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There was a time when the bar cabinet was an almost essential component in a bourgeois living room. And if you think about it, it is a piece of furniture that recurs very often in the most iconic sets of films and TV series, from the most recent productions — think of the drink time in the Mad Men's retro-style offices — to the elegant Audrey Hepburn who, in Breakfast at Tiffany's pours a White Angel into her Martini glass, while in The Graduate (in the photo) a luxurious white bar in a Beverly Hills 60s home is the setting for one of the most important scenes of this legendary film.
The history of the mobile bar has its roots in a decade of the 20th c. which was marked by revolutions and profound social changes: the 50s, a particularly prosperous period, cradle of a new concept of well-being that had repercussions on the conception and organization of the domestic space: it was in this period that the bar cabinet trend exploded, already in vogue since the beginning of the century, if you think of the Art Déco bar furniture, elegant containers for all the accessories necessary for the cocktail preparation, generally made of materials emphasizing a sense of sophistication and luxury, such as mahogany, glass, chrome and bakelite.
Almost any 20th c. master designers, from Vittorio Dassi to Paolo Buffa, from Piero Fornasetti, Gio Ponti and Osvaldo Borsani up to Ettore Sottsass, included various types of bar cabinets in their repertoire. The charm of these author's pieces, often truly unique and rare for the external finishes as well as the internal details, often organized in mirrored decorated compartments, lies in their mix of functionality and decorative power. The typologies are the most varied: from the parallelepiped body structure (very similar to the sideboard), to the cubic volume, ideal for furnishing a niche in the wall, up to the structured and large specimens, which incorporate a display case, counter and stools in a real "system". Corner bar cabinets are particularly sought after, because of their ability to furnish surfaces that are not so easy to design, with originality.
In the wake of the popularity of the great chefs and the gastronomic culture that has now fully entered the rhythm of everyday life, the role of the bartender has also gradually grown, a figure specialized in the art of mixing and preparing fancy drinks and cocktails which, in a historical moment that has made us re-evaluate the convivial moments within the home, has experienced its maximum expression by spreading its specialty among the curious and enthusiasts. As it becomes more and more natural to rediscover the welcoming atmosphere of a home-made aperitif or after-dinner drink, the bar corner is no longer a mere piece of furniture, but a space to be thought and set up, so that it reflects our home style and taste.
For a wow effect, make sure you have the space to open the doors of your bar cabinet in order to reveal its contents. As for the internal layout, arrange your bottles according to the criterion that best suits your personality, in size order, or highlighting the most unusual bottles or the most colorful labels. Secondly, there are some accessories to invest in, from the essentials, such as a tray for tools such as the shaker, to crystal items, bottles and glasses with a retro soul, even more fun and refined in their colored version.
Don't despair and don't give up on the idea of a bar corner even if you don't have a large space, because there are many types of vintage bar trolleys, less bulky compared to the cabinet, certainly practical and flexible since they can be moved with wheels. Catapulted into contemporary interiors, bar cabinets are precious one-of-a-kind pieces which, keeping their function unchanged over time, while acting as decorative elements for displaying lamps, small objects or sculptures, flower vases and, of course, a couple of cocktail books.
