Bars Straight Up

RED OR WHITE?
The idea here: Build a 7-foot-wide bar that opens to the great room and looks like a polished piece of furniture. One Sub-Zero wine cooler is regulated for red (1), while the other is strictly for white (2). Greenwich, Connecticut, architect Jay Haverson ran glossy cherry cabinetry the length of the wall (3), but didn't go up to the ceiling (4). "Leaving space for the exposed beams gives it that furniture effect," he says.

LOADED WITH HIDDEN EXTRAS
First came the rustic home's massive pine support columns. Then came the wet bar by kitchen designer Larry Frasier of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, that fit snugly in between them. The homeowners, a three-generation family that likes to get together at their lake cabin on weekends, wanted an atmospheric, highly functional bar area across from the kitchen. So Frasier took the 6-foot-4-inch space and, using Wood-Mode cabinetry, designed a fully stocked bar with a built-in wine cooler (1), refrigerated drawers for pop and beer (2), pull-out bins for standing liquor bottles under the sink (3), and a Sub-Zero icemaker (4). The slate countertop and backsplash repeat materials used in the kitchen.

BRIDGING THREE SEPARATE ROOMS
The challenge was to make this 8-foot-wide built-in bar blend with the millwork of adjoining rooms in the Carlisle, Massachusetts, house that This Old House renovated for its 25th-anniversary season. So kitchen designer Kathy Marshall imported ivory cabinets (1) from the kitchen and maize beadboard (2) from the butler's pantry, and echoed the great room's soapstone fireplace surround with black granite (3). While the American Standard faucet (4) is on display, the dishwasher (5), fridge (6), and liquor drawer (7) are all hidden behind panels.

SOCIAL SERVICE
Tucked into a corner of the family room, this bar might only seat two, but it serves dozens when the Pacific Palisades, California, homeowners throw a party. Stemware's at the ready on wood shelves that have glass insets (1) to reflect natural light coming through the window. Down below are granite countertops (2), a sink faucet by Price Pfister (3), and white raised-panel cabinets (4).

IT STARTED AS A CLOSET
And it became a 4-foot-wide cocktail spot open to the back porch—after homeowner Cromwell Schupp's grandmother queried, "Where's the bar?" The Atlanta carpenter accessed water and drain lines through the wall that backs up to the laundry closet. Using the same marble countertop and cabinetry (1) as in the kitchen, Schupp dropped in a Franke bar sink (2) and a Delta faucet (3) for a grand total of $1,000 spent—and Grandma's approval gained.

BUILT TIGHT AS A SHIP—UNDER THE STAIRS
For a couple who wanted a discreet bar between the study and the living room, Quogue, New York, architect Stuart Disston designed a small-scale bar that's hidden behind push-latch doors under the stairs and takes advantage of plumbing in an adjacent powder room. Light-reflective surfaces, including a framed mirror (1), highly polished mahogany cabinetry (2), and a nickel sink and faucet by Harrington (3), make the 41/2-foot-wide space seem larger. A bar fridge (4) sits in the 2-foot-wide cubby next door.