Coffee Bar Ideas: How to Create a Coffee Bar Area in Your Kitchen (2024)

As you sit in your breakfast nook sipping your morning coffee, let’s pretend for a moment…

…that you’re sitting outside in a small rustic wrought-iron chair. It’s pulled up to a round table with ornate wrought-iron legs and a lacquered marble top. This beautiful antique table has just enough chips, dents, and scratches to give away that it’s been sitting in this spot for the better part of a century. To your left, water gently trickles out of a weathered fountain, and to your right are quaint buildings with ivy crawling up their sides.

A small smile spreads across your face as the sun beams down and warms your skin. Your oversized sunglasses and sun hat are making you feel deliciously mysterious. You gracefully stretch out your hand and hook your fingers around a petite espresso cup. Like a seasoned coffee bean connoisseur, you first take a whiff, and then a neat sip, without the slightest smear to your fabulous lipstick. You allow the chocolatey fullness of the medium Italian roast to linger just a moment before swallowing it down. Divine.

You watch with pure contentment as a yellow butterfly flutters past a charming row of manicured boxwoods, down an age-old stone path, and into the neighboring open vineyard, where it gets lost in a ray of sunshine. A waving woman calls out, “Ciao!”, as she rides past on her bicycle, and two happy kids run by with cones of dripping gelato.

*Sigh*

If this lovely scene has you saying “Take me there, pronto!” then we’re in the same (gondola-style) boat! However, if you’re like me, a trip to an authentic European café may not be in the cards at the moment.

But you know what they say….if you can’t go to the café of your dreams, you bring the café of your dreams to you! That’s exactly what I’ve done when I’ve created home kitchen coffee bar areas I love, and I’m going to show you how.

With a few simple decor items and a slice of creativity, you can bring the charm of your favorite café right into the comfort of your own home.

So hold on to your sunhat and chug the rest of your espresso, because these charming coffee bar ideas are about to re-energize your space!

Where should I put my coffee bar at home?

The nice thing about creating a coffee bar in your home is that you can make it as big, small, extensive, or minimal as you want. From a small little corner of counter space, to a free-standing piece of furniture, like a hutch or buffet, you can literally turn any space you want into your coffee bar that has an electrical outlet.

So far, I’ve got four different coffee bar creations under my belt. We had three iterations of a coffee bar at our old house, and then the current one we’ve designed in our new home. As our spatial needs changed, renovations took place, and a big move to a new house happened, our coffee bar area evolved each time. And each iteration has aspects that I love!

Read on as I show you each one of my coffee bar creations, to spark ideas for what could work in your home.

Kitchen Coffee Bar Ideas

1. DIY Coffee Bar Idea: Coffee Bar Cart + Shelves

The location of my very first DIY coffee station was a wall between our pantry and dining room doorway.

It had an upper cabinet touching the right side of the wall, which we put a desk underneath. This made a nice little work station.

To the left of the desk, we built a coffee cart and installed matching shelves above. And just like that, my very first coffee bar area was born!

I was in love with having a designated coffee area and the rolling cart worked great for a while. But eventually the desk morphed into a catch-all for kitchen piles; the place where paperwork went to stagnate.

My beloved coffee cart area was caught up in an eyesore!

I started itching for a refresh. It was time for coffee bar area #2!

2. Long Foyer Table Coffee Bar

For “operation coffee bar area refresh”, my husband and I rolled up our sleeves and got to work!

First, we ripped out the upper cabinet above the desk. Then we repurposed the desk, bar cart, and shelves. I patched up the wall and painted it with a fresh coat of my favorite gray paint color – Benjamin Moore Gray Owl.

We now had adequate space and a fresh, blank slate to work with.

I found a gorgeous long foyer table that was perfectly proportionate to the space. I love the way it played off the other weathered wood finishes of the room. This farmhouse coffee bar solved the style, function, and beauty that I was needing for my coffee bar area.

Now this space was free from clutter! I was able to store coffee filters, coffee cups, and other odds and ends inside the table’s hidden drawers. And its bottom shelf provided the perfect storage for some of my taller kitchen pieces that tend to float around looking for a home.

At first, I struggled with coffee bar decor ideas. I wasn’t sure what artwork to hang above the table. I kept hearing my husband’s voice in my head complaining about not having a clock in the kitchen… and then it clicked.

I bought a clock so giant that it gave, “What was that you were complaining about…?” vibes.

And I got a little chuckle every time I’d walk past it.

I absolutely love cozy winter decorating, and for this table I used a little chalkboard art and the cutest mitten garland!

A long foyer table like this one is the perfect coffee bar idea for a large empty wall in your kitchen or dining room.

3. Cozy Countertop Nook Coffee Station

In 2019, we underwent a full kitchen renovation. So this sparked coffee bar iteration #3!

I ended up creating a coffee bar station using a cozy little nook on the kitchen counter. This coffee station was more simplified. It was a back-to-basic rendition!

Our kitchen reno included floating shelves, and since my coffee station was right below them, it was the perfect place for my favorite mugs.

My minimalist coffee station consisted of:

• A coffee maker
• A jar of decanted ground coffee
• A French press
• A small ceramic container holding sweeteners

I added a couple of bread boards as a backdrop, and a friendly potted plant, and my simple coffee station was good to go! I wanted to stop here with items I displayed on the countertop, so I stored coffee filters in a separate drawer.