Bar Carts & Bar Cabinets
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How to Choose a Bar Cart or Bar Cabinet
A bar cart puts the bottles on view. A bar cabinet puts them behind a door. That is the basic choice. A cart makes the bottles, glasses and bar tools part of the room, ready to be used. A cabinet gives them a place to go when the evening is over. Both can work in a living room, dining room, kitchen or den. The difference is how much of the bar becomes part of the furniture around it.
A bar cart tends to collect a few regulars on its top shelf: the bottle used most often, a decanter, the glasses that come out on weekends. The lower shelves take the rest. When dinner moves from the kitchen to the dining table, a cart on wheels can move with it. Some stay in one place and work more like a small serving table. Glass shelves keep the cart light to look at, even when the shelves are full.
A bar cabinet gives everything a place inside. Glasses can hang from racks beneath a shelf, bottles stand behind the doors, and smaller tools go in a drawer. The top becomes a counter for pouring and mixing drinks. A drop-down front can serve the same purpose when open. There is no need for a piece to be sold specifically as a bar cabinet, either. A sideboard with the right interior can do the job, and a glass-fronted door leaves the collection on display.
What is the difference between a bar cart and a bar cabinet?
A cart suits a smaller, frequently used collection that can stay on display. It is useful when drinks are served in different rooms or when a serving surface needs to move around the house. A cabinet makes more sense when there are bottles and glassware to put away, or when the bar needs to share space with the rest of the room. The choice often comes down to how much of the collection belongs in view.
What should go in a home bar cabinet?
A few bottles, the glasses used most often and the basic tools for making drinks are a good starting point. A drawer keeps a jigger, strainer and corkscrew together without taking up shelf space. Stemware racks make use of the space beneath a shelf, leaving the shelves themselves free for bottles and other glassware.
What should I look for in a bar cart with wheels?
Check the distance between shelves against the height of the bottles that will live there. Look at the upper surface, too. It needs room for a glass, a bottle and the tools used to make a drink. Raised shelf edges and handles are useful details when moving a loaded cart. Consider its overall width and depth against the doorways and spaces it will need to pass through.
Where should a bar cart go in a living room?
A bar cart for a living room often works best near the seating area, where it can serve guests without becoming an obstacle. Beside a sofa or against an open wall are natural places to start. In a dining room, a position near the table makes serving easier. A cart can also work in a kitchen or den, particularly when the main entertaining space is elsewhere.
How do I choose the right size bar cabinet?
Measure the space available, including the room needed for doors to open without meeting nearby furniture. Then look inside. Check the tallest bottle against the shelf clearance and the depth of the shelves against the bottles and glassware being stored. Drawers, stemware racks and dividers all use interior space differently. The outside dimensions alone do not tell the whole story.
What materials are bar carts and bar cabinets made from?
Bar carts commonly combine metal frames with glass, wood or stone shelves. Cabinets are often made primarily from wood, with glass doors, metal hardware or stone tops. Glass shelves keep a cart visually open, while a wood cabinet reads more like a piece of living room or dining room furniture. The choice is partly about the other materials already in the room and how much of the bar should be visible.
Can a bar cabinet be used for storage other than alcohol?
Yes. Glassware, serving dishes, coffee equipment and table linens can all have a place in a cabinet originally intended for a home bar. A liquor cabinet is simply an enclosed cabinet for bottles and barware, not a restriction on what belongs inside. A sideboard with suitable shelves and drawers can serve the same purpose, particularly in a dining room where serving pieces are already kept.