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Choosing an Outdoor Bar
Outdoor Bar Areas and Bar Seating for Decks or Patios
By Leanne Tremblay
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Just like outdoor kitchens have become popular exterior additions to the home, so have bar areas and bar seating for decks or patios. If you entertain a lot, having an outdoor bar has some great benefits.
Serving bars are counter or bar-height tables perfect for serving drinks and appetizers. They usually have a shelf underneath the bar top for storing items like glasses, serving dishes and drink mixes. Curved or rectangular-shaped counters in glass, granite, or stainless steel are easy to care for and have great looks. |
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Full service bars have sinks, bar fridges, electrical outlets, ice makers and other handy options for making drinks as well as serving them.
Portable bars, such as stainless steel or wood carts on wheels are the most versatile and can easily accommodate your entertaining style. Just wheel them out when needed, and then store them in the corner of your deck for next time. Bar trolleys like these are especially handy if space on your deck or balcony is limited.
Bars constructed from the same material as your deck or outdoor furniture are a great way to tie together all your outdoor décor. For example, you can find bars made from Ipé (say “eepay”), a durable South American hardwood used in modular deck tiles, and teak, another common wood used in outdoor furniture. Tiki bars with thatched roofs and bamboo or lumber framing give your outdoor space a Polynesian feel.
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Retail bars start at around $1000 and come partially or fully assembled. However, if you are at all handy you can build your own outdoor bar and save yourself some money. Tiki bar and bar stool plans for example cost less than $20 and the materials to build a 4’ x 8’ tiki bar will run you around $700. To buy the same custom bar, you’d pay $5000.
Luxury features of full service outdoor bars include stainless steel sinks, under-cabinet shelving and storage, ice bins and beverage holders, refrigerators, ice makers, electrical outlets for running blenders and so on. You can even find outdoor bars with canopies or thatched roofs and install ceiling fans, TVs, and lighting. |
If you’ve decorated your deck right with great outdoor furniture and accessories, atmosphere lighting and maybe some patio heaters to stay cozy after dark, you can’t go wrong by adding an outdoor bar. Just pull up a stool and start mixing!
About the Author:
Leanne Tremblay is a freelance writer and publisher of several sites all about outdoor living, including deck design ideas and outdoor landscape lighting.
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