I don’t have a bar in my basement but I’ve always wanted one.

I’m not sure it’s because I’m lazy, and would like to avoid going upstairs to refill my drink, or because I’m obsessed with collecting and I would likely buy a lot of nice scotch bottles to display, even though I wouldn’t drink them.

In any event, I think bars are cool.

Or rather, the right bar is cool and an ugly, non-functional, out-dated, or over-sized bar could completely miss the point.

I’ve seen people turn half their basement rec-rooms into bars, and I wonder what the point is?

Then again, I’ve gone into homes where the basement rec-room has not one, but two different beers on tap, and that’s about as cool as anything you’ll find in a house.

Basement bars truly exemplify the adage, “to each, their own,” so today, let’s look at a handful and critique them.

We’ll start with the simplest.

This bar defines “unspectacular,” and yet it’s something I think we all wish we had.

Plus, this basement seems to have a pool table as well, and apparently a 9-foot ceiling, so…

The lighting is dated and reminds me of the kitchen ceiling in our house in the 1980’s, and the wood colour is dated.  But there’s a sink, lots of cabinet space, and room under the bar for a couple of kegs.

This gets a pass, but it’s far from the nicest one we’ll see…

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This is a newer bar but there’s something about it that I don’t love.  Perhaps the black floor time, maybe the white and green backsplash:

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I only wish that in this next photo, they showed the actual bar.  You can see the stools on the right-hand side, and you just know what’s on the other side.  I love the 1950’s theme, and even the pool table mimics that era.  The arcade games, the floor – this is awesome!

Perhaps I should start saving photos of games rooms?

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This one is a bit rustic and might remind you of your grandfather’s place:

I don’t love the dropped ceiling, but otherwise, it’s got a cottage-vibe going for it.

The wagon wheel in the background, the antique wooden trunk in the foreground, the vintage Western posters at the bar – they’ve done a great job here, save for the carpet and ceiling…

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This is nicer, newer, and it’ll age a lot better:

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Tell me if I’m wrong, but a darker wood will appeal to more people, will it not?

I suppose it depends on the style of house, but this is a lot nicer than the bar in the photo above:

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Really high ceilings in this one, but it looks somewhat uninviting:

It looks like you’d find this in a hotel basement or something…

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This is what you get in a new-build, and I have to say, I find it almost boring:

This is a much better photo and makes the bar look larger and more functional, but some might think it lacks character:

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I like this one a lot!

Not every bar has to feature an actual bar where you can pull up stools.

Sometimes, a basement can benefit from one wall with a fridge, sink, cupboards for glasses, and shelves for bottles:

Obviously, this only works in a new, sleek, modern home.

But the layout is something to keep in mind.

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Here’s another example of the “bar wall,” and since this room lacks depth (it’s almost a wide hallway) the bar layout seems to work:

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Here’s another bar in a sleek, modern house, but this has the full “bar shape” to it as well as a rather nice collection of boxes and bottles:

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There’s a bar in the basement of this house, but only a bar in the basement of this house?

What do you do down there?

Lay on the carpet and drink gin?

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This is a green-light special because it has a built-in fish tank!

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You probably don’t love the green wood, the carpet, or the bar stools, but this bar has four televisions as well as an adjacent bowling alley!

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I just came from a condo where I told the sellers, “Painting a room in black or any really dark colour is a mistake.  It shrinks the room.”

It takes guts to paint the walls and ceiling black, but this bar is really sharp!

The wallpaper in the background is a bit hard to see, but I believe those are monkeys, are they not?

The stools are wicker so maybe there’s a jungle theme happening here?

I don’t know.

But I think that odd bluish-green colour really works!

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Last, but certainly not least, this literally looks like a nightclub!

Something I would have frequented around 2001:

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I have an exceptional memory, but I can’t quite recall what Shark City looked like from the inside, back in 1999.

If I had to guess, I’d think something like this:

I was in a 370 square foot condo on Wednesday.

Then I sat down and looked at photos of bars in people’s basements that are larger than that!

So here’s a good question: would you rather have a bar in your basement or a real, wood-paneled, temperature-controlled wine cellar?

Have a great weekend, folks!  See you here on Monday to go over the July TRREB numbers.