Living Room Home Bar Ideas: Drinks Cabinets, Trolleys and Corners

Most living rooms have room for a bar. What they don't have room for is bottles lined up on a sideboard gathering dust and sunlight. The difference between the two is a cabinet with doors.

This is the setup that works in a normal British living room: one piece of furniture, eight bottles, the tools out of sight and a surface you can actually build a drink on.

Honest note: we design and print our cards, badges, prints, candles and party decorations in the UK. The drinks cabinet and the cocktail machine are recommendations from elsewhere.

Start with the cabinet

• The cabinet is the decision everything else follows. A drinks cabinet with doors and drawers is what turns a collection of bottles into a bar: bottles stay upright and out of the light, the tools hide in the drawers, and the top gives you a surface at the right height to build a drink on.
• Measure your tallest bottle before you buy. Gin bottles are taller than people assume.
• Doors matter: light spoils vermouth, whisky and anything cream-based.
• Drawers are what stop the shaker, jigger and strainer living in a kitchen drawer.
• Black or dark wood hides marks. Glass shelves show every ring.

Cabinet or trolley?

• A trolley suits a small flat and looks good, but it holds about five bottles and wobbles.
• A cabinet holds the bottles, the glasses and the kit, and doubles as storage.
• An alcove with a shelf and a cupboard below is the budget version and works fine.
• Whatever you choose, it needs 40cm of clear top to make a drink on.
• Keep it away from a radiator and out of direct sun.

What actually goes in it

• Eight bottles: gin, vodka, white rum, bourbon, scotch, tequila, sweet vermouth, triple sec.
• Angostura bitters. One bottle lasts years and unlocks half the classics.
• Shaker, jigger, bar spoon, strainer. That's the whole kit.
• Three glass types: rocks, coupe, highball. Six of each.
• Mixers in the fridge, not the cabinet. Warm tonic ruins a good gin.

Styling the top without clutter

• Three objects maximum: a tray, a lamp or a plant, and the ice bucket.
• Everything on a tray reads as deliberate. The same items loose read as mess.
• A small warm lamp on the cabinet turns it into a feature after dark.
• A print above it anchors the corner - Shop the range
• A candle on the tray for the evenings - Shop the range

Making drinks at home actually good

• Ice is the difference between a home drink and a bar drink. Big cubes, made fresh, never the tray from last month. An automatic cocktail making machine measures and mixes a drink at the push of a button, so guests serve themselves and the host isn't stuck behind a table with a jigger all night.
• Chill the glass while you build the drink. Thirty seconds in the freezer is enough.
• Measure everything. Free-pouring at home is how a negroni becomes a gin.
• One citrus fruit in the house at all times. It's the cheapest upgrade there is.
• Learn three drinks properly rather than twenty badly.

If you're buying one as a gift

• A cabinet is a big gift, usually a joint one for a new home or a milestone birthday.
• A cocktail machine suits the person who hosts constantly and hates being stuck pouring.
• Add a card to whatever you give - Shop the range
• Pin badges and small bits fill out a gift without padding it - Shop the range
• How to make the perfect home bar - Read the guide

Shop greetings cards

How to write it so it lands

• Measure the tallest bottle first.
• Eight bottles, three glass types.
• 40cm of clear top or it isn't a bar.

Where to shop next

• Party items
• Greetings cards
• Scented soy candles
• Funny wall art
• Pin badges
• Luxury dinner party ideas at home
• How to host a cocktail party at home
• Fine dining date night at home
• New Year's Eve cocktail party at home
• Christmas cocktails to make at home
• Party essentials: drinks kit, masks and candles
• How to make the perfect home bar
• Garden bar ideas for a British shed
• Christmas drinks party ideas
• Summer garden party ideas
• Dinner party games for adults
• 40th birthday party ideas at home
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What's the best drinks cabinet for a living room?

One with solid doors, at least one drawer and a clear top. Doors keep light off the bottles, drawers hide the shaker and jigger, and you need roughly 40cm of free surface to build a drink without moving anything first. Measure your tallest bottle before ordering.

How many bottles do you need for a home bar?

Eight covers almost everything anyone will ask for: gin, vodka, white rum, bourbon, blended scotch, tequila, sweet vermouth and triple sec. Add Angostura bitters and you can make most classics.

Is a drinks trolley or a cabinet better?

A trolley looks lovely in a small flat but holds about five bottles and nothing else. A cabinet holds bottles, glasses and tools, keeps them out of the light, and gives you a stable surface. If you host more than a few times a year, take the cabinet.

Where should you put a home bar in a living room?

An alcove or the wall furthest from the TV, away from radiators and direct sunlight. Keep it out of the main walkway so people can stand at it without blocking the room.

Do you sell the drinks cabinet or the cocktail machine?

No. We design and print greetings cards, enamel pin badges, prints, candles and party decorations in the UK. The cabinet and the automatic cocktail maker are recommendations from elsewhere - only the things linked to our own shop are ours.