Outdoor Bar Designs, Set-Up and Inspiration

You have all this great space in the backyard, but you don’t have enough ways to utilize it. Well, now you do! An increasing number of homeowners are adding an outdoor bar and quiet personal bistros to their property.

Scroll to the bottom of this post for a few inspiring pictures, or read along for the step-by-step planning process for your new outdoor bar.

First, make it livable

home bar setup Get some nice comfortable bar chairs, but don’t overcrowd the seating at your bar. You might want to sit out back with a small group of friends right at your bar, but you also might have a larger group of friends and relatives over – enough to require some spread-out seating.

A few bistro sets around the landscaping in your yard will give plenty of options for seating, and some good patio furniture flanking the bar area will allow people to group together.

Don’t forget to leave some space for standing. Some people tend to stand when they socialize, so leave plenty for them, too.

Stock for your guests

Stock the bar for the evening based on your guests.

If you have a group of whiskey drinkers coming over, don’t serve light beer.

You don’t need an overstocked bar to keep things exciting. In fact, a bar stocked strategically, with your guests in mind, gives you space to work and create any drinks they might prefer.

Know some of your friends like bourbon? Grab a couple of bottles, but also grab the extras you need to create an Old Fashioned. Vodka Martini drinkers? Grab a bottle of gin to add in some gin Martinis too. Wine drinkers? Grab a Nebuchadnezzar of their favourite bottle if you can find it (that’s 15 litres in 1 bottle, and it’s amazing).

What about food?

A more expensive bar could include some basic cooking appliances. Plus, outdoor kitchens will always be the envy of the neighbourhood.

You’re definitely going to serve food just about every time you’re entertaining outside in the bar, so having a bar fridge or BBQ integrated into the bar can be a bonus.

When you set your bar up, just make sure you have enough space for some basic food items on the bar, along with any drinks resting there.

Speakers

Speaker In Rock Outdoors Music is always a good idea. It gets people talking and fills the awkward spaces between conversations. If you have a large bar top, a Bluetooth speaker can take up a little space and produce some great sound.

Some families install weatherproof outdoor speakers attached to an indoor sound system. It’s a little more work in the beginning, but it pays off with long-term convenience. Also, this may boost your property value if you’re looking for a ROI.

Get yourself a membership to a music streaming service, and you’ll have everything needed for a relaxing night in or a raucous start to a late night out.

When it gets dark, you set the mood

Lights. We’re talking about lights here.

Big spotlights don’t create an inviting atmosphere. And you want people to feel drawn to your outdoor bar. So skip the spotlights and instead opt for some soft potlights under the bar or in the surrounding landscape.

Many homeowners supplement the backyard bar lighting with decorative festival lights (basically white Christmas lights). They create a warm, ethereal feel in the yard. It’s probably the biggest trend in outdoor lighting right now.