Evening Standard - ES Magazine
SET THE BAR HIGH
If you’ve ever fantasised about having your own at-home hostelry, here is the perfect moodboard to get you started
Now that this peculiar month of Dry January is nearly through, I’m planning a domestic bar in time for midnight on 31 January. Here are the best options… The trolley has had a spectacular rise in popularity. I find their rattling approach vaguely terrifying but they can be seriously glamorous — and conveniently tucked away until the sun is passing the yard arm. If there is enough space in a drawing room, I’m a fan of the dedicated table — a marble top with a weird lamp so you can see what you are doing, a pretty tray and some well-ordered decorative bottles to accessorise is a winner. I love a secret bar cupboard. We’ve supplied antique cupboards customised with small sinks and fridges, while a clever friend fitted her hallway circuit board nook as a bar, boxing in the tech and using mirrors and wallpaper to create an appetising space.
I personally opt for a pop-up. The booze is stashed in what is laughingly called ‘the cellar’ (a weird non-space by the front door) and when it’s party time we lay a crisp oversized napkin on the kitchen work surface and set up what’s needed for the night. Bars should be clean, crisp and organised — nothing is more off-putting than a crusty bottle and once you have a few people over it can rapidly descend into chaos. Express yourself using accessories: with glassware, the simpler the better although a pretty Venetian tumbler can be a beautiful and calming thing. With bottles, I wouldn’t be so shallow as to suggest you be swayed by label design but… classic vermouth and amaro labels are very reassuring.