I’m a big believer in tailoring your home to suit your own personal needs, whether it’s turning a patio into a kitchen, a loft into an art space, or a basement into a bar. For anyone with a big wine collection, a passion for beer, or a knack for mixing drinks, the last can be especially useful – a great place to strut your style, flex your skills, and even show off your most prized vintages. But no home bar is complete without the right lighting – and many bar lights are designed or themed to round out a personalized style.
Show Off Your Glasses
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Some of my favorite bar lights are ones that are really more frames than anything. There are more than a few on this list, but this Vintage display chandelier is maybe one of my favorite examples. Made of a solid wrought iron frame with a single standard bulb in the middle, each of the three tiers is ringed with open loops the perfect size for holding stemware. The light comes with a set of basic wineglasses, but these can easily be removed and replaced with your own gasses (wine or otherwise), either in a single style or mixed and matched to show off some of your collection. Leaded crystal wine glasses will even sparkle like a traditional chandelier, creating a look that’s both posh and playful.
Show Off Your Favorite Bottle
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The dark glass used to make wine bottles is lovely to look at and often highly prized for crafting. So while full bottles should be stored in a cool, dark place to preserve the wine inside, once they’re emptied, they actually make for a great way to decorate. Hang a few of these Napa pendants over your home bar, placing the bottles of a few wines you’d like to remember in the metal coil, and you’ve got an instant display of your taste. The small spotlight will shine directly on the label, letting your guests see some of your most prized vintages, while giving your bar a classy, upscale feel.
…Or Bottles
For something even more stunning, use empty bottles (with or without the label) to create a whole chandelier. This Collector’s pendant comes as a simple metal frame, but is designed so about a dozen empty bottles can be securely fastened to it. The two lights within shine out through the glass, so depending on the color of the bottles you choose, it can actually alter the ambiance of your home bar. Leave some of your favorites in place for show, or rotate whenever you have new bottles to display.
Show Off Both
If you like both ideas, consider looking into a larger Napa chandelier. Made by the same company as the single-bottle pendant, this larger piece comes with simple wine storage on the top and inverted glass racks on the bottom. Unlike some of the other bar lights pictured here, this one can be used to keep full bottles and usable glasses on hand, but shouldn’t be used for long term storage of wine, as the lights in the fixture shine directly onto the bottles. Still, for a smaller home bar this fixture nicely combines display and storage, allowing for the smooth serving of several bottles of wine.
Home Cocktail Lounge
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Then again, some bar lighting is just plain fun. These martini glass shaped pendant lights are playful and perfectly suited for a cocktail bar. Plus, since the cocktail glass is such an iconic shape, it isn’t difficult to coordinate with other accessories, like a martini-shaped sink, clock, neon light, and so on. These fixtures are also nice because they use small 40 watt bulbs to make the glass glow from within and create a slightly lower light ambiance that’s well suited for a cocktail bar.
Fun With Glassware
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So, other types of bar glassware might not be quite so iconic as the classic cocktail glass, but they can make a nice addition to a home bar, especially if you’re looking for something other than ceiling mounted bar lights. I for one am totally in love with this Terran brandy snifter shaped glass table lamp, which is made to look just like an oversized glass. The bare bulb inside is covered up with simple chrome balls that help mute the soft light, making a stylish modern addition to a home bar.
What do you think of these themed bar lights? Do you have a home bar, or are you thinking of adding one? Let me know in the comments!
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