Having a bar in your home adds a luxury dimension to entertaining. When you have a crowd for a big event or a few friends over for a ball game, a bar can be a stand alone serving area or a handy overflow solution. Whether you’re drinking champagne or soda, your bar is a good place to gather round and enjoy company.

Beautiful curves.

Beautiful curves.

Here at J. Aaron I do a lot of bar tops. They’re most commonly in the kitchen and dining area where they’re used for everything from breakfast to homework and often tend to be pretty utilitarian. So, when this sapele mahogany top with it’s beautiful contoured Chicago bar rail treatment came along I knew I wanted to share it.

This hardwood bar top is destined for a private home but wouldn’t be out of place in a fine hotel or pub anywhere. The softly rounded contour piece that surrounds the body of the countertop provides a comfortable arm and elbow rest. The drink is another authentic bar feature that helps keep spills contained.

We fabricated the bottom/back edge of the outside contour piece to fit in an interlocking way with the slab so there’s no worries that it may ever separate or crack away from the countertop itself. The recessed area that runs along the bar top is cut directly out of the plank itself to create a smooth, one piece element.

There are lots of beautiful profiles available for the wood countertops we do, but the Chicago Bar Rail is a premium treatment. It’s fluid design allows for comfortable leaning and it’s a pleasure to run a hand along the voluptuous curves. Having no sharp edges and flowing lines gives this hardwood bar top a Art Nouveau feeling while being generic enough to be effective in nearly any design style.

Long cut out across the rear edge and the rim created by the Chicago Bar Rail give this top an authentic feel and function.

Long cut out across the rear edge and the rim created by the Chicago Bar Rail give this top an authentic feel and function.

 

So, if you’re thinking of creating a special area for getting together with friends you might consider a hardwood bar top. With lots of home theatres and open plan living areas there are plenty of places to tuck in your own home version of this classic.

Our customers sent us some candid shots and comments on their new bar top.

Here is Jimmy and Pat installing it.

I love how you routed in the drink rail.

The customers party on Saturday was a smashing success. Over 90 people

The party clustered around the bar the entire night.
I was invited to stop in for a drink

Tom introduced me around to a bunch of his friends as the architect and one guy said that he’s definitely going to be putting a bar in his family room now. and the wife rolled her eyes saying Um thanks for ‘that’. It was actually funny.

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Thanks for the update, guys. Enjoy your bar in good health for many years.