Sueb, what might be kind of cool would be to find antique or otherwise very interesting bottles in which to pour the booze, like these, and maybe a crystal decanter, etc. An eclectic collection (but labeled so you know what's in there!). Get a bar set, the shaker, strainer...

And then hang this around the neck of one of the bottles, or somewhere. Lol.

Here's a fun one, on eBay. You could put whiskey in this one (get it? Kentucky Derby:whiskey).

Here is a link that might be useful: Liquor decanter

Another neat-o bottle from eBay. Sherry? Port?

Here is a link that might be useful: Liquor Bottle

And another! Sorry! I'm having fun looking at these different bottles!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sherry bottle

Wow. Here's an interesting one.

Here is a link that might be useful: lantern decanter

Civil War decanter?

Here is a link that might be useful: decanter

Really neat Tequila bottle!

Here is a link that might be useful: Tequila bottle

We do. In our old apt, we had it set up on a tray on the dining room sideboard.

Then we bought a bar cart. We use the cart now in the living room. I don't have it "accessorized" properly right now. It is a work in progress. But we do love it! You can see it in the background in this pic:

We bought our cart from this site: http://www.shopsocietysocial.com/

The owner has a blog and talks about accessorizing the bar cart quite a bit, even seasonally!

A favorite pinboard from Pinterest ..... bars, books, fires ....

Just for some inspiration photos .....

Here is a link that might be useful: Bars, books, fires -- on of my fav pinboards

..... and another one of Home Bars ...... just for fun and ideas .....

Here is a link that might be useful: Pinterest -- Home Bars

teacats! OMG, I LOVE the stairway with the children's books! The only staircase in my house goes right up into the children's bunk room! I should do that!

i think one of the reasons booze isn't on display in alot of homes is because of the kids!
i think alot of people get rid of liquor bottles that are hanging around the house until their kids get older/out of the house--liability/ consequences are just too high... and also many people just prefer to drink wine or beer... there are alot of people with wine fridges.
but, there are some neat bottles that would look nice on display!

..... and a pin board of wonderful decorative and totally groovy bar carts .... always remember a wonderful house that we visited in England (back in the 70s) -- and the super elegant brass bar cart ....

Here is a link that might be useful: Pinterest -- Bar carts

We have a (built-in) liquor cabinet with rollout drawers. It is very well-stocked, and we keep it locked. Our 20 year old son is in college, and when he is home here (holidays and the summer) our house is the central gathering place for his friends, as it was throughout his school years. We don't want the liquor on display.

Don't particularly care for the carts. They're kind of 1960s and '70s. If you go that route, I think you have to dress up in a boa'd silky robe with high-heeled slippers with feathers on the toe part and get your hair done in a beehive for cocktail hour.

LOL! Tibbrix!! Sounds good to me! Just teasing! ...

Anyway -- I LOVE bar carts -- so cool and elegant! One of the best looking ones came from Ralph Lauren (no surprise! LOL!) Can't find a photo of one -- but a VERY elegant cart! :)

And there are SO many fascinating ways to decorate a bar or a cart too! And handy during parties (adults, of course) -- moves the crowd around the whole space!

Already have the cabinet so I don't need a bar cart. I'm just looking for inspiration for "staging" a tray of bottles and accessories on top of it.

Thanks for the ideas so far! Going to look at Pinterest now...

This is my favorite so far!

I like that last one. Have you ever looked at the liqueur bottles at stores? Many of them are beautiful! The bottles and the colors of the liqueurs. There's a blue one that's so pretty, can't think of the name of it.

I like that last one. Have you ever looked at the liqueur bottles at stores? Many of them are beautiful! The bottles and the colors of the liqueurs. There's a blue one that's so pretty, can't think of the name of it.

the last one looks like it is set up for a party... i think having a smaller collection of interesting bottles sitting out could be nice, but all the glassware, etc,etc and the rather typical bacardi's, etc bottles sitting out looks cluttered rather than cool, imo...
(i would leave the kahlua bottle out tho! lol! one of my favs!)

Busy, I know what you mean and I don't have enough space for all that stuff anyway (top of cabinet is about 30" x 16"). But I like the basket, the lamp, and for some reason, the San Pellegrino cans!

We keep decanters of Lillet and Aperol on the dining room sideboard for summer drinks. In winter one has spiced rum to slug in hot tea or cider, and there's usually vodka in the other. The decanters fit side by side on an ebony tray / stand thingie that came with them. The tray of Waterford old fashioneds is not always out but looks welcoming, unless the decanters are empty as they are now :-) When we have an inside party the bar is in the kitchen with the ice machine. There's a useless built in kitchen desk next to the ice maker and that holds glasses, alcohol, etc. We rarely have an open bar though, just a signature cocktail everyone is offered and very limited availability of other drinks except wine....unlimited wine, lol.

You have to be careful about storing alcohol in lead crystal decanters because the lead leaches into the alcohol. Unless you're buying a brand new decanter with tags, I don't know how you can determine the lead content in your piece. Mine are empty now on a silver tray. Except for looking pretty, there doesn't seem to be much point to them now.

Here is a link that might be useful: alcohol in crystal decanters

We have a bar area in the small entrance between our kitchen and living room. I used to keep a silver tray there with our preferred liquor (Scotch, Gin and Rum) in Waterford crystal decanters. It looked so elegant! I had some great monogramed bar napkins, a silver ice bucket and some great bar tools there, as well. And then, as Chickadee mentioned, I read an article about how unsafe it was to store wine in lead crystal decanters. (Sigh!) So the Waterford decanters now sit empty, displayed in our wine cab. The liquor is back in the bar cabinet. I do love the look but I hate to go out and buy glass decanters after spending so much money on the Waterford.
Lynn

We took a little used lingerie chest from our bedroom and put it in the corner of our DR, then a couple of bombay pieces on either side of it (a wine rack and small round table) and turned it into a bar area. It gets used a lot now that the kids are grown and everyone can have adult beverages. We never displayed liquor when they were younger....have to admit it's kind of fun now.

{{!gwi}}

We are moving in a month, so this isn't my ideal set up. But...

My husband drinks a lot of bourbons and such. So we always have those displayed. I think the key is having a tray to 'contain' the bottles. Also, I keep the so called ugly bottles out of sight.