5 tips for choosing a minibar for home and office

Mini-bars were once an attribute of expensive hotels, then migrated to offices, and today they are found in an increasing number of apartments. The one who happened to have treatment with him, for sure, was able to appreciate its many advantages. The minibar is a great place for expensive alcohol, because there are supported optimal conditions for its storage, and when guests suddenly come home, a collection of wines, whiskeys and liquors will be very useful. We will figure out how to choose a minibar for home and office and what is important to pay attention to. A decent range of built-in models is offered by the catalog of mini-bars of the Dar-Mebel store, where products of different price categories are presented.

No. 1. What is a minibar?

The people call the mini-bar and small refrigerators, and vinotheques, and storage facilities built into furniture items for several bottles of alcohol and glasses. Minibar is compact refrigerated cabinet designed for storing drinks. The useful volume of such devices does not exceed 90 liters. Products with a volume of more than 70 liters can have a small freezer compartment.

Many first heard about the existence of minibars from Western films. They have always been an attribute of expensive hotel rooms, and today are actively used in many domestic hotels. Hotel minibars are often equipped with a transparent door so that the client can get acquainted with the assortment of drinks without opening the refrigerator. Some hotels equip minibars with a special sensor, which immediately collects information about which drink was withdrawn and how much it costs.

In offices and apartments, such sensors are useless, but many have long appreciated the opportunity to always have a decent range of quality drinks on hand. When it comes to offices, mini-bars are usually installed in executive offices or in the office kitchen. Despite the fact that today you will not surprise anyone with such a product, the minibar continues to remain symbol of prestige and respectability. In the apartment, a multi-bar can be installed anywhere, except, of course, a children's room. The best places are in living room, on the the kitchen and in office.

No. 2. Minibar Design

The first thing to decide when choosing a minibar is what it should be, built-in or freestanding. Embedded products are often chosen for hotel rooms, as well as offices where you do not need to focus on the presence of such a product. In residential apartments, built-in minibars are also very popular. The wine cabinet can be conveniently positioned in a wall, table, armchair or other piece of furniture. An additional plus is that you don’t have to spend time and energy searching for a model that would fit into the interior, because only the technical parameters come to the fore, and here it is already easier to make a choice.

Free-standing minibars are often performed in an interesting and exclusive design. It may resemble a small wooden chest of drawers with several drawers and swinging drawers - a great option for an office or living room in a classic style. There are cabinets that resemble a safe or even a microwave - an option for an interior in style high tech and minimalism. When choosing a minibar, it’s worth it to think very carefully how much it fits into interior.

Minibar Doors can be transparent or not, performance materials can be combined, and departments can be from one to three or more - there are a lot of interesting and exclusive options.

As for useful volume, then small office minibars are usually designed for 20-30 liters, equipped with several shelves and can accommodate a basic set of drinks necessary for this kind of product: vodka, whiskey, cognac, champagne, white and red wine, tequila, gin and several soft drinks . Larger minibars, up to 70 liters, can accommodate an even more diverse collection of alcohol: a good option for those who always want to have a large selection of drinks or often arrange friendly gatherings with a glass of something strong. Models with a volume of 70-90 liters are more difficult to find, but they can even have a freezer compartment: real connoisseurs of high-quality alcohol will find application in this area.

This does not concern the topic, but we note that the minibar is supposed to be equipped only with expensive high-quality alcohol.

No. 3. Minibar cooling system

Mini-bars and mini-fridges are often confused. Indeed, these two types of devices have much in common, but minibars are distinguished by the presence of transparent or decorated doors and quieter operation. The thing is that they are usually equipped with an unusual compressor cooling systemand absorption or thermoelectric: they not only make less noise, but also allow more rational use of the interior space of the minibar, which is very important, given the initially small format of this product.

The most expensive option is adsorption cooling. This is a modern reliable system that is completely silent. But in terms of price / quality ratio is much better thermoelectric refrigerators: the noise from them is barely audible (it is so low that the product can be safely placed in the bedroom), such minibars are cheaper than adsorption ones, easier to repair and consume less energy.

Minibars continue to be used today compressor type. Modern technologies can significantly reduce noise, and in other respects the compressor system is not inferior to analogues. Often it’s such minibars that are placed in offices, apartments, in not the most expensive hotels, and even on cottages.

Number 4. Temperature mode

Before buying a minibar, it is worth deciding which drinks will be stored there. There are products designed to store only one or several drinks that require approximately the same temperature conditions. If you plan to store an extensive and rich collection of alcohol in the minibar, it is better to take multi temperature model, where in some parts of the bar is supported, for example, 6-7⁰C, and in others - 15-17⁰C. The freezer compartment also sometimes will not be superfluous.

No. 5. Alternative to mini bar

A collection of expensive alcohol can be stored not only in the refrigerator. Connoisseurs of good spirits have come up with a huge number of options for storing alcohol at home, and in such a way that the vault becomes a work of art and a highlight of the interior, or, conversely, attracts a minimum of attention.

Often a minibar is organized in this way:

• use special racks or wine shopswhere the bottles will be stored horizontally or tilted. In terms of size and design, such racks can be anything - only at the first acquaintance with the assortment the head can go round. Vinotheque can be an independent item or built into another piece of furniture. Height ranges from 50 cm to 2 m, the number of places for bottles - from 3 to almost infinity. Some models are also equipped with places for storing glasses and other necessary attributes;

  

  

  

  

  
  
• pedestal with a folding or swinging door. In the old days, the minibar was built into some walls, its space was made using mirrors to make drinks look more profitable.Today, such bars have been modernized, but the idea has remained the same;

  

  

  

  
  
• globes, barrels and other items that at first glance are just decor, but in fact hide enough space for storing alcohol. This is a great option for the office of the head, home office and living room;

  

  

  

  
  
• transformer bars - products that can turn their simple bar into a small one rack;
• tables on castors and whatnots;
• small bar maybe built into a sofa or chair, and organize the place so that you can store and bottles, and glasses, and a corkscrew.

There can still be many options, but all minibars can be conditionally divided into openwhen the whole collection is in sight closed and portablewhich can be easily moved if necessary. If you don’t have the money to buy a separate minibar, you can arrange a place for storage on kitchen shelves or in cabinets.

If in a regular minibar (the refrigerator) optimal conditions are maintained for storing drinks, then when organizing a bar in another place, it will be necessary to observe a number of conditions for alcohol to retain its original taste:

• wine should not be stored in direct sunlight, it also requires strictly defined conditions in terms of humidity and temperature. In addition, the angle of storage of the bottles is important, so it is better to store the collection of wine in a special wine cabinet, then it definitely will not ferment;
• it is better to keep the liquor warm, since in the cold the drink may become cloudy;
• cognac, vodka and whiskey are stored strictly vertically, with minimal humidity, in cool;
• all alcoholic drinks are afraid of direct sunlight.

There can be a huge number of options for the execution of the minibar, and the finished copy can be modified to your liking. Illumination, mirrors and other decorative elements can become an excellent decoration - the main thing is that everything is harmonious and functional. It is better if the minibar is always full, so when choosing you need to very clearly understand how much alcohol you will store.