Bar Details

I've got designs back from Tito about what he's planning on doing with the bar. I've prettied these up a little bit to hopefully give you a good idea of what this will look like. It will all be done in wood, using primarily Birdseye Maple, with Ebony for the bartop, as well as for some of the inlay panels. The two brown vertical strips you see coming down from the ceiling, are structural roof elements that unfortunately needed to cut into this space a little. They don't obstruct the work area of the bar, they just break up the wall a little. Click on the thumbnails to see a larger image.
Bar Front
The span of the bar is approximatly 18 feet, probably closer to 19. I thought about doing some sort of swooping bar that came out into the room, but that would have eaten up precious floor space, as well as being more expensive to build. So instead I decided to go with a straightforward counter. You'll notice the "columns" on the front of the bar, these aren't circular rounds, but relatively flat panels made up of molding details to provide some notion of depth. There will also be some rope-lighting installed just under the countertop to provide subtle illumination to the front of the bar. The "railing" of the bar will be a wooden "saddle" style molding, the type with a double hump, one higher then the other, that is confortable to rest your arms on.


Bar Back
One of the center pieces of the back-bar, will be a classic English draught-style Beer Engine. Not like the whimpy little American beer taps, a Beer Engine is a pumb style dispenser that takes a bit of muscle to draw a pint. Got to get my exercise somewhere. The actual configuration of shelfing and refrigeration is still a little up in the air, but there will be enough room for bottles, glasses, and various other bar accessories and condiments.


Bar Layout
This is the important part. And will determine if the bar actually "works" or not. Since Tito has been building bars, as well as tending them, for a long time, I'm leaving a lot of the appropriate selection and placement of equiptment up to him. The floor back behind the bar will probably be some form of soft, easy to clean, rubberized suface. Something that will be comfortable to work on, not that I plan on pulling any 18 hour shifts behind here, but hey, might as well be comfortable for the time I do spend back there.


Bar Surface
For the "Customers", this is the important part. What parts of the bar are they touching, and interacting with? What does it look like? How comfortable is it? My preference for "rails" around the bar, is the standard elbow saddle. It looks nice, is easy to maintain, and provides a nice comfortable place to lean your elbows on.
      For the base of the bar, I like having a foot rest. When I'm at a bar without a built-in foot rest, I find myself constantly trying to find it. From this view of the base, you can also see how the columns on the front of the bar aren't circular, but are panels detailed with molding.

I'll be adding more specifics about the equipment and such as I learn it myself.

If you happen to have any professional bartending experience, please feel free to let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions about this layout.


The Walls
As is reflected throughout the rest of the house, I am wanting the walls of the bar itself to reflect a notion of several generations having used this space. To that end, I'd like for the wall surfaces to look as though they've been around for a while, and have seen a lot of use, and re-painting. Here are a couple of images that I think reflect the overall concept and color direction I'm wanting to use:
The base/main color to be sort of a "Dijon" mustard, with "Burgundy" and "Butter" highlights to make it look as though it's seen it's share of use and repainting.