What Do You Need For A Man Cave Bar?

Creating a bar in your man cave is a goal many man cave owners have. Are you wondering what it would take to realize this dream in your house? What do you need to build a bar in your man cave? There are a few things you should know before you start building.

The following questions will be covered in this post;

1. How much space do you need for a home bar?
2. Which room in the house should you use?
3. Which parts and accessories are necessary for a home bar?

1. How much space do you need for a home bar?

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The first thing you need is space. How much space do you need for your bar?

A. Length of a bar

How much space do you have? The sky is the limit. You can make a bar as big as the space you’ve got available. Other than that, it depends on how many people you want to seat or how big your bar is.

Interior design experts recommend about 30 inches between stools for comfortable seating. To know how many stools you need, divide the length of your bar by 30. If you want to seat a certain amount of people, multiply the amount of people by 30. If you and/or your guests are of a bigger size, maybe add a few more inches.

That means for a bar that seats 4 people, you need a length of about 10 feet.

B. Width

That’s the length. But how about the width? From my other post on man cave sizing:

Counter: 25″
Space between counter and bar: 36″
Bar: 20″
Space for chairs and movement: 24″
Total: 105″ (267cm)

https://themasculinemale.com/how-big-should-your-man-cave-be/

C. Total space necessary for a bar

Let’s say you want to build a bar that has enough space to seat 6 people.

• Length: 6*30= 180″
• Width: 105″
• That means to build a bar that seats 6 people comfortably, you’ll need 180″ x 105″ (457 cm x 265 cm) of free space.

2. Best room for a home bar

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Some rooms are certainly more suited to turning into a home bar than others. If you have the option of choosing any room in the house, there are a few you can consider;

• Basement
• Garage
• Shed

These spaces have some great benefits for the following reasons.

A. Considerations picking a room.

The best room is the one that’s available. All three are good options with different drawbacks and benefits. If you have all three available, think about the following things;

• Which one is closest to your ideal size. Read more about man cave sizing here.
• In which one can you have friends over without disturbing the rest of your family. A separate entrance is valuable in that regard.
• If you can add plumbing and/or a toilet to one of these but not the other, that would have my preference.

Hope this helps selecting the correct room for your man cave bar.

B. Basement

The top pick for most people is the basement. And I tend to agree with them. Turning the basement into a man cave does have some challenges (Click for more) but it’s a great space for a man cave.

You got the whole floor to yourself and there is no reason for other people to be in there. Often it’s possible to add plumbing quite easily. Besides that, basements offer some sound insulation since they’re underground.

C. Garage

Another good option is the garage. Like the basement, it has some challenges. The door needs to be insulated to make it more livable. The big benefit of building a bar in your garage is the easy access for visitors without having to go through the whole house first.

D. Shed

Another awesome option is a shed in the garden. Since you’re likely to build it from the ground up, you can create a space that tailored to your wishes. A separate entrance is a big bonus as well. One problem for many people might be that it’s not so easy to add plumbing to a shed. That will raise the price of the project quite a bit. You can do without but that means you have to walk over to the house for everything that needs water.

3. Parts of a home bar

Which parts do you need for a home bar? Here is a complete list.

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A. Bar

The actual bar is a very important piece of this puzzle. It’s the centerpiece of this whole project. Bars come in many shapes, sizes and prices. What is good for your situation depends on the amount of space and money you have available.

Traditionally they’re made of wood but other materials are available as well.

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B. Workspace

You don’t want to be preparing drinks and maybe snacks on the bar. The bar should be free from most things except things ready to be consumed. That means you’ll need some space besides the bar.

The best solution for most people will be to have a counter top along a wall that includes a sink and some workspace.

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C. Fridge

Many drinks are better cold than at room temperature. That means you need a fridge. Preferably one with a freezer compartment if you need ice. A fridge with an ice maker in the door would be a nice touch. Especially if you like to make cocktails.

I’ve already written a lot about fridges on this site so if you’re interested in reading more about fridges for your man cave, click here.

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D. Kegerator

I wrote a whole article about things you need to know about kegerators. If you’re interested in having an appliance that dispenses cold draught beer at home, read this article.

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E. Storage

Besides a fridge and/or kegerator, you’ll need some extra space to store some things. I personally always like the wall of bottles behind a bar. Liquor and spirits bottles usually have great designs and make awesome decorations.

Shelves on the wall above your workspace is the usual position for this kind of thing. Get some nice looking shelves and fill them with nice bottles and enjoy.

There will be some things that don’t look good enough to put on a shelf. Some of these can/should be stored in a fridge so they’re out of the way already. Adding some storage cabinets under the countertop is an easy solution to creating extra storage space.

For glassware there are racks that go on top of the bar. They look great if implemented properly. If you don’t have space for that, or your glasses don’t fit these racks, Another cabinet at eye level is your next best option.

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F. Bar stools

A bar needs some bar stools so it can be used properly. Make sure you get bar stools that are about 10-12 inches lower than the top of the bar. This is the most comfortable. Read more about bar stools in this article.

There is a wide range of bar stools available. From cheap plastic ones to handmade wood and leather bar stools.

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G. Drinks

Of course you need some drinks in your bar. Maybe getting everything at once is a bit much. Start with the drinks you’re sure will be finished. Beers, wine, some spirits, etc. From there you can build slowly over time.

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H. Accessories

The last pieces of the puzzle are some accessories. The finishing parts of a man cave bar.

The first is a bottle opener. It’s pretty hard to have a bar without the ability to open bottles. Beer, wine and some other bottles all need tools to open them. You don’t want to open your beer bottles on the edge of your new bar or your teeth and ruin either of them. Read here about the types of bottle openers and some suggestions.

Glassware is next up on the list. Unless you exclusively drink from bottles, you need glassware. If you want to put a personal touch on your glasses, you can get them personalized. Drink from a glass with your name (or any other word) on it.

If you’re into craft beers it’s nice to have a selection of different shaped glasses. Different beers are best drunk in different glasses.

For people that prefer to drink beer from the bottle, a beer koozie is a great accessory. Especially if you’re living in a warmer climate, your beer warms up a little too quickly. A beer koozie keeps it cool longer and deals with the condensation in once.

The next item is a set of coasters. I personally think rings left in the wood just add some character to a bar. But if you just spent a lot of money on setting everything up, I can imagine you want to keep everything looking fresh for a while. Coasters help with that.

Another benefit of coasters is that they catch the condensation from a cold beer. Without a coaster, the condensations pools up at the bottom and at some point it starts to drip onto your leg. Very irritating.

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I. Decorations

Just having all the above items will create a home bar when put together. But it’ll probably be a bit sterile and impersonal. Put up some decorations to personalize your home bar to your tastes.

A neon sign is a great decoration and lighting in one package. There is a huge variety of neon signs available. I’m sure you can find something that fits your interests. Check out this article on neon signs.

Vintage signs are another great way to get some character into your home pub.

Personalized man cave/bar sign. Give your home bar good name. After naming the place, get a personalized sign with your chosen name. For most people a wooden sign is the best option. A wooden sign looks quite good especially compared to plastic signs for example.

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