The classic bar counter is a narrow and rather high barrier table located in a drinking establishment. It is convenient to lean on it for standing people or those who sit on special chairs. Thanks to their convenience and practicality, these designs quietly and gradually entered the lives of many people, often finding their place in the kitchens.
Designers use a wide variety of techniques and techniques to design bar counters for the kitchen. Not every home master can make such designs with his own hands. However, with some professional inspiration and instructions, you can create a simple and functional stand out of wood, chipboard, or other available material.
What are bar counters and what do they serve for
If there is enough space in the room,this design will serve its intended purpose: people with drinks and snacks will be located near it. Many note that the bar counter for the kitchen (do it yourself according to a pre-prepared project) is indispensable for breakfasts and snacks with coffee.
The specifics of such racks in their equipment: here you can not do without holders for glasses, wine glasses and various glasses, shelves for juices, bottle mounts and other similar elements.
Classic bar counter for the kitchen (you can do it yourself only with special tools) have several support options:
- Wall.
- Side edge of kitchen furniture.
- Free standing element (island).
Bar counters for small spaces
Based on the size of the kitchen and the location of the headset, designers offer racks that differ in appearance, size and type of attachment.
For small kitchens, bar counters are rarely designed. This is due to the limited space and lack of need for such an element. However, at the request of the customer, the kitchen can still be equipped with a counter, which can be turned into a dining table or used as a divider into zones. The latter option is especially relevant for studio apartments and small-sized living rooms. In cases where a do-it-yourself bar counter is made for the kitchen, it is often mounted along the wall. This option does not apply tostandard but practical.
How to install racks in large and medium kitchens
To equip a medium-sized kitchen, they resort to installing a "peninsula" bar counter. That is, the end face of this element is adjacent to another piece of furniture, most often, to the table top. Since the height of the stand differs from the dimensions of the workspace, secure fastenings are required.
For these purposes, straight or inclined pipes are used, and the bar counter for the kitchen rests on them (furniture dimensions and ergonomic principles are shown in the figure).
Basic standards are based on the proportions of the human body. Any option is suitable for placing bar counters in spacious kitchens. Even the installation of a free-standing island will not “steal” much-needed workspace. There is also no need to reduce decorative elements: racks can have various ledges, cornices, voluminous cabinets and drawers.
Sometimes craftsmen resort to installing a special plasterboard partition, to which a bar counter for the kitchen is then attached. The styling options are endless as it can be combined with metal, wood, plastic or even glass.
Functionality and practicality are the main principle
Still, most often the bar counter is used to separate the kitchen area from the living area or from the corridor (depending on what is combined).
Because studios and living rooms are small apartments, their owners usually strive to make the most of the available space. Masters collect information on how to make a bar counter in the kitchen with their own hands, design it and make it on their own.
The raw materials are materials bought in a hardware store or what was found in the workshop (wood, plywood, brick, drywall or chipboard).
In order to make the rack practical and comfortable, there are several tricks:
- Installation of shelves, cabinets, cabinets under it.
- Placing various mounts above the rack: on pipes-holders or under the ceiling.
- Raising the tabletop. That is, the installation of a two-level rack.
Standard bar counter sizes
There are no standards for building bar counters. There are approximate sizes, which are more of a recommendation. Thus, the height of the bar counter can be from 1.1 to 1.2 meters. It will be very convenient for a standing person to use it, but in order to sit down, you will have to use a special bar stool.
The width of the rack should not be less than 30 cm. This is due to common sense: if the countertop is narrower, it will be difficult to put plates on it, and it will be problematic to lean on it.
It is believed that the width of 50-60 cm is optimal and comfortable. In this case, you get a really practical bar counter at home in the kitchen (assembled with your own hands or ordered in the salon).
For convenience, cabinets under the countertop can be equipped with lighting. Usually it is mounted using LED lamps or tapes. This option is extremely economical: LEDs consume little energy, practically do not heat up and last a very long time.
Stand base options
The classic is the base in the form of a metal pipe that passes through the countertop and rests with one edge on the floor, and the other on the ceiling. Experts recommend choosing pipes from German or Polish manufacturers. Outwardly, Chinese bases may look exactly the same as more expensive ones, but very soon their coating will begin to peel off. A hole is made in the countertop for the pipe and the future rack is strung on a support. From the bottom side, a stop nozzle is installed, which is called the “fixing ring”, and from the front part, all this is masked by a decorative overlay.
To fix the pipe on the floor and ceiling, use universal mounts and a “thrust”. Various shelves and holders are placed on the pipe prior to installation.
In the case when the bar counter is located along the wall, decorative brackets are used to fix it. To make the design really strong and reliable, they are placed quite close to each other.
How the stand attaches to the wall
The second side of the bar counter can rest on a table, cabinet or be attached to the wall. In the latter case, the master will have to take care of buying reliable corners. They are ordinary and reinforced (if the countertop is made of natural woodor a high load on the surface is planned). The color can be chosen based on the rest of the furniture or on the wall covering. A do-it-yourself bar counter for a small kitchen often relies on one corner, and wider and heavier models on several.
Bar counter above the countertop
Sometimes the rack is placed above the kitchen work surface. For such fastening, there are special beveled pipes. They are screwed to the countertop and to the back of the counter, and the joints are masked with decorative rings.
This placement allows you to make the most of the kitchen space, opening up access to all its corners.
Drywall: to be or not to be?
In modern apartments, quite a lot of elements are made of drywall. Of course, this material cannot be equated in strength to wood, but its plus is that it is very convenient to work with.
Gypsum boards are mounted on pre-prepared frames. This method is indispensable if you need to build a false wall, a partition to separate one zone from another, build a cornice for lighting on the ceiling, equip a niche and in a host of other cases.
Of course, drywall will be useful for a master who wants to create a bar counter on his own. He will need a base for the frame (metal corners, a profile, wooden slats or bars), tools for working with these materials, fasteners, drywall itself, as well as putty, paint or other decorative tools.
Assembly of drywall cabinets for barstands
Before proceeding with the installation of the cabinet, you should draw the future design. This stage is necessary, otherwise you may encounter a lack of material, a violation of dimensions and proportions. Thanks to even the simplest sketch, the master will get a symmetrical and durable bar counter for the kitchen. Drawings can be developed using paper, pencil and ruler, or you can use a special 3D program.
When assembling the frame, the most important condition is to maintain the verticality and horizontality of the planes. This helps a good level and plumb. The finished structure is sheathed with drywall, corners and traces of fasteners are puttied and decorated. Sometimes a primer is applied before a coat of paint.
At the last stage, the selected countertop is fixed.
The second life of wooden pallets
Today, many apartment owners are trying to equip their homes with furniture made from environmentally friendly and natural materials. Of course, not everyone can afford to buy a solid wood set, but almost everyone likes the idea of making a bar counter from recycled materials.
Often craftsmen accumulate various leftovers and scraps of beams, unnecessary pallets and boxes. Fantasy, ingenuity and patience will lead to the fact that an original and functional do-it-yourself bar counter will be installed in the kitchen. How to do? Ideas are not difficult: you just need to fill the prepared bars and boards on a solid frame.
Wooden pole options
Depending on the project of the master and his ability to handle wood, the bar counter can look like an elementary long barrier or become a modern and indispensable element of the kitchen.
In the first case, the main task is to create a solid frame. For this purpose, all the same metal corners, wide bars and chipboard parts are suitable. A countertop (wood, chipboard, plastic) is laid on top of this structure.
In the event that the master wants to experiment with the drawings, he can supply the bar counter with a cabinet, drawers, shelves, additional fixtures and holders. By the way, LED lighting is very appropriate for such products. She gives them charm and comfort.
If everything went well with the main structure, you should not stop there. A handmade bar counter for the kitchen can be complemented with chairs and benches in the same style.
In addition, almost any piece of furniture can become a field for creativity: hanging shelves, chests of drawers, chests for things, cabinets for flower pots and much more.
