DIY Garden Bar Ideas

Thinking of building a bar in your back garden and searching for some inspiration?

Discover some fun and creative DIY garden bar ideas suitable for a range of gardens and budgets.

The garden bar rose in popularity back in 2020 when we all started spending a lot more time at home and in the garden due to the COVID lockdown.

Although many of us are enjoying being back to visiting our local bars and restaurants, booking holidays abroad, and getting out and about, garden bars continue to be a firm favourite in garden landscape design.

Hosting at home has undoubtedly become more popular. From garden parties to family BBQs, many prefer to use and relax in the comfort and convenience of their own outside space when bringing family and friends together to celebrate or simply enjoy the summer sunshine.

When it comes to serving up the drinks, a garden bar not only looks the part, but it also offers the perfect space to play bartender when hosting a get-together.

Cocktail connoisseurs, gin enthusiasts, and beer lovers are finding all sorts of fun and innovative ways to create their own garden bar.

The DIY garden bar

While there is an increase in the number of pre-packed, ready-to-go garden bars available on the market, you simply can’t beat the personalisation, and sense of achievement, that comes with building a bar from scratch yourself.

With so many different materials to choose from, you really can go to town, creating a design exactly to suit your tastes and garden space as well as your budget.

If you’ve been toying with the idea of introducing a garden bar into your outside space, we’re here to share a little inspiration on all the different ways you can create the ultimate purpose-built zone.

We’ve got ideas for big and small gardens alike, smaller budgets, and space-saving solutions that work to double up with multifunctional purposes.

The shed bar

Image source: Readersheds.co.uk

Looking to create a bar that offers the ultimate serving hatch feel whilst doubling up as year-round storage? A shed is a great place to start.

Starting with four walls, a floor, a door, and a roof structure, you’ve already got a basic frame structure and entry and exit point to start your project.

How to make a garden bar out of a shed:

Use the shed window as a hatch to serve up your drinks. Depending on the shed you buy, you may have to experiment with creating a bigger serving hatch and reinforcing the structure with additional CLS timber.

The bar hatch itself can be made using softwood ply, which can be painted, stained, or even wrapped or tiled for effect.

The outside of the shed can also be painted and accessorised with personalised signage and hanging baskets, and to really top off the shed bar look, you could create a ground-level deck around the bar serving area.

And for the stools? Buy or visit your local car boot sale or tip to choose a selection of bar stools, which can be further upcycled to compliment shed bar design.

The stacked sleeper bar

We know we’re biased because we’re timber merchants, but we absolutely love sleepers as a multipurpose timber material for a range of garden projects.

And, when it comes to building an outdoor garden bar, sleepers don’t fall short as an ideal material.

Because they are robust, they are perfect for creating a bar frame, whilst offering a rustic decorative aesthetic appeal.

Building a bar using sleepers:

Which sleepers to choose?

Choose from French Oak sleepers or treated softwood sleepers for a more modern-looking bar feature that can be painted or stained.

Grey and white are trending as the garden palette of choice at the moment. The great thing about sleepers is that they can be painted or stained to any colour you like.

If it’s something a little more rough and ready with the traditional charm that you’re looking for, reclaimed Tropical Hardwood Sleepers are a winning choice.

The bar top is also something that can be created also using sleepers, or if you want to mix up between different materials, opt for plywood. This can be painted, stained or even covered with tiles or other timber. For the real wow-factor, you could collect beer bottle tops, corks or coins and set them in resin.

The cladded bar

Image source: Pinterest

Cladding is another material that is highly versatile, offering a wide range of uses aside from just being used to clad buildings.

If you have other buildings, such as garages, barns, sheds or even your home that has timber cladding exterior, a cladded bar is a superb way to create a complementary balance alongside other buildings and garden features.

How to create a garden bar using cladding:

Use CLS timber to create your bar frame to a size that works for your garden. Then, use softwood or OSB plywood to box in the frame, and finish off by cladding the outside of your bar.

For a traditional shabby chic look, opt for European Oak or Douglas Fir cladding. If it’s the modern look you’re going for, Siberian Larch and Western Red Cedar will provide a beautiful, clean finish.

The garden rooftop bar

Image source: Pinterest

Now when it comes to building a bar, sheet roofing may not be the first material that springs to mind, but hear us out on this one…

The industrial, mixed-material look is in. If you’re looking to achieve a look that sits somewhere in the middle of industrial and au-natural, this mixture of materials is an absolute winner.

As with the cladded bar, start by creating your bar frame using CLS timber. Then cut your roof sheets to size to create a panelled effect around the bar. This is a great way of upcycling old roofing sheets, but if you’re trying to achieve a more polished finish, we sell a range of roof sheets here at Equestrian Fencing

Of course, you can complement the bar panels by putting a roof over the bar. Much the same as you build the bar frame, build a second frame that supports the roof over your bar, to keep your drinks cool on those sunny days.

And for the bar top? You could go all out industrial and create a concrete bar top, or lean towards a more natural look using a timber top.

The wine barrel bar

Image source: Pinterest

If you’re a wine lover, this is the bar for you!

Old vintage wine barrels aren’t always easy to come by, but if you can get your hands on a pair, they are a fantastic way of creating an outside bar with extra character.

You can use the two barrels as supports for your bar top, which can be made out of sheet materials, or for something extra special, timber sleepers.

The fold-out wall bar

Image source: Pinterest

Gardens come in all shapes and sizes. Just because you have a smaller space to play with, it doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the garden bar fun.

Introducing the garden fold-out wall bar – a creative and inventive way of using vertical space for functional, adaptable, and summertime bar use.

How to build a foldout wall bar:

To create your foldout wall bar, you’ll need some sort of sheet material, which can be cut to size and further reinforced with other materials.

You could also use CLS timber to create a box-in effect, so you can store away cocktail mixing kits, glasses, and other bar-top equipment throughout the year.

The Hazel Hurdle bar

Hazel Hurdles are typically used to create a natural, yet softer way of fencing off or breaking up garden spaces to create multifunctional zones. Because of their unique look, they are also a brilliant option for creating a decoratively panelled garden bar.

How to build an outdoor bar using hazel hurdles:

Just in the same way as you build the frame for the rooftop bar (using CLS timber), you can create panelled sides using the hazel hurdles.

For a clean, reinforced look, you could use sleepers to cover the attachment to the CLS bar frame and hazel hurdles.

And for the bar top? To complete the natural look, use 20x50mm planks of wood such as Kiln Dried Oak PAR or Kiln-dried Iroko PAR.

Shop online for all of your garden bar material needs at Equestrian Fencing

The decking rail bar

Image source: Pinterest

Thinking of building a deck with a rail edge in your garden? Why not double-up the functional purpose of your newest garden feature by incorporating a bar into the design?

This is probably the most simple and easy way of creating a garden bar, but equally, a highly effective way of personalising your decking to work for your needs and creating a multifunctional space.

And, when the bar feature isn’t being used as a bar, it can be used as a table or a serving spot for BBQ food!

Create the bar top using sheet material, or using a show-stopping piece of timber!

Ready to start building your garden bar?

Shop online from a wide range of materials for your next DIY project.