Building a better bar spaceBuilding a better bar space

For many years, your average bar looked much like every other bar.

It would have parallel 2-foot-wide front and rear counters about 42-inches high, with stainless equipment underneath. The front, or customer side, of the bar would have an overhang and a foot rail in front of the stools. Liquor bottles and glasses were displayed on a decorative back bar in multiple tiers. Larger bars might have two counters in an oval shape, with a refrigerated island in the center. Tiered bottle displays often would be installed on top of the island.

But bar design has been evolving, and over the past decade, designers have sought to create bars that are less formal, with more of a “residential” feel.

Some of these new shapes and designs include:

The Europea...