anyone have a " home bar "

We moved house a few weeks before the 1st lockdown, my youngest really didnt want to move, so we promised her a " man cave / kids room " ( at the rear or side of the new place ) so she could have a few friends over and do what they liked in the space ( its detached so not bother with them disturbing us in the house )

During lockdown ( it must have been the 1st one ) I was watching YouTube a bit and found these home bars, one group that stood out was the Gar bar which has spawned a bit of a US trend

https://www.garbarnation.com

anyways, anyone got a home bar / man cave ? ? ? do you use it a lot / not much ? ? ? was it worth the effort

just deciding on the route to take

Had a breakfast bar in the kitchen with matching counter tops, then over time I started adding optics, shelves with spirits bar type
plaques etc and sat at it and drank with the wife often during lockdown.

Then before Xmas I ripped the whole thing out and replaced the counter tops with reclaimed scaffolding boards, and scaffolding poles for legs. Kept the rustic wooden theme going for the walls, with fancy copper optics, scaff board shelves and under counter beer chiller.
Installed some old looking dim lighting and background lighting.
It’s more like a kitchen in a bar now, but I have spent more weekends out than in since it was complete.

I converted my garage into my Den.
Intention was to use it as a place to smoke Cigars.
I've packed that in now and work from there.

My inlaws had a massive bar in their basement with a full shuffleboard table before they sold up.
It didn't get hardly any use really.

We had an area the back of the garden which was roofed and had three sides where we stored summer patio stuff and the bins - cleared it all out levelled off the floor ran electrics for plugs etc astro turfed the floor, put bamboo covering over the walls, put doors on at the end of the area and the next door neighbour built the actual bar i.e. the wooden bit you lean on fro spare flooring he had from a balcony he was renovating!! All in all cost about £400 and we use a lot during the summer especially towards the end of the evening when it gets a bit colder.

Bought a device called a blade which is basically a portable draught beer machine and it uses 14 pint "barrels" which is superb and we bring that in in the winter and use it in the house when needed.

Did it in the first lockdown as I was bored after work and well worth the effort as we use it a lot

I tend to get up early most days and in the summer go out there to read rather than put the TV on

Quote:

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Originally Posted by blue matt

We moved house a few weeks before the 1st lockdown, my youngest really didnt want to move, so we promised her a " man cave / kids room " ( at the rear or side of the new place ) so she could have a few friends over and do what they liked in the space ( its detached so not bother with them disturbing us in the house )

During lockdown ( it must have been the 1st one ) I was watching YouTube a bit and found these home bars, one group that stood out was the Gar bar which has spawned a bit of a US trend

https://www.garbarnation.com

anyways, anyone got a home bar / man cave ? ? ? do you use it a lot / not much ? ? ? was it worth the effort

just deciding on the route to take

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Very retro, very seventies.

We used to have a bar in one of the rooms, and when it was first installed I was pissed for weeks on end. In the end it had to go as it was such a distraction.

I had built a log cabin at the back of my garden

It has a cinema screen and projector, total surround speakers, dim lighting, Lazy Boy Chairs, Retro Games Machines and a bar area

I hardly use it and as my boys have left home it mainly sits empty as I don't like leaving my wife on her own

When I bought a house in Australia it already had a bar. Lovely polished jarrah wood bar, a built-in barbecue and a massive fridge freezer.

It was wonderful to have - the blokes would sit at the bar, sometimes we’d do a bbq, sometimes watch football, but always drink. It was a ritual thing as we took it in turns to re-stock each other’s beer fridges. We’d always buy a new beer to try.

I can fully recommend a home bar. Just make sure you USE IT.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by blue matt

We moved house a few weeks before the 1st lockdown, my youngest really didnt want to move, so we promised her a " man cave / kids room " ( at the rear or side of the new place ) so she could have a few friends over and do what they liked in the space ( its detached so not bother with them disturbing us in the house )

During lockdown ( it must have been the 1st one ) I was watching YouTube a bit and found these home bars, one group that stood out was the Gar bar which has spawned a bit of a US trend

https://www.garbarnation.com

anyways, anyone got a home bar / man cave ? ? ? do you use it a lot / not much ? ? ? was it worth the effort

just deciding on the route to take

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I considered it, my friend built a garden pub in lockdown and we went there a few times when the pubs were shut in the summer 2020 which was a great Spring/Summer, but we haven't been since and he's stopped using it, I think it was just a bit of a lockdown trendy fad?

I like the sound of a garden room more, with TV cinema room I would imagine that could be used more long term?

thanks for all the replies

My concern is the " bar " bit will just not get massively used, I know they were popular during lockdown ( mentioned above ) though it'll good for the occasional party for the kids

I have a projector ( a mate installs them for Clients and he gave me a used one last year when I was planning a " man cave ", he says that some of his clients upgrade all the time, he fits a new one and then just takes the old one away, he then sells them as cheaper units ) so a home cinema is going to be included, a nice big screen would be good to watch the football on