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In January, Kendall Jenner — of the Kardashian-Jenner clan — shared a tour of her at-home tequila bar. As the founder of the award-winning tequila brand 818, it makes sense for the model slash TV star slash influencer to have one. The space itself is textbook contemporary luxury: exquisite marble surfaces, rich dark timber, stools sourced from Galerie Half, and a vintage Ralph Lauren cocktail shaker, all perfectly set up for both sipping añejo and taking selfies. Predictably, after posting the video, half the internet promptly searched for the “custom home bar.” Jenner’s carefully styled space highlights something that is becoming increasingly prominent in residential design. The home bar.
Joining wellness rooms or outdoor kitchens as markers of sophisticated contemporary living, the personal bar is popping up everywhere, with the trend going deeper than celebrities promoting their various liquor companies. Economic uncertainty is nudging even the most affluent of households towards hosting intimate gatherings at home, architects and designers are responding with creativity and flair as home entertaining spaces now incorporate craftsmanship and functionality, whether it’s concealed cocktail stations or discreet wine rooms behind pivoting doors.
The six designs that follow demonstrate how architects are cleverly — and, yes, sometimes quite literally — raising the bar for staying in.
Upper House
By KOICHI TAKADA ARCHITECTS, South Brisbane, Australia
Popular Choice Winner, Multi Unit Housing – High Rise (16+ Floors), 13th Annual A+Awards
Photos by Tom Ferguson and Mark Nilon
In recent years, the word “amenity” has become property marketing shorthand for a windowless gym or a tokenistic co-working space. However, at Upper House in South Brisbane, communal living gets a lavish rethink. Koichi Takada Architects have included not just a rooftop lounge bar but a wine cellar and tasting room too. With fluted marble, warm timber, and thoughtful lighting design, the atmosphere feels simultaneously relaxed and refined. Designed to foster interaction and build a sense of community, they are spaces residents genuinely want to spend time in.
Residence W
By fws_work, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
Popular Choice Winner, Apartment, 12th Annual A+Awards
Photos by fws_work
Residence W belongs to an airline pilot whose daily commute involves more airport lounges than living rooms. It’s only fitting then that the home feels like a first-class cabin. Designed by fws_work, this apartment renovation in Qinpu centers around both tranquility and craftsmanship by layering oak, woven cane, ribbed glass and earthy encaustic tiles into a sophisticated pallet.
The centerpiece of the space is a moody yet inviting kitchen and bar area, darkened with black-stained millwork and ceramic tiling from 41 zero 42. Suspended shelves show off bottles as though they were artifacts in a museum by gently illuminating them. This approach highlights the subtle textures and hues of the premium whisky the owner enjoys. A considered home bar that invites slow evenings and the perfect pour.
Galeria Apartment
By ARCHITECTS OFFICE, São Paulo, Brazil
Photos by André Klotz
Galeria Apartment isn’t the sort of home you’d describe as cozy, exactly. More like curated. The space, designed by French architect Gregory Bousqueta, who is known for carefully balancing Brazilian warmth with European restraint, has a relaxed elegance that encourages slowing down and staying awhile.
The dedicated bar and lounge space neatly illustrates this thoughtful approach. A Wyllis sideboard by Arthur Casas gives the otherwise plain room a sense of structure, and paired with Cassina’s mid-century Tre Pezzi armchairs, upholstered in burnt-orange velvet, there is a warmth that is needed for the otherwise neutral palette. Meanwhile, Adalfan Filho’s playful Tapioca tea cart introduces a charm that keeps the mood from becoming overly serious. Look up, and the Skygarden lamp from Dimlux casts a soft, even glow. It’s the kind of room where a cocktail could easily last an entire evening because the conversation — and the furniture — is just that good.
Urban Metamorphosis
By Brengues Le Pavec architects, France
Photos by Zoé Chaudeurge
Turning a warehouse into a home is always a tricky business. If you keep too much industrial grit, you risk living in perpetual gloom; smooth it out too much, and you’re stuck in a sterile box. Brengues Le Pavec’s solution in southern France strikes an ideal balance, embracing the building’s original metal structure while slicing open generous courtyards that flood every room with Mediterranean sunlight.
Inside, two walnut-clad volumes cleverly hide away life’s more mundane necessities like laundry, storage, and services but free up space for a glass-fronted wine cellar integrated neatly into the kitchen. This tasting area, flanked by sleek black cabinetry and framed with warm wood, becomes the informal center of the home.
Tyra House
By FIALA ARCHITECTS, Trinec, Czechia
Photos by Lukáš Legierski
At first glance, you could mistake Tyra House for a particularly bold Bond villain’s lair. But hidden beneath the Moravian-Silesian Beskids landscape is a thoughtfully designed, ecologically sensitive retreat. Architects FIALA has cleverly placed most of the structure underground, softening the building’s visual footprint with a lush, green roof that blends into the hillside.
Beneath this serene surface, however, lies a subterranean hideaway. The dedicated wine cellar has illuminated shelving and geometric timber cabinetry that create an atmosphere similar to that of an upscale lounge. Materials such as Welsh quartzite and raw stone give the space a natural and textural backdrop, echoing the surrounding landscape. Lighting is integrated and dynamic to transform the cellar and adjoining club area into spaces built to host lively gatherings and intimate evenings.
Lark House
By SHED Architecture & Design, Seattle, Washington
Photos by Rafael Soldi
As more people rethink their relationship with alcohol, the home bar doesn’t necessarily need to be cocktails and wine fridges. At SHED Architecture & Design’s Lark House, instead of shelves stocked with spirits, the Seattle-based project features a meticulously detailed coffee bar framed in warm white oak and accented with delicate tilework and Nero Marquina marble. Respectful of Al Bumgardner’s original 1958 vision yet confidently contemporary, this space in Seattle, where coffee is something of a sacred ritual, the bar becomes an intentional gathering space for slow mornings, good conversation, and perhaps the occasional philosophical debate.
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