Madison Elite Cabinets builds bars that work when the house is full. In Madison that usually means game days, holidays and the stretch of winter when everyone entertains indoors. A bar that looks good and functions badly becomes obvious the first time eight people are standing around it.
Settle this first, because it sets the budget and fixes the location permanently.
Means a sink, a drain, supply lines and usually a disposal. It turns a cabinet purchase into a small construction project. Worth it if you host often and the bar is far from the kitchen, so people are not walking through your cooking space for water and ice.
No plumbing. A counter, storage and usually an undercounter beverage cooler. This covers most entertaining at a fraction of the cost. Plenty of households discover this is the right answer only after pricing the alternative.
Undercounter beverage coolers and ice makers vent at the front and must not be boxed into a cabinet with a solid toe kick unless they are built-in rated. Enclosing a freestanding unit is the most common failure we are asked to fix, and it shortens the unit's life considerably.
Check the manufacturer's clearance specification before the cabinetry is drawn. Built-in rated units cost more for exactly this reason.
An ice maker needs a water line and a drain. If you entertain at the volume that justifies one, plan the plumbing at the same time as a sink rather than adding it later.
Depth is the enemy. A 12-inch upper cabinet is far more usable for glassware than a 24-inch one, because nothing gets lost at the back and you can see the whole row at once.
Stemware holds better on a hanging rack or in a shallow cabinet than stacked. Everyday glasses are fine on a shelf. If the bar is in a basement, doors keep dust off glasses that sit unused between gatherings.
Spirits store upright. Lying down is for corked wine only. A shallow bottle shelf at eye level, one row deep, beats a deep cupboard where the back row is forgotten for years.
If wine matters to you, a dedicated cooler is worth the space. Wine kept at room temperature in a heated basement is not being stored well.
A good share of bars here go into finished basements, which brings two constraints worth planning around.
Headroom is often tight, so a full upper cabinet may not fit under ductwork. Open shelving or a shallower upper solves it. And basements are humid in summer even when they feel dry, so cabinetry needs the same finish treatment as a laundry room rather than a living room.
Getting a long counter down a basement stair is a real constraint. We plan the piece sizes around the stairwell rather than discovering the problem on installation day.
Low level lighting inside open shelving and under the bar counter does more for the room in the evening than any ceiling fixture. Put it on a dimmer and keep it warm, around 2700K.
Backlit shelving behind bottles is the one decorative flourish that genuinely earns its place at a bar.
Bars take spills, citrus and condensation rings. A catalysed finish handles that far better than a standard lacquer. On the counter, a non-porous surface is easier to live with than a porous stone that marks from lime juice and needs sealing.
We spray every face of every component, including backs and undersides, because basement humidity does not care what is visible.
The obvious spots are a finished basement, the end of a great room, or a butler's pantry between kitchen and dining. Less obvious and often better is a wide hallway alcove near where people actually stand.
If media cabinetry is going into the same room, plan them together. See built-in cabinets for how we handle a full wall and outdoor cabinets if the entertaining extends to a patio in summer.
Design and measuring take a week or two. Build runs several weeks. Installation is typically one to two days for a dry bar. A wet bar adds a plumber before and after, and a stone counter is templated once the cabinetry is set and level.
Many households host game days, patio nights and holidays. A bar cabinet gives you a dedicated spot for drinks, so the kitchen stays clear while guests mingle. You can build it into a basement, a living room wall or a corner of the dining room.
Choose the layout by how you entertain. A simple dry bar needs a counter, shelves for bottles and drawers for tools. A wet bar adds a small sink, which means plumbing and drainage. A beverage station adds a cooler drawer, a wine fridge or an ice maker, which need power and venting.
Plan storage by item. Glassware likes shallow shelves with a lip. Bottles like angled racks or dividers. Mixers and bitters like a deep drawer with dividers. A pull-out trash bin keeps the mess hidden. Glass-front doors show off the collection, while solid doors hide it.
Finish with light. Under-cabinet strips and shelf lights give the bar a warm glow. Add a place for a tray and towels, since cleanup is easier when everything has a home. For outdoor serving, see outdoor kitchen cabinets for Wisconsin winters.
Pair a bar with an entertainment center in a basement, built-ins for display, or outdoor cabinets for a patio bar. In the kitchen, pantry cabinets hold the extra supplies.
We build bars in Middleton, Cottage Grove and Monona.
A useful dry bar starts around four feet of wall. Six feet lets you add a cooler and proper landing space.
No. It needs front ventilation and a built-in rated unit if enclosed. Check the specification before designing.
Not always required, but sharing with a large appliance will cause nuisance trips. Worth asking your electrician.
If you entertain regularly and the bar is far from the kitchen, yes. Otherwise a dry bar with a cooler covers most of the benefit.
A non-porous surface. Citrus and wine mark porous stone, and a bar sees plenty of both.
Tell us where people actually stand when you host, and we will design around that rather than the empty room.
We size it for real entertaining and get the refrigeration clearances right. Call (608) 665-1379.
Plan Your Project
Share a few details about your space, your goals, and the look you want. We will help you explore the right cabinet option, whether you need new custom cabinetry, a refresh for existing cabinets, or a better storage layout.