L Shaped Outdoor Bar

Tara Gosselin Interior Design Expert

Tara is a San Antonio-based award-winning landscape architect, writer and educator, passionate about eco-friendly solutions and growing her own food. She knows all it takes to help you create a sustainable backyard retreat that combines blissful charm with a modern take on landscaping.

Updated 22/04/2021

Use it for barbequing, for cocktail hour, or put a ethanol fireplace on top. Any way you want it, these L-shaped outdoor bars are ready and able to accommodate. Made of good, solid materials, and able to withstand the elements, an L-shaped outdoor bar is just the ticket if you want a new fixture to give your backyard an update. See collection for ideas.

Buying Guide

An outdoor bar that is shaped like the capital letter L makes a handy place to keep all the things you need to serve a party or event. let's consider its benefits and look at some of the available designs.

What are the benefits of an L-shaped outdoor bar?

The angled arms of an L-shaped bar create a protected space for people who are trying to work and help keep extra hands from making drinks in unauthorized ways. If your event involves charging a fee or collecting tokens for drinks, it is easy to stow a cash box under the top shelf.

What are some popular L-shaped outdoor bar ideas?

The Folding L Shaped Outdoor Bar

A folding L shaped outdoor bar makes it easy to contain your equipment, cash box, and other things by stashing it all on the shelves and then closing the bar – literally. When the two sets of shelves meet, it is a simple matter to add a hasp and a padlock to keep your merchandise and cash box at least minimally protected. If your goal is simply to keep certain items protected so that they can be a surprise, this configuration works very well.

Built-In Bar

An L shaped built-in bar can contain several utility items that could be of great service if you have a crowd of guests. A small refrigerator and even a small sink can be installed, making just about any preparation easier. Although it won’t close, if it is next to a wall, a gate can be installed to use as crowd control. If the guests are impetuous youngsters, this is a big help toward keeping small fingers out of the cupcake icing.

Low Bar with Fire Pit

You can just as easily add a table-top fire pit to one leg of your bar, making a place to warm pots, toast marshmallows or wieners. Make the other leg of the L the place where drinks, plates, bread and condiments are located and you have got your party on a roll. Everything is conveniently placed for dispensing in a way that will allow you to interact with your guests while keeping those with an excessive sweet tooth from charring too many bits of fluffy goo into gastronomic insults. With a little coaxing, you might even be able to get some of them to try a few things off a veggie plate!

How do you choose the right size bar stools for an outdoor bar?

A well-tested rule of thumb is to allow 10 to 12 inches of space between the seat and the underside of the counter. Don't forget to leave enough room between each bar stool so people can sit comfortably and get up with ease. The space between two stools should be no less than 6 inches.

Think about your comfort as a bartender, too. No one wants to dispense goodies to a party or sell things all day long while continuously standing. Choose a stool with a comfortable padded seat and possibly with a backrest. A footrest goes a long way in helping you to relieve your feet.

There are many creative ways to use and L shaped outdoor bar to your advantage. You can use it for parties – large or small, and you can use it as a counter behind which to keep a cash box or other useful things.