Of course, larger butler's pantry-style built-in bars cannot be hidden. Ideally, they are located discreetly in transitional spaces between kitchens and adjacent dining or living rooms. But in today's more open-plan houses, such built-in bars, often dubbed buffets, are likely to be in either the kitchen or living area itself - wall-spanning installations that are on full public view and should therefore look as elegant as pieces of fine hardwood furniture.
"Many houses and apartments have a closet or unused space that can easily be converted into an attractive and useful built-in bar."
"Walnut is very popular right now for this type of bar," says Christine Donner, a kitchen designer in New Canaan, Connecticut. "It is an elegant wood and its cool tones complement the white-and-silver palette that my clients currently favor. It can be bleached to a lighter tone, left natural, or stained much darker, almost all the way to black. Limed oak, bleached to a lovely honey-blonde color, has a marvelous midcentury-modern feel that is slowly catching on, too."
For Donner, functionality is as important as aesthetics. "Wine connoisseurs often have an extensive collection of varietal-specific glasses that they want displayed, so I get asked a lot for glass-fronted cabinets with interior lighting," she says. "Much of this stemware is oversize or extra tall, so I make sure the shelves can accommodate their height. And I always include solid-door cabinets to stow motley collections of assorted liquor bottles." Fine hardwood cabinetry can also be used to conceal icemakers, refrigerators, bottle-cooling drawers, dishwashers and other unsightly appliances and equipment.
"A small bar sink is also very useful," Donner continues. "Less for the water coming out of the spout than as a place to dump out old drinks or melted ice." Loading up your built-in bar with such practical, laborsaving features will free you up to enjoy your own party to the fullest. And that, surely, is the point of the exercise. Visit www.HardwoodInfo.com to learn more about cabinetry for built-in bars and other products made from American hardwoods.