Stock your home bar with stylish accessories

  • By Kim Cook Associated Press
  • Friday, November 15, 2013 2:36pm
  • Life

Home beer and spirit-making have become popular hobbies. Bars and beverage stores feature a growing variety of artisanal spirits and craft brews. Cocktail parties are back in vogue.

And retailers are responding to all this imbibing by offering furniture, barware and accessories with cosmopolitan flair. All you need are a few invitations, snacks and some good music for the party to begin.

Let’s pop the cork on what’s new.

“Nowadays, entertaining does not have to mean having a glitzy full bar. Bar carts have become more delicate, refined, and smaller in scale, so you can tuck them into a corner of a room or blend them in with the rest of the furniture,” Veranda magazine’s market editor Catherine Lee Davis said.

West Elm’s Parker slim-profile cart in acorn-stained walnut veneer with brass rail trim has a mid-century vibe. The walnut-stained Dodson cart features a flip-down front concealing a mirror-lined interior with plenty of storage.

Gent Supply Co., www.gentsupplyco.com, has a natty collection of coasters, glassware and flasks printed with illustrations of turn-of-the-century gentlemen duelers, narwhals, anchors, and animals dressed in distinguished garb.

Artist Richard E. Bishop, www.richardebishop.com, known for wildlife etchings in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s, has his work on an array of bar glasses and decanters. Ducks, trout, foxes and horses set a “country house” tone.

A punchbowl that rests in the clutches of an octopus and a sculpted shell held by a delicate coral stand are part of an aluminum barware collection at Z Gallerie, www.zgallerie.com. There’s also a faux crocodile service tray in rich eggplant, studded with silver rivets, that makes a sophisticated statement. Silver cocktail picks and stir sticks topped with airplanes evoke the Second World War. And a mirrored sign with phrases like “Stirred” and “Straight Up” printed in a gold retro font would make great wall art.

JC Penney, www.jcp.com, has a whimsical yet elegant wine decanter from Michael Graves Design that features his signature bird as a built-in aerator.

Homegoods, www.homegoods.com, has hammered metal cocktail shakers with handy drink recipes printed on the side.

New York artist Aymie Switzer’s laser-etched cedar coasters depict neighborhood maps of many major cities, including Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston and San Francisco.

Coasters recycled from old tires are stamped by Los Angeles artists with different graphic number fonts. And Colorado designer David Rasmussen’s black walnut stemware is distinctive and beautiful. All at www. uncommongoods.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.