Society

Slingin' Gins

So where's that next drink coming from? Well, at home actually. Designer home bars are the new must-have status symbols. Wild West night, anyone?

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Slingin' Gins
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Even smaller cities have surrendered to the bar bug. One reason for that being larger spaces and cheaper prices. Anuradha Bore, a Bhopal-based housewife, had an interesting design in mind for a bar, but it cost Rs 40,000 in Mumbai. In Bhopal, she got it made for just Rs 17,000. Preeti Rajput, another city housewife, says her lavish wooden bar is put to frequent use. "Bhopal is a small city, and my women friends prefer not to drink outside. But if it's a party at home, then they just let their hair down," she says.

And since people are eager to jazz up their watering holes, the market too is milling with ideas. At Barcode—a bar studio based in Delhi—one can choose from an array of 20-odd designs. Wall-mounted bars, foldable trolley models, big ones with counters, there is something to match everyone's requirement and fancy. High-end furniture stores like fcml, Style Spa, Gautier also stock interesting designs. Even traditional furniture markets like Amar Colony in Delhi have started selling second-hand bars, sourced mainly from the embassies.

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Pankaj Mehta, owner of Barcode, is in fact surprised by the discerning tastes of his clients, who incidentally include professionals like doctors and lawyers. "The younger lot in the 20-30 age group prefer a contemporary look with lots of straight lines, matte effect whereas the older lot go for the traditional woody look," says Mehta who has a self-designed Irish bar at home.

Those who have space even go for wet bars, with a washing/rinsing basin. A dry bar, in turn, is more apt for storage and mixing of drinks. Shahnaz Mahimtura, an interior designer in Mumbai, says the latest is the table bar: "It's a proper centre-table with in-built cabinets, shelves, storage that opens up into a bar." Nilanjan Bhowal has designed bars that have an aquarium, stained glass paintings in the background. The popular options for counters—stainless steel, granite, glass and even onyx. The fancier lot have started going for lights as an add-on. "People like to put up lights with colour-changing codes or go for glass-top counters lit from below," says Mahimtura.

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These pleasures, of course, come at a price. A readymade bar cabinet may cost anywhere between Rs 10,000-15,000. A bigger designer bar between Rs 40,000 to Rs 5 lakh. At places like Barcode, starting prices are Rs 3,500 for a wall-mounted bar. What costs more are the bar accessories. Bar stools, if bought from upmarket lifestyle stores, can cost you between Rs 1,500-25,000. Now, if all this seems a bit outlandish, you might want to lend an ear to Vikram Achanta, co-founder of Tulleeho.com, who suggests an economical way out—hire the services of a professional designer for the concept and your local carpenter for execution. It's true, there are no free highs in this world.

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