Seven types of drinks cabinet for hosting big nights in

In order to politely accept a guest into one’s home, the first thing to do is offer them a drink. Soft or hard, hot or cold, the relaxing process and pleasure of drinking put them at ease, while giving them something to do with their hands.

Far from their historic role as enablers of an out-of-fashion hedonistic lifestyle, however, drinks cabinets can conform to the health and wellness ideals of the day by allowing users to serve up relaxation to their guests like an attentive valet. Here are seven different ways drinks cabinets can help hosts stay out of the kitchen and remain with their guests, wherever they are.

Even users with less space to spare like to entertain, so let’s start off small. The Courbet side table, from Italian manufacturer Longhi, finds a better use for all that negative space underneath its table top by enclosing it with curved doors. High-grade glassware and decanters can be hidden away inside, allowing the table’s luxurious leather and marble surfaces to be appreciated.

For smaller homes with smaller hands, contraband liquids and hardware can be kept safe and out of harm’s way, inside a wall-hung drinks cabinet. SICIS’s larger than life gemstone, the Diamante Bar, is an imposing presence on the wall. As the doors part, however, like those of a theatrical super-villain’s secret base, the Diamante Bar cuts a welcoming scene for its enthralled audience, combining the mesmerising blue of the gem’s vetrite cobalt finish with a bronzed glass interior.

For stylish settings with more square footage to spare, elegant stand-up bar cabinets provide functional storage that really shows off impressive spirit collections. Taking their design cues from the music industry’s penchant for showmanship, the Popstar and Rockstar bar cabinets from Buster + Punch certainly know how to show off. The units combine high-grade finishes and blind tufted upholstery with heavy black cables and studio-like lighting, while the contents are both visible from the front and accessible via a stage trapdoor above.

In order to really show off their flair and mixology skills as well as their collections, serious hosts need a little more space to slice their limes. Larger bars, sometimes with double-height worktop space and sinks like Longhi’s Alexander, or even additional back-bar storage, give users the opportunity to stand up and stand out, working in comfort while keeping in eye contact with guests.

Creative mixologists come in many forms, and the Verona bar unit by MOBILEFRESNO-ALTERNATIVE is a cabinet for those who believe there’s a place for everything and everything has a place. When closed, the cabinet’s exterior of complex joinery has the look of an exaggerated entrance to a secret tomb, but when opened to reveal its hidden treasures, they can be found in immaculate order. Reminding me of a traditional typesetter’s shelf, Verona features perfectly sized shelves for bottles, cubbies for tumblers, holders for hanging stem glassware and individual drawer sections for specialist bartending tools.

Even when everything’s tucked neatly away, Verona certainly stands out, but its well-crafted carpentry isn’t instantly recognisable for what it is, blending into the background of many a lounge or study. Pop-up events in non-traditional hospitality spaces, meanwhile, often include free bars serving little more than one brand of lager and two colours of wine, so all those additional tools aren’t necessary. Instead, simple light-up bars like Slide’s Luminous Counters allow organisers to distribute pre-made drinks as easily as possible by attracting guests like moths to a fluorescent bulb.

There’s something reassuring, however, about being able to see a host make your drink. For users who like to entertain in different areas of the home without having to excuse themselves to do so, drinks cabinets that move with them such as Bordbar’s ex-airline trolleys have the hardwearing credentials to serve drinks in whatever circumstances a variety of environments throw up.

© Architonic