Let’s face it, you and your guests spend a significant amount of time at any party, congregating around the watering hole. Why not make the bubbly bar special and fill it with personality and charm. This week, we are sharing our tips to style a stunning bar.
You can transform a number of ordinary items in your home into the specialty bar: a folding table, a bar cart, counter space or even a credenza. If your party has a specific color palette, continue the color scheme in the bar decor. Dress up a folding table or credenza with a neutral tablecloth and add pops of color through festive napkins, floral arrangements and pitchers of colorful cocktails. We prefer glassware to plastic glasses (don’t even think about Solo cups!) Frame the bar with a colorful banner or paper tassel garland. For extra special touches, you can also add:
- Colorful garnishes to cocktails
- Whimsical straws with themed drink tags
- Themed cocktail menu in a frame
SET UP THE NIGHT BEFORE
You can set up tablecloths, glassware and other decorative accents the night before. For our sushi making party, the Japanese flag inspired the party’s color scheme. We styled the bar with a red/white plaid tablecloth, red/white chevron napkins and a floral arrangement with a red ginger flower and a white spider mum. Our signature cocktail was the Nikos-tini, which consisted of vodka, sake, lychee juice and a lychee. We mixed the cocktails in martini glasses 30 minutes before guests arrived. We also served sake throughout the evening.
ADD A JUICE BAR FOR THE KIDS (WHICH DOUBLES AS A BAR FOR THE GROWNUPS)
For children’s birthday parties, we recommend adding a whimsical juice bar for the kiddos and a wine bar for the adults. Scatter action figures or dolls on the bar to tie together the party theme. For our nephew, Dylan’s Transformer birthday, we decorated the bar with a Transformers tablecloth, a balloon bouquet, Transformers cocktail napkins and Optimus Prime, Blurr and Megatron figures. Adults sipped on All Spark-ling wine and Blurr beer, while the kids drank their juice boxes.
COMBINE APPS AND COCKTAILS
Short on space or need a small bar area? Combine the bar with appetizers or desserts. For our Halloween dinner party, we framed the bar with black, orange and white paper tassel garland and a Happy Halloween banner. We dressed the wine in costume with adorable wine toppers from Pottery Barn. We displayed our appetizers on Williams Sonoma’s MacBeth inspired dinnerware. We served guests a Blood Orange potion, which consisted of blood orange juice and prosecco. We garnished the glasses with broken bones and broomsticks. We decorated the table with “Eat, Drink, Be Spooky” napkins, orange roses, black calla lilies and Halloween confetti.
PAPER TASSEL GARLANDS
We LOVE paper tassel garlands. You can buy them pre-made on Etsy or make them using colorful tissue paper, scissors and glue. They are a bit time consuming to make, so definitely construct them a week or two in advance. Stack wine glasses and champagne flutes to add height to the bar. Decorate with flowers that match the party’s color palette. For our Naughty or Nice Holiday party, we framed the bar with a paper tassel garland. We also placed scarlet and blush roses and white snap dragons on the table. We prepared two specialty cocktails, the Naughty-tini (a pomegranate martini) and a Nice-Mopolitan (a white cosmopolitan). We recommend pre-pouring the cocktails. Not only do the colorful cocktails look gorgeous on the bar but guests can be handed a glass as they walk in. We dressed the wine and champagne in reindeer and santa’s hat wine toppers from Pottery Barn. We also showcased the Santa’s Pants wine bag from Pottery Barn.
POUR DRINKS BEFORE YOUR GUESTS ARRIVE
For at home New Year’s Eve celebrations, make sure to have enough flutes to keep the champagne flowing all night. Our specialty cocktail was the New Year’s Kiss was easy to make. We muddled raspberries and mint in a champagne flute and topped each flute with sparkling wine. Pre-poured cocktails and wine look lovely. We also styled the bar with “Pop the Bubbly” napkins, pink daisies and gold champagne confetti.
Now it’s your turn to create a well styled bar and share it with us! #twinspirationalbar
“In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.” ― Benjamin Franklin
I love these ideas. I love styling but don’t often get the opportunity. The last time I got creative was at our wedding almost six years ago. The bars look great.
Love this, totally adds to the aesthetic.
The Halloween theme is so festive! I’ll definitely take note of these tips when I get to host a party next time.
Yes for this bar styling tutorial. I can’t wait to resume having my friends around and share this styling.
The bar styling tutorial looks really great and helpful for us!
I have to think of a bar-style the next time I have a social p@arty! Thanks for giving me some ideas!
These are such festive bars! I’m having a party in a few weeks, I’m definitely going to use some of these tips! Thanks