchen is built to standard sizes. If you want full control over the design of your bar, it’s best to have it customized. There are four main designs to select from:

Straight back bars are commonly positioned at the far end of the kitchen, extending most, or all, of the back wall. Refreshments, bottles, glasses, and other items are kept in a cabinet built under the counter. There’s usually adequate seating for three people in a straight row.

Back bars consist of three parts: a straight bar with under-counter storage, an open middle portion, and an over-the-counter shelf which can either be open or closed. Back bars make great display pieces, so they’re a good choice if you wish to show off your liquor or glass collection.

L-type bars are placed against a corner, making them a nice work place as well as a resting spot. They work best for small kitchens, which may not have adequate room for an island-type fixture. The shorter side normally holds a sink and faucet.

Corner bars are the tiniest and most space-efficient option. Several of them are just built-in cabinets made for storing refreshments. It makes use of the bottom and top compartments, so you can store more with less floor space.

Countertops

The countertop is ordinarily the most attractive feature of your kitchen bar. There are many countertop materials to select from, but the most common are wood, laminate, and granite.

Wood countertops have a warm, rustic look that goes well with most kitchen themes. They hold up well as long as you don’t use them for regular kitchen work. Maintenance can be a problem, though, especially for light woods like pine and birch. If you select a wood countertop, expect to clean it weekly and wipe the tops after every use.

Granite is the material of choice for nearly all high-end bars. It is more expensive as compared to wood, but will last decades—some say a granite counter will last longer than the house itself. It comes in a wide range of hues, from jet black to pale white to vibrant reds, greens, and blues. There are even other stone types such as engineered stone, soapstone, and marble.

If you’re on a budget, a laminate countertop may be your best choice. Laminate is made from layers of craft paper pressed together to form a single dense material, and wrapped in a rigid, synthetic sheet. The top layer can be printed in any color and design, so you can easily match your kitchen décor. Faux wood prints are the most popular.

Bar Furniture

Of course, no kitchen bar is complete without a great set of bar stools. You can have the bar stools made with the kitchen itself to ensure that you get the perfect match. Comfort should be your priority when selecting bar stools. Adjustable stands are practically a staple, as every person prefers a different sitting position. Spacious seats with a bit of lower backrest are normally the most comfortable.

Another important question is how many bar stools you need. You don’t have to provide seats for every single person; a jam-packed kitchen bar can look disorganized and unattractive. As a general rule, leave at least one foot in between stools to give every person enough arm and leg movement. Three or four stools should be adequate for an average-sized kitchen bar.

Article Source: http://www.upublish.info

About the Author:
Laura McComb
Laura McComb has been an interior design columnist for some of the top home improvement and interior design publications for over the last two decades and we are glad to announce that she will be writing her own column for redeco.org. Laura has always believed that a home must be cozy and functional as well as attractive, and her decorating tip emphasizes useful and timeless decorative solutions that will give comfort every year. Allow Laura to help you choose the perfect cabinetwork, the best window coverings, and the exact accessories to make your house a cozy and beautiful home.