Home bars are the latest kitchen must-have, here’s how Charlie Smallbone designs one

What could be better than strolling up to your home bar at the end of a long day and mixing up your favourite drink? Or entertaining friends and offering them a choice of perfectly chilled beverages rather than taking pot luck with what’s in the fridge? This is why so many people are opting for a home bar as part of their new kitchen, and why Charlie Smallbone, founder of Ledbury Studio, is being asked to include them in his designs more and more.

Here, Charlie talks us through some of the key features of home bars and shares a few of his favourite touches. 

“Sometimes more is more," says Charlie, referring to the bar he created for a home in Malta (above). “The bar includes all the essentials, such as shelves for bottles and racks for glasses, while the black palm cupboards below conceal fridges and an icemaker. The bar is bookended by not one but two wine coolers with hammered pewter and resin panelled fronts. For a touch of pure theatre, the worktop is underlit with crystal quartzite, and the whole piece is framed in backlit honeyed onyx, lighting up the bar at night. It doesn’t get much more glamorous than that!”

“I designed this bar (above) as part of a media room in Mayfair, so naturally it had to have more than a hint of fabulousness to it!” Charlie continues. “Once again, you have essentials like glass-fronted cupboards in stained oak and wine cabinets for storing drinks at just the right temperature. The worktop is a purposely hardwearing Caesarstone Stone Grey quarz, which will keep its good looks no matter how many cocktails are mixed. But it’s the luxurious touches that really make this bar stand out – strips of liquid bronze are placed between the cabinets.”

“For a great example of a generously proportioned home bar, I look to the one we created in the Hackney kitchen (above and below),” explains Charlie. “The dropped-height Stone Italiana Ambra countertop provides plenty of prep space, with room underneath for a pull-out wine rack and compact wine cooler. Situated next to the dining table, the bar also serves as additional serving space if needed." 

However, the true focal point of the Hackney kitchen home bar is the glass cabinet, as it features fluted glass doors and can be lit from within. "This not only enhances the appearance of the contents but also creates great mood lighting at night," Charlie says.

“Proving that size isn’t everything when it comes to home bars, I’m very fond of the small one we designed for the Stroud kitchen (below),” concludes Charlie. “It was created out of necessity, as we needed a way to hide the ugly electricity meters in the kitchen, which we accomplished with a shallow-depth cupboard. To make it more of a talking point, however, we added a brass-edged worktop that functions as a little bar area, complete with aged-brass shelves above for glassware and cocktail essentials. I think it works rather well.”