How To Create Your Own At-Home Bar On A Budget

Welcome to my home. Let me set the scene; I have an open plan kitchen, dining and living room with a balcony outside. The view and spacious nature of the apartment is what sold the flat to me as it’s such a calming, relaxing view that eases my anxiety and it makes a great place for entertaining my friends and family. Whether I’m throwing a party, having a cosy night in, or having the girls around before we head out for cocktails, my living area is perfect for all kinds of occasions. Since I love to have friends over, I wanted to make this area of my home inviting, fun and perfect for entertaining so in the time that I have been here, I’ve been curating the necessary equipment to create an at-home bar and now it has finally come together.  I can’t wait to share the results with you!

When I moved into my flat I had to do everything from scratch and had to make savvy decisions when it came to decorating, as most people do.  I looked at the colour palette in the downstairs room as a whole and since the colours in the dining room and living room were warmer toned on the walls and floor and the tiles in the kitchen were cream and terracotta, I thought that copper would be the best metallic to suit and tie all three rooms together.

I needed to buy all of the essentials so it made sense to me to purchase them all in the copper hue and it proved to be a really quick way to make the room flow and look as though it was my own rather than rented.  I’ve written more about making my rented apartment a home while saving to buy on the property ladder in this post.

I bought all of the, mainly electrical, essentials for my kitchen and living room in copper, including a copper kettle, toaster, microwave, pedal bin and lamp. These pieces as a whole made the space look well thought out and put together without spending a fortune.  Throughout the process of furnishing my home on a budget, I found that the best places to shop were Matalan, Wilko, ASDA and B&M Bargains.  When you’re starting from scratch with your kitchen and you need to buy everything from salt through to a microwave, these places proved to be the most affordable but the best quality and everything that I’ve bought has lasted me really well.

My copper theme extended through to the other accessories in my kitchen including my drinking items.  At the time, I used the shelf above my sink to display my recipe books and added my two copper Moscow mule cups from ASDA (similar here) that I’d been given as a birthday gift to the shelf for decoration to make the copper theme pop even more as the shelf is right on the eye line and also for practicality as I’m always chugging water like there’s no tomorrow and having the cups there was easily accessible.

Funnily enough, I’m not actually a big drinks, would you believe?  I don’t like the feeling of being drunk and I rarely drink but I do enjoy a couple of glasses of something that I like the taste of every now and again.  I’d rather get a little tipsy and stop there than get absolutely sloshed.  Gone are the days when I’d stumble out of a club.  I love the fact that I don’t have an association with alcohol in that it doesn’t relax me or give me confidence and I’m never someone who needs a drink or needs alcohol to have a good time.  I can quite happily go out, take the car and drink diet coke or mocktails all evening and if I’ve had a stressful day, I snuggle up in my jarmies and I’m quite happy about that.  Nevertheless, a home that’s a space for entertaining friends and having parties was something that I’ve always wanted and a little bar area became part of that vision.

Once I had my kitchen essentials and a few decorative bits in and I’d managed to save a little money I started putting together my bar area, inspired by my birthday party.  To celebrate turning 29, I invited 10 friends over for drinks and nibbles, silly party games and dancing.  I put on a fabulous spread, even if I do say so myself and my bestie helped to decorate my home.  I couldn’t believe just how much I enjoyed hosting my friends at my own home and I couldn’t wait until the next opportunity to have the girls over.  I’d bought a Copper Barware Set that had a cocktail shaker, ice bucket and all of the bits that you need to make cocktails included, especially for the occasion.  It was really inexpensive and since it went with my theme, I thought it would be great for me to have on display after the evening and so the idea of an at-home bar was born.

I knew I wanted a bar that was rustic and industrial looking but although this style of furniture is bang on trend at the moment, I actually wanted a piece of furniture like that because I knew the style would complement my copper theme perfectly.  It didn’t matter to me that it wouldn’t match the other furniture in my home as that’s all cobbled together anyway; the white pieces you see in my instagram videos are mine that I bought for my old bedroom and office in my dads house and the pine is what my landlord left as the flat came furnished.  I opted for a console table with a couple of lower shelves as my bar table and I’ve seen plenty of retailers selling similar items for extortionate prices online but I was lucky enough to have a friend who custom designed mine for a very small fee.  Its metal with two burnt, distressed wooden shelves at the top and bottom with one made of a sort of copper metal grid in the middle.  I absolutely love it and even when I eventually buy my own property, I’ll be able to take it with me and repurpose it in my future home, should I wish to not utilise it in this way or change my colour scheme.

Once I had the furniture in place, the whole look came together really easily.  At Christmas, I’d chosen a copper drinks trug from Marks and Spencer with some Christmas money my mam had given me as my gift and it fit perfectly onto the bottom shelf.  With copper lanterns from ASDA and B&M Bargains to one side of the console table, the area is cosy and beautifully lit when the candles are on and the lights are off.

For the middle shelf I added the hammered copper cups with metal straws that I’d bought from Home Sense, which again, are both functional and decorative.  I’ve found that its best not to rush when you’re adding the finishing touches to your home because the longer you’re in it, the more chance you have of coming across items randomly that fit in with your colour scheme and that’s definitely what happened with the copper drinking cups.

In the centre of the middle shelf, I have a couple of bottles of some of my favourite alcohol, Disaronno amaretto and Patrón Cafe, and on the right I added a drinks dispenser from B&M Bargains that we had cocktails in on my party but I’m using it as a light.  I placed a few strings of battery operated LED string lights from Ikea around a disco ball cocktail cup that I received as part of a Charlotte Tilbury press gift.  It looks really effective when the lights are on as a decoration in my home when I’m just snuggling up on the sofa watching a film.

The top shelf has to be my most favourite of all.  This is where I keep the copper Moscow Mule cups, the copper barware set and also a champagne bucket that I bought in ASDA last Christmas.  It was an absolute bargain yet looks like a pricey bit of homeware which is definitely my style; luxe looking taste but affordable.

Then we have my pride and joy, the Sonos Play One that I lusted after for so long before my boyfriend got me it as a Christmas gift.  It’s a bluetooth speaker with Alexa built in and I use it more or less everyday to play podcasts, audiobooks, the radio and music.  My man is really into music so often we’ll sit choosing songs like we’re using a juke box late into the night.  I’ll review the speaker in full in another post but I can’t recommend it enough.  The sound quality is amazing whether I’ve got the girls round and we’re dancing about or I’m listening to a guided meditation.

The finishing touches on my entertainment area came from Matalan, which is one of my favourite places to shop for homeware.  You might remember the post that I put together about Matalan homeware but if you missed it, you can catch it here.  I’ve been looking for a message pin board for so long and this one was perfect as it suits the style of this area of my home so well.  I toyed with the idea of different quotes as there’s plenty of letter to choose from but I quickly settled on ‘cocktails & love songs’ with our initials and the year that we got together.  I think its so sweet and depicts the area perfectly.

The console table was finished off with a faux succulent in a ceramic pot on a rose gold/copper stand which looks pretty realistic.  The stand ties the colour scheme together and when its illuminated by the giant retro copper lamp that I’ve positioned alongside the console table, it really looks fabulous and so well thought out.

I’m so happy with how my own at-home bar and entertainment area turned out and whenever I have guests over I always receive compliments on it!

An at-home bar area really is something that you can create on a budget with very little furniture and equipment as it is something that you can start on a small scale with items you’ve already accumulated and you can add it to over time.  Sure some people have the space for an actual bar in their home or a huge entertaining set up; I even have some friends who have a big summer house in their garden that they’ve converted into a bar.  However for me, my space, budget and tastes just don’t warrant it.  I’m only an occasional drinker; I just love the set up of a bar and entertaining area and I hope I’ve shown that this is something that could be recreated in your home too.  Perhaps you’re on a tight budget or don’t have a lot of space; a bar area to you could be on the side of a counter top… imagine a circular mirrored disc place setting with an ice bucket, your favourite bottle of fizz and a couple of champagne flutes either side, that would look gorgeous.  Or perhaps it could be a few bottles of your favourite spirits with a cocktail shaker and some funky glasses on top of a sideboard or console table in your dining room or living area.

You don’t need to have bags of money or a lot of space to create an area of your home that’s fun and dedicated to entertaining.

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How would you style an at-home bar in your home?  What unique touches have you added to your space?  Do you love to entertain?