Let the Good Times Roll

When I planned this post over the weekend, I intended for the topic to be solely about home bars from the 1920s through the 40s. And then I realized that this post would be published today- the day after the election. So I suppose I could say that these images might serve as some inspiration for those of you who are celebrating today.

All kidding aside, have you ever thought about putting a bar like one of these in your home? It would certainly be a far cry from the drinks tray or table that most of us have. Back during Prohibition, some of the design magazines gave tips for designing home bars. Since you couldn't imbibe in public, you had to drink your bathtub gin at home (far safer than hanging out at a gin joint). And it couldn't just be any old bar. It had to be rather swell. The kind of place that would elevate your hooch into something far more refined.

While most of us don't have the luxury of space to create a home bar, it's fun to imagine what it would be like to have a room devoted entirely to recreational fun- or vice, depending on how you look at it!


Elsie de Wolfe designed this bar for her Beverly Hills home After All. That black and white tented ceiling is pretty fabulous, but I would think that it might cause a little dizziness after one too many Singapore Slings.


This bar was designed by the old design firm Thedlow. Rather gutsy to render the doors as giant playing cards.


This was a serious little bar for the hardcore home barkeep. But how great is that floor?

Image at top: This bar decorated by Frances Elkins is seriously cool. And those bar stools have to be the all-time best bar stools ever designed. Period.