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  • Sarah Watermeyer Design

Six Home Bar Design Ideas

Updated: Sep 27, 2023

Home bars have become a popular addition to many homes across the world. Sarah Watermeyer Design is a leading interior designer in Gauteng, and in this blog, we take you through six popular home bar design ideas.


open plan bar design

Home Bar Design Ideas


1. Upcycling


Rustic home bar area
Rustic wood-cladding from upcycled shipping palettes.



Using upcycled materials in your home bar area is a wonderful way to add a rustic feel to the space.


Upcycling is one of the many ways in which you can embrace sustainability in your home design.


"In this holiday home bar area, we repurposed old shipping palettes to use as wall cladding, and planed them smooth to create a warm, finished look," explains Sarah Watermeyer.






2. Play with Texture


bar area with onyx bar
Chic bar area with lit-up onyx island.

Combining a variety of different materials in your home bar area creates a sense of texture and movement in the space.


This home bar plays with texture by incorporating white onyx into the space.


White onyx is a type of travertine marble with calcite inclusions.


"The bar itself acts as a centrepiece when lit up, thanks to the semi-translucent nature of this amazing material."


3. Embrace Open-Plan Design


open-plan bar
Open-plan bar design creates a spacious area in which to entertain guests.

"Open-plan bar design is the way of the future," says Sarah.


Open-plan bar spaces create a sense of freedom of movement and encourage a welcoming sense of expansiveness in entertaining groups of lively friends and family.


One of the benefits of open-plan design is that you'll never be away from the fun while serving snacks and beverages to your loved ones.




4. Make Calculated Colour Choices


industrial themed bar
Darker colours can be used to accentuate the materials used in the space.

"Colour choice is an important consideration when designing your home bar," says Sarah.


"In this space, we used a darker paint colour to add to the unconventional vibe of the bar, which comes through in the steel and glass cabinetry, adding a quirky industrial feel to the space," Sarah explains.





5. Functional Lighting


modern bar island
Use lighting to accentuate the elements in a space.

Functional use of lighting is a wonderful way to add to the design of the space.


In this home bar, the bar island rises out of the wooden flooring with a soft glow of light from below.


“The seamless join created by a row of light relieves the heaviness of the solid structure in the middle of the space,” explains Sarah.


6. Make Your Bar a Garden Conservatory


trendy bar area
This bar doubles up as a garden conservatory.

Repurpose unused space in your home by introducing a home bar.


This bar area is situated where there was once a patio space.


“We modified the existing patio space to create a spontaneous bar area that also acts as a garden conservatory.”


Get in Touch with One of the Top Interior Designers in South Africa


Need some help designing your home bar? SWD provides expert design and decor services across South Africa. Contact us today for a consultation.

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