A home bar is an excellent way to enjoy all the charm of your favorite hangouts without leaving the house. You’ll save money on drinks, gas, and entry fees, and you’ll stay safer with stress-free nights in. It sounds amazing, right?
You can build the home bar of your dreams with minimal effort and minimal cost. But bars aren’t exactly basic, and setting one up could cost you significantly, so where do you begin? Right here, with these 25 cool and effective bar ideas for man caves. Check them out.
25 Brilliant Bar Ideas for Man Caves:
1. Chalkboard Wall Decoration
Hanging a chalkboard behind your bar is a simple and cost-effective way to add character to your space. It will look and feel like an authentic bar. Write mock menus, punny phrases, or whatever you like to add a personal touch.
2. Add Mounted Shelves
They’re classy, not that difficult to install, and they’ll keep your drinks organized, so what’s there not to love? As a bonus, you’ll save space and can use them to store your drinking glasses (or other decorations or collectibles) too.
3. Or, Bring In Some Bookshelves
If you’re not very hands-on, you can cheat your way into an awesome bar by investing in some pre-built shelves. Use them to display bottles, bar tools, and accessories, or even other themed collectibles, like this super affordable box sign. Bookshelves aren’t difficult to find, and you can paint or modify them as you wish.
4. Get a Neon Sign
A neon sign is one of the coolest ways to transform your man cave into a home bar. There are a ton of options out there, from classic arrows to customizable neon bar signs. Place them at the door, along the walls, or above the bar itself — wherever you like.
5. The Stage is Yours
Live music is often a bar’s greatest appeal, so why not get yours a small stage of its own? It doesn’t have to be a functioning stage, of course, but it will add an atmosphere that not many man caves have. Even better, if you’re a musician, you can feel like a rock star when you practice or perform home gigs.
6. Minimalism Goes a Long Way
Look, you don’t have to splurge on a ton of stuff — or bulldoze and renovate — to have an awesome man cave. Sometimes all you need is a fridge, a table, and some basic bar stools. You’ll save money and feel right at home.
7. Install a Wall-Mounted TV
A mounted TV is a great addition, no matter the style you’re going for. Watch live games, highlights or sports talk shows or use it to stream music videos in the background — just like an authentic bar.
8. Built-In Aquariums Are Cool
You don’t have to play by the rules. A bar aquarium is a unique (and awesome) feature to add to your man cave bar. They look great no matter the time of day and ooze sophistication.
9. Invest In a Home Espresso machine
Take your bartending skills to the next level by becoming a home barista too. Home espresso machines are easier to use than you may think, and won’t take up any space at all. You’ll impress everyone with your genuine, homemade espresso, so that’s a bonus.
10. Use Beer and Wine Coolers
Coolers can turn any space, no matter how small, into a home bar, and there are a ton of ways to implement them. If placing them around your room (or on your bar table) doesn’t quite do it for you, consider mounting them or having a cooler built into your wall.
11. Light Up Your Bar
Adding lights to your bar will change its look and feel immediately. It’s as functional as it is aesthetic, and costs little effort. Heck, you don’t even have to build — if all else fails, run string lights along the side of your bar.
12. Install Red lighting
This is for those who are serious about recreating that bar ambiance at home: install red lights in your space. It’s believed that bars use red lighting because it’s more flattering, so you’ll look better too.
13. Stick To a Colour scheme
Speaking of red, painting your home bar one color is an excellent way to streamline it. Of course, you can pick whichever color (or colors) you prefer.
14. Get a Pool Table
If you’re setting up a man cave for the boys, you should add a pool table to hang around (and for the sake of friendly competition). If pool doesn’t appeal to you, try a foosball table, arcade machine, or gaming table for poker night.
15. Hang a Dartboard
In line with games night, hanging a dartboard is another great idea. The cool thing is that it makes decor, even if you don’t play. Dartboards take up little space and require almost no effort to mount.
16. Mount a Head or Two
Animal heads do one of two things: either they’ll give your man cave that ol’ pub feel, or, you’ll feel like you’re in a fantasy novel tavern. Both are desirable. And don’t worry, if you’re concerned about animal cruelty, you can buy faux heads.
17. Build a Sports Bar With Jerseys
Mount a framed jersey — or signed memorabilia, if you’re lucky enough to have any. Do this in conjunction with a TV, and voila! you’ll have a sports bar right at home.
18. Use Your Corner
Building your bar right into the corner of the room is a space-efficient way to designate room in your man cave. This way, different areas won’t clash regardless of design or theme, and your bar will feel like a separate space — no matter how small the cave is.
19. Build a Barrel Bar Table
No one can deny that barrels look cool, so where better to put them than in your man cave bar? You could be basic and add them to the room for aesthetic, or you could put them to use. Two barrels and a sturdy beam make a brilliant rustic bar table. You could also use them as stands or stools — with a bit of tweaking for comfort.
20. Be Classic With Vinyl Bar Stools
Perhaps you’d like your man cave bar to be a bit more traditional. If that’s the case, investing in some old-school, vinyl bar stools won’t hurt. They’re comfortable, stick to the theme, and — if you choose wisely — could add hints of color too.
21. Build a Mini-Bar
Your man cave bar doesn’t have to take up space at all. You could build a bar into any nook you like. All you need is a table and stools to get started, though if you have the means to renovate, you could be creative with how — and where — your mini-bar is placed.
22. Stick Some Posters Up
Another way to add personality to your man cave bar is to dress its walls with old-school posters. This could be free if you already have an old poster collection, otherwise, you can buy poster bundles online. Design it any way you like, from pristine to punk toilet bar.
23. Have a Wall of Fame
You could also designate a wall of fame (or shame) if you’re the more sentimental type. Add framed photos of whatever you like— your glory days, in-house tournaments, family, friends, or fond memories. Just because it’s a bar, it doesn’t mean it can’t be warm-hearted.
24. Mount Wooden Boxes for Shelves
You could also skip shelves altogether and use wooden boxes in their place. This way, you get the organization and functionality without predictability. It’s also a fun DIY project if you’re up for the challenge.
25. Use Wall Shelves
Finally, if you don’t want to build a bar from scratch, you can use your walls as one. Wall shelves can line your entire room if you want them to, they’ll free up more space and will create a cozy, pub-like environment to hang out in. It’s great for those who want more “man cave” than “bar.”