The Latest Log Cabin Lowdown: The Parent Pub At The End Of The Garden

By Guest Contributor Dakota Murphey

(Image: iStock)

Anyone who has young kids will know the days of spontaneously popping to the pub are well and truly over. Life is now a merry-go-round of cancelled dinner dates (you invited people over, but ran out of steam, or the also-parents you invited ran out of steam), take-away pizzas and upgraded bottles of plonk. Now you’re not going to the pub, you feel entitled to the top shelf supermarket bottles of wine, rather than the 2 for £10 deals. And rightfully so.

To be honest, even inviting friends over for food has become a somewhat mammoth operation. Your hours spent socialising are dwindling and it’s not by design. It just happened. Cleaning up the house, cooking something special and holding court with friends is starting to fill you with dread. It used to be such fun. What happened? Life with kids. That’s what happened.

Well the lowdown in the world of log cabins (or big sheds) is if the mountain won’t come to Muhammed, then Muhammed must go to the mountain. Turning your log cabin or shed into a bar isn’t a bad idea at all. It shifts the entertaining focus onto a few drinks (you don’t have to cook – crisps and olives will do), plus there’s no need to tidy the whole house. Hopefully you’ve got a downstairs loo that friends can nip to from the garden bar. Keep doors closed so it’s just the route through to the bathroom you’ll have to keep clean.

There are bonuses in entertaining friends at the end of the garden. If one of you needs to sneak off to bed, you have the excuse of the children. And there’s no noise in the house so you can be sure of some zzzs, while your partner keeps the party going. You’ll be popular on your street for sure, and there’ll be no more pub prices.

We’ve put together some rather fantastic shed to bar makeovers, along with some top tips to make your log cabin into a special social hub.

The Balcony Bar

Designer Diner

Downtown Manhattan

(Image via: Cool Material)

Old School

The Ultimate Traditional Boozer

Shiver Me Timbers

(Image via: Next Luxury)

Top Tips For Your Shed To Bar Makeover

You could quite frankly spend a fortune turning your humble shed or sleek log cabin into an alcoholic watering hole. Ultimately though, if you are turning your back on hosting dinner parties and pub outings, the savings will come fast. Here are 6 tips for your shed-to-bar project.

1. Planning permission – if you’re starting from scratch, depending on the size of the shed you are considering, you may need to check with your local council to see if you need planning permission to erect an out building. Yes, we know it’s only a shed, but there are rules.
2. What sort of things do you want inside? If you want an actual bar it will add to the cost. Using reclaimed wood to make a bar could be a good idea if you fancy a carpentry project. Checkout freecycle.org to see if there’s anything else going you could upcycle (bar stools, glasses, a rug). You’ll need to consider whether you want a particular theme or style.
3. For all things pub related, take a look at www.pubshop.co.uk. They’ve got everything you need from cask taps to ice machines.
4. Do you want electricity (for refrigeration, ice machines, lighting)? Or maybe you prefer to go rustic with solar lighting and battery candles (forget the real ones, they are a fire hazard for your wooden structure). Of course you could drag an extension lead out there for your mini fridge and put yourself up a string of festoon lights.
5. The booze (nearly there). If you really want it to feel like a bar, you’ll need more than a few beers and a couple of bottles of wine. You haven’t got to drink it all in one night remember. Pick your favourite spirits and get yourself some optics – wall mounted or a stand. Are you going for a beer keg and a pump? It’s an expense, but you’ll be the coolest dude on the block. You’ll also need soft drinks (for mixers of course), and a range of glasses.
6. Finally, the name. Oh come on that’s all part of the fun isn’t it?  OK if you’re too cool for names, at least a sign.

(Image: Not On The High Street)

This article was brought to you by Dakota Murphey, a (BA Hons) marketing graduate working alongside Hortons UK Log Cabins.

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