Great Bars in Small Spaces

Stacey and Doug prepare food before the kitchen's massive wall of soothing tile from Heath Ceramics.

No room for a built-in bar? Wing it, like architect Cass Calder Smith did in his SoHo apartment, with a modern cabinet, trays to hold bottles and glasses, and a roaring “fire.”Photo by Brian Finke.

Arthur carved the Indiana limestone–clad bar out of an awkward space in the hallway.

"I think that small spaces inherently demand inventiveness," architect Michael Chen says. So when a client presented him with a brief to create a multi-functional element that was kitted out with refrigeration, storage, a beer tap, a humidor, and a dining area, Chen created what he calls a magic box. It boasts an army of features, but discreetly hides them all when not in use. "Sometimes we call them architectural appliances or transformers because that’s what they do," Chen says. "Conceptually they are appliances; experientially we like to think of them as magic boxes because they’re fun in that way."

Designer Jen Turner’s NewYorker, is a desk and a bar in one designed for a high-functioning studio apartment. Best of all, the casters allow you to wheel it away when you are finished.

The architect worked carefully to create ample storage for myriad uses, since the space doubles as a wet bar for entertaining due to its proximity to a garden terrace.