Today a lot of us living in cities struggle to have a functional home that also doubles up as a good looking space for hosting. Most people living in apartments in New York City, Paris, or London, don’t always have the space for a fully appointed bar or bar cart - and even if you do, one might not want to have it out the whole time.
The solution to this is transforming a console table into a bar for an occasion. Their marble surfaces, especially on Italian Consoles of the 18th or 19th centuries are ideal for creating a well appointed bar, and I think that the casual look is far chicer. David Hicks’ console bar is perhaps one of my favourites, and inspired this idea. If you have a console table in the entrance of your apartment or in your sitting room, why not transform it into a bar the next time you host. Make sure to include a good ice bucket, a bowl of lime wedges, and a few varieties of ginger beer, elderflower, and tonics in glass bottles. Extra points if these can be contained in a large tray. Read on to discover five great console bars.
1). David Hicks’ masterful use of a marble-topped 18th-century console table, reimagined as a bar — proof that even the most traditional furniture can serve a modern purpose. The composition is balanced with a modern lamp and ice bucket, so that it doesn't feel stuffy.
2) An 18th century Italian console available on Jamie Sharp interiors. I styled this as a bar using a large silver tray, crystal glassware, decanters, and huge flowers.
3) Not as much of a console and more of a desk, my friend Dodo Cunningham Reid’s home in Nairobi where she has transformed this generous table into a chic bar. Unfussy, with a large tray for glasses and maasai beaded water bottles add character to the table.
4) Mike Thompson plays with colour, using an assortment of blue and green glasses which converse perfectly with the artwork to create a striking and artistic vignette. I particularly like the tall blue glass decanter.
5) Guy and Penny Morrison at home in the countryside. The console here looks as though its at the entrance to the house, perhaps transformed for a summer party.
Core Spirits
Mixers & Accents
Glassware (edit down to a few per style)
Accessories