Place the books on the middle shelf with nice bookends. Stow the shakers and gear inside the cabinet. Center the liqueur tray under the shelf.

Get a plant and a table lamp for the countertop.

Corks can be glued to a backing and framed for a nice bulletin board somewhere. Real cork, not the new ones.

Paint the stairwall a deep dark color, A rich brown, navy, burgundy, black, something to blend with the cabinet. Merchandise the shelves as you would a liquor store.

Is the art Bar related? something bolder, that you can see from a distance.

Place the silver tray where your books are now, as if to use to serve a guest.

I'd place the books On the 2nd shelf, some stacked and some upright, with a bar tool as a bookend. Imagine how you use the flat surface.... mixing a drink.

Place your silver shakers and implements on the shelf beneath the glasses. They are crammed where they are now.

Remove the picture. It is an odd place to hang something. Place your books on the middle section of the top surface and get a nice plant for the far right section where your books are currently located.

Don't over decorate this area. It is functional, nice furniture.

Thank you all for your suggestions.and feedback! I purchased this furniture from PB before NY but have been struggling with decorating it. I placed the books on the middle shelf as suggested and I can remove the big books once I find the right bookends. I used the plant that I have just to get started. (I can look for a different plant and pot.) I took 2 photos with the tray on the bottom shelf and to the right. Maybe I need to get a different rectangular tray?

Sorry, can’t figure out how to remove duplicate photos

A rectangular tray will be better. The current one is too crowded

I would stow some of the liquer bottles. Just leave out the decorative ones, or the ones you use most frequently. I like the books on the shelf. If it were me, I would have a shaker, or a good martini pitcher out as part of the tableau .

I love the use of space. Nice idea. I like the winery framed picture too.

Check craft stores for cork ideas. You can make them into trays or trivits. Or get a wire cork collector. They come in fun shapes that may look good on your bar.

I like your first set of new pics with the booze in the shelf space instead of on the open counter. Just get a large rectangular tray instead so there is some space and the bottles can be spread out a bit more.

Just get a nice tall glass vase to toss the corks into. It is a casual, not too fussy way to display the corks.

Kendra, inspired by your picture, I just dug out my very tall crystal champagne ice bucket and threw my ”collection” of wine corks into it and placed it on the bar. 🥂

I’d attempt to create more of a feel of a designated bar area. Consider puck lights on shelving and creating two zones that work well together.

Left for storage/display: on second shelf add high ball glasses and underneath spread out the bottles on a larger tray that complements the ice bucket.

Right for prep/utensils and accessories: cutting board, ice bucket, and only display a few books in an interesting way (the others are always handy in a drawer). Etsy has a cute cork idea for your wall if interested.

These are postcards of wine labels we picked up at a winery in Italy years ago. Perhaps you could find something similar to frame and hang over your bar. It’s looking lovely.

Your bar spot is turning out nicely!
Kendrah has a good suggestion regarding the corks (keep it simple)and using a bigger rectangular tray for the bottles.
If the cork vase is slim enough,it can sit on the floor at left side.
I feel that the books should be kept on the open right side of the console...they are then easy to pick up
for browsing without having to carefully extricate them from the shelf.Keep the second shelf for the most used bar tools.
A lush plant can go beside the books,but you may reconsider having a pointy eye assassinating sword like menace waiting there!
Trying out each of the different set ups for ease of use will help you settle on your favorite.

I don't know why the suggestion to take the art down. It looked good to me and it looks bare there now.

Thank you all! I will do some shopping this week and report back with photos!

A few small updates. I found a rectangular tray and a glass container in Homegoods. They are not quite the right ones but just to see how it looks. I’ve ordered a different tray and will get another glass vase (that one had a defect). I tried to play with the book placement. Still looking for bookends. The silver basket on the middle shelf is just to fill the space but I am thinking maybe put a plant there? Still struggling with the space on the low cabinets.

Nice! with regard to the books. I like the first picture best. Upright near the plant.

with regard to the barware, I like the added basket so the shelf is better balanced.

For the booze, I would stow some inside the cabinets, but I love the tray on the bottom shelf.

Nice job!