Pouring it on

It is often advantageous for businesses to have liquid assets, but when discussing wet bars, the concept takes on an entirely new meaning.

Trish Burgess, CKD for St. Simons Island, GA-based Kitchen & Bath Concepts of St. Simons, explains: “I have found that our company makes the same, or greater, profit margins on wet bars as on kitchens. Often, the materials are very high grade and the time spent on drawing and planning is not nearly as much as in a large, highly detailed kitchen.”

“Any time you add more cabinetry and countertops to a home’s layout, a salesperson is also adding more to the total package – and naturally that translates to a greater design and sales commission,” reports Burgess. “I put the same markup on wet bars as on kitchens and thus, the return is the same as with kitchens.”

For designers to reap the rewards of a wet bar project, however, it is vital that they understand the needs of the space – and the client, says Eliot Mohr, president of Kitchen/Interior Showcase, a division of Mohr & Company in Spokane, WA.

“We try to assess our client’s lifestyle to determine what the design should be, and what accessories to include,” he offers.

Dawn Wattles, AKBD and design consultant for Indianapolis, IN-based Cabinetry Ideas, stresses: “The floor plan of the wet bar directly relates to the space and the function the homeowner is looking for.”

Jeani Lee, CKD, CBD for Ames, IA-based Kitchen, Bath & Home notes: “I think the profit center for kitchen and bath dealers comes from educating clients. Then it becomes their choice. But you’re providing a great service for clients by bringing up wet bars, because you’re adding a level of convenience to their lives that allows them to de-stress.”

Julian McKinney, senior designer and general manager for Wilmington, NC-based Wilmington Kitchens, adds: “In new construction, our architects are including them, so we become a supplier for something the client already wanted. It also creates an extra serving area and storage area for dinner parties. Lastly, it is a specialty area, so it holds the beverage bottles and the mixers.”

Mohr adds that wet bars sometimes represent a status symbol of sorts. “Because of that, budgets can be more generous than one would expect,” he reports.

“People are definitely investing more money than ever before in their bars because they wish to show them off,” adds Burgess.

Lay of the Land

Wet bars are typically designed in the form of an L- or U-shape, where the bartender will stand behind it and guests would sit around it, or as a galley-style where the bar is set into the wall, according to Stephen Klassen, general manager for Scottsdale, AZ-based Affinity Kitchen Design Group.

“The main benefit of a wet bar is that of easing, or entirely eliminating, the crowding that usually takes place in the kitchen when homeowners are entertaining,” says Burgess.

But it’s the versatility of wet bars that makes them so valuable, according to Wattles.

“More people are in the kitchen at once, so we are now creating zones that allow more activities to take place at once,” she comments. “The wet bar [follows this idea], as it is often a zone not just for drinks, but snacks as well.”

Burgess notes that wet bars can also function as a morning kitchen, depending upon location, or serve as a kitchenette for overnight guests.

According to Lee, designers look to figure out where the stress loads are, and then try to alleviate those issues.

To that end, it’s important to always include a dishwasher and refrigerator in the wet bar space, notes Jolynn Johnson, CMKBD, CAPS and president of Crystal Kitchen Center in Crystal, MN. “That way, it serves as an additional storage area, and you don’t have to run between the main kitchen and the wet bar” to retrieve items.