Types of bar counters for the kitchen: options, sizes, materials, stylish accessories, design photos

The bar is a trendy and functional element of the kitchen setting. This element has a huge number of options – with it the room becomes unique. Various types of bar counters for the kitchen are purchased together with the set or made to order.

Bar counters are a beautiful and comfortable piece of furniture

Bar counters come in various shapes, differ from each other in height, length, material of manufacture, functions performed. Such a detail is installed both in spacious and cramped kitchens, matching the existing interior. The product can serve as a bar, dining table, storage place. The item consists of a narrow table top and base.

The bar counter can be installed in the kitchen of any size

Types of bar counters

The kitchen structure is made wall-mounted, combined with the set itself, representing an island or neatly separating the kitchen-living room. Folding options are often used in small rooms. L-shaped and U-shaped views adjoin one or two sides to the wall or are placed separately.

Ostrovnaya

The island-shaped counter is most often located in spacious rooms, with an area of 16-20 square meters, and has a “banana-like” shape. Sometimes one side of the object serves as a bar, the other is a place for preparing food. Round, oval, irregularly shaped products are also popular.

Island-type bar counters are best installed in large kitchens

Built into furniture

Built-in options are suitable for small rooms, as they combine a dining area and a section for storing various little things. The height of such a product coincides with the parameters of the rest of the headset..

The bar counter, built into the furniture, combines the function of a dining table

Rack-partition

The product often serves as a kind of divider in studios, combined spaces. On one side of it there is a working area, on the other – a resting place with a sofa, at the very counter they take food. The subject is made open or closed.

The bar counter separates the work area and the rest area

Leveled

The two-tier design is very convenient in all respects. The difference in height here is 25-55 cm, they cook on the lower surface, the upper one plays the role of a dining area. If there are children in the family, during meals they sit near the low side, adults – near the high.

A two-level bar counter combines a working and dining area

Mini bar counter

Miniature options, less than a meter long, are made in cases where a larger product cannot be placed due to lack of free space. The width of the structure is also kept to a minimum..

If you do not have enough space for a large bar counter, install a mini-bar counter

Bar counter materials

The materials of manufacture are natural wood and stone, chipboard, MDF, glass, acrylic, metal, drywall and even brick. The tabletop of the object is usually made of the same material as the horizontal surfaces of the headset itself. It is permissible to use several materials at the same time – metal for the base and acrylic for the top, make a brick bottom and a stone top, a base made of wood and a glass top.

Laminated chipboard

The product has a shiny, glossy surface, beautiful appearance, low cost, fits perfectly into the classic, avant-garde, industrial style. The main disadvantage of the material is its low moisture resistance, resistance to mechanical damage.

The product has a shiny, glossy surface, beautiful appearance, low cost, fits perfectly into the classic, avant-garde, industrial style.

Acrylic

Acrylic furnishings are often used for futuristic interiors, art deco, minimalism. The polymer material “holds” on a chipboard or MDF base, sometimes supplemented with an aluminum frame, which increases the strength of the edges. A stand covered with acrylic film is usually made with a rounded or bent protruding side.

Tip: glossy acrylic surfaces perfectly reflect light, which contributes to the visual expansion of space, but are very easily soiled.

Acrylic bar counter looks impressive, but very easily soiled

A natural stone

A stone product made of marble, granite, onyx looks luxurious and expensive. The price and weight of such an elite bar counter far exceeds all other available options. The design is durable, resistant to any mechanical damage, water, high temperatures, dirt.

A stone product made of marble, granite, onyx looks luxurious and expensive

Glass

The glass structure does not clutter up even a cramped room. The original bar counter, made of glass blocks, will decorate the interiors in high-tech and modern style. The design does not block other objects from view, gives the space lightness, “airiness”. A rack made of glass should not have sharp corners, be as stable as possible, especially if the family has small children, visually impaired adults.

The original bar counter, made of glass blocks, will decorate interiors in high-tech, modern style.

How to fit into the interior

Usually the product fits easily into any available space. The structure is placed:

between the living room and the kitchen;
near the balcony;
along a free wall;
in the middle of the room;
near the entrance;
under the window.

Shapes, sizes of kitchen bar counters

The rack can be of almost any size, but the following are considered the standard parameters:

width – 35-55 cm;

height – 90-135 cm;

length – 110-190 cm.

The height of the structure is usually made on the same level with the rest of the countertops or several tens of centimeters higher

The height of the structure is usually made on the same level with the rest of the countertops or several tens of centimeters higher. For planting one person, a length of 55-65 cm is enough, for two – about 120 cm. The shape of the product is L-shaped, U-shaped, rounded. Such a structure is a continuation of the headset or stands separately from other furniture..

Tip: a bar of any size, configuration, should not impede free movement around the kitchen.

Functionality of the bar counter for the kitchen

The item is usually used for eating and drinking, but it is easy to place convenient sections for storing utensils at the bottom of the structure, as well as above it. A closed bar counter for an ordinary kitchen has “blank” facades, behind which there are drawers and shelves. With the help of such an object, the area of the working surfaces of the kitchen set is significantly increased..

Bar counter with storage space

Bar counters for a small kitchen

When the area of the kitchen space is only five to seven square meters, the rack is placed along the wall or made folding, folding. A bar counter in the Scandinavian style is perfect here – it is made of light material, located in the same light room.

Bar counter for a small kitchen

Accessories, fittings

Additional elements create a unique design. Here, beautifully spaced light sources, console add-ons, pipe-shaped and forged supports, multiple graceful shelves come to the rescue..

Bar chairs

These chairs usually match the design of the rack. It should be comfortable to sit on them; products with adjustable height are preferred. The number of chairs depends on the area of the kitchen, the estimated number of people who will gather in the room..

These chairs usually match the design of the counter and should be comfortable.

Tip: the optimal difference in height between the chairs and the bar table top is about 30-35 cm.

Backlight

Directional lighting is required over the bar. This is usually done using several lamps of the same size and shape. It is desirable that the luminous flux is warm, and its brightness is adjustable.

Decorative illumination is carried out using an LED strip running along the perimeter of the top or bottom of the structure. Less commonly, it is illuminated with miniature spotlights. When the product has a glass insert in the middle, then it is permissible to place colored bulbs there..

Directional lighting is required over the bar.

Bar pipe

The chrome-plated metal tube supports the protruding side of the rack. It is attached to the ceiling, pierces the tabletop through and through, and is mounted to the floor with its lower part. On the other hand, legs are also sometimes made from pipes..

The chrome-plated metal tube supports the protruding side of the rack.

Consoles

One of the most fashionable design options for a bar is a console shelf, fixed to the main structure with wooden, metal supports. The console is made straight or beveled, suitable for creating corner structures.

One of the most fashionable bar design options is a console shelf

Accessories

Shelves, metal cup hangers, mesh bottle racks, rotating holders for glasses, shot glasses, baskets for fruits, spices, and other trifles are often placed above and below the kitchen counter. Some of them are mounted on a vertical pipe, the rest are mounted to the ceiling.

Bar accessories

The materials for the manufacture of such items are wood, metal and glass. Metal parts are chrome-plated, imitating gold, silver, copper, bronze, glass can be transparent, matte, patterned.

Tip: all accessories must be placed so that the likelihood of hitting them and getting injured is minimal.

Kitchen design with a bar counter

The best ideas for bar counters are easy to implement in your own kitchen, choosing a product according to style, size, shape. In the photo, there are marble structures in the loft style, against the background of brick walls, closed wooden products that complement the classic style and are placed in the center of the room, narrow glossy surfaces combined with a window sill in a minimalist interior. The racks located in the space combined with the balcony look beautiful. The object is mounted in the place where the window used to be.

Tip: between the bar and other objects (wall, furniture), you must leave a passage with a width of at least 110-130 cm.

Conclusion

Modern kitchens are often decorated with bar counters that replace a full table. Designers offer many different ideas for the execution of such elements. The best options appear daily on the pages of glossy magazines and on the Internet..