By now we’re probably deep enough into summer to realize that, well, there’s not really a lot going on. While everyone still figures out exactly how we’re going to handle this “whole COVID thing” (as we’ve been calling it in the Midwest), we’ve had to pass up on a lot of our usual activities, like trips to our favorite restaurants and bars. If you’re someone that enjoys going out to eat or meeting your friends at your favorite local brewery or dive bar, you’ve probably had a hard time replicating that experience, even if you’re still able to, you know, enjoy a drink at home. The more industrious among us have turned to a fun and easy solution: making bars at home! Even if you’re not fortunate enough to have an entire bar setup in your own basement, there’s a lot of easy ways to make a little bar setup and enjoy some of your favorite cocktails in a setting that just might remind you of the good times, when we got to go out more often. One of the easiest ways to set up a bar in your home is the corner bar. Corner bars don’t take up a ton of space, but offer a lot of storage for your favorite drinks and mixers, all while adding a little flair to your home that you couldn’t normally find unless you actually went to your favorite bar.

Corner Bar Design Ideas

The first step to setting up a corner bar is to figure out where it’s going to go. In the majority of homes, this will be the living room - they offer a lot of space, they’re easy to access in most homes, and in the event you wind up entertaining company again, it’ll be easy to get people to it! If you’re fortunate enough to have a finished basement with the space, this could be a good option too, but you’ll need to keep it a little more temperature controlled to keep everything fresh and comfortable. The right corner bar needs two primary items - drink storage and, well, the bar! The sort of storage you’ll use will depend on the size of the space you’re using, as well as the sort of drinks you want to store, but we’d recommend using a stand up cabinet or a bar cart to keep everything accessible and organized. (If you’re really hard up for space in your chosen corner, wall shelves are a great way to create liquor bottle storage in an easy-to-access spot!) From there, you’ll need the actual bar! Have a little fun with this and find any table that sits about waist-high (or slightly taller if you’re going to go as far as to put chairs around it) to sit in front of your drink storage to be the “bar” itself. A lot of buffet tables work perfect for this, as they sit at about the proper height to make serving and/or enjoying your drinks easier while you’re off playing bartender.

Corner Bar Organization Ideas

Of course, with any bar, keeping things neat and tidy is key for good service, even if you’re just whipping up drinks for your partner and family. Once you’ve set up your cabinet or bar cart, try to arrange your mixers and liquors by order of importance - keep the ‘normal’ stuff you drink more often close to the front, while the fancier Italian liqueurs you only get into once in a while should go in the back to free up room. Below the bar (or on the bottom of your bar cart), use some pantry organizers to keep your ingredients together just in case someone wants soda, tonic, or those little jarred cherries mixed into theirs, and don’t forget to rotate everything in and out for freshness! Hopefully one day we’ll be back at our favorite haunts like normal, but in the meantime, your new corner bar should be the next best thing!