Once in the kitchen, coffee was something you made with little thought, but fast-forward to now, when the country has fallen in love with proper coffee at home. And with that shift has come one of the most requested features in the kitchen we design at Planet Furniture: the bespoke coffee bar.
Searches for coffee bars have risen by 29% in the UK this year alone, and demand in the premium kitchen market is climbing even faster. In our showroom, we always chat to a client, asking whether we can build them a dedicated coffee zone into their new kitchen. Some already own a beautiful espresso machine, but want it to live somewhere it deserves. Others are planning to invest in one and want the joinery designed around it from the start. Either way, the appetite is unmistakable.
Here is why the bespoke coffee bar has become so central to premium kitchen design in 2026, and how a really good one comes together.
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The bespoke coffee bar is one of the most perfect examples of a luxurious kitchen design. You can now enjoy your morning coffee, poured into a warm cup, from a beautifully made machine, in a bespoke handmade kitchen designed around exactly how you like to drink it.
If you’d like to design a bespoke coffee bar for your next kitchen, we’d love to help. At Planet Furniture, every kitchen we build starts with a single conversation about how you really live and the beautifully considered details. Every kitchen is handmade in our Hertfordshire workshop and installed across Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Bedfordshire, London and the wider Home Counties.
Book an appointment at our Hitchin showroom or get in touch to start the conversation. We look forward to hearing from you.
The Short Answer
A bespoke coffee bar is a purpose-built zone within the kitchen where the machine, grinder, beans, cups and accessories all live in one considered place. The best ones are planned around the machine itself, then given a discreet plumbed water supply, a pull-out drawer for used grounds, an integrated fridge drawer for milk and a warming drawer so cups are warmed before pouring. Position it near the entrance to the kitchen so the first person up can start the routine without crossing the room, and finish it in the same materials as the rest of the cabinetry so it reads as part of the room rather than a specialist appliance zone.Why the Coffee Bar has Arrived
Several reasons have brought a coffee bar into the heart of the modern kitchen. To start with, the quality of home coffee equipment has improved dramatically over the past decade. Machines that you see in cafés are now widely available for domestic use, and the standard of the coffee they produce, provided you look after them, is genuinely excellent. Having a serious espresso setup at home is no longer an aspiration; it’s achievable and increasingly expected. We use our kitchens differently now; mornings are longer, coffee breaks have become small moments of ritual rather than functional pit stops. With more time spent in the kitchen throughout the day, the appliances and habits have shaped those moments today. Coffee culture itself has grown more sophisticated, and homeowners now explore beans, grinders, water temperature, milk texture and cup pre-warming. Naturally, a kitchen designed for that level of care needs to reflect it, which is exactly where the bespoke coffee bar comes in.
What a Bespoke Coffee Bar Really Is
At its heart, a bespoke coffee bar is a purpose-built zone within the kitchen where everything related to your daily coffee ritual lives in one considered, beautifully composed place. It stores the machine, grinder, beans, cups, mugs and accessories. Every element of the routine is gathered into a single, thoughtfully designed corner of the room. In a handmade kitchen, the coffee bar doesn’t need to look like a café either. It can be tucked beautifully behind a set of pocket doors or bi-fold doors that close it away when it isn’t in use, slotted into a full-height column of cabinetry, or built as a small run of its own alongside the main kitchen. The form varies; however, the principle remains the same, and the coffee ritual gets its own dedicated home, designed around how you really drink it.
What a Really Good Coffee Bar Includes
Once you’ve decided that a coffee bar is going into your new kitchen, the next question is what actually goes into it. In our experience, the best bespoke coffee bars share a similar story. The machine, of course, leads the design, and the whole coffee bar is planned around it. Alongside the machine sits the grinder, which has its own place. Sitting above this, there can be a shallow cupboard to store filters, cleaning supplies and the small tools associated with the craft. Cups and mugs get their own home, too. Some clients prefer them on open display, arranged neatly on a shelf that catches the daylight. Others prefer them hidden behind a bespoke drawer or cupboard, and sometimes they can be found in the warming drawer, so espresso and flat whites are poured into a properly warmed cup, exactly as they should be. Below the machine, the practical touches make all the difference. Add a pull-out waste drawer for used grounds and pucks and a discreet plumbed water supply so nobody is forever filling a jug. Incorporate a generous, water-friendly worktop, and you could also include a small integrated fridge drawer for milk, so the whole ritual can be completed without leaving the coffee bar at all. Around it, the finishing touches earn their place. Add a stone splashback or a glamorous mirrored backdrop and discreet LED strip lighting inside the cabinetry to highlight the features and contents. Place power outlets into the correct positions from the outset, hidden neatly rather than trailing across a beautiful worktop. The best feeling is that it will have the same materials and finishes as the rest of the kitchen. The coffee bar will always feel like a considered part of the room rather than a specialist appliance zone.
Where to Put the Coffee Bar in the Kitchen
Positioning the coffee bar is important, and it only really works if it is placed where the family naturally reaches for it. In most homes, that means somewhere near the entrance to the kitchen, so the first person up in the morning can start the routine without crossing the whole room. Place it in a quiet corner of the kitchen, and it can double as a hosting station during gatherings. In a larger, open-plan kitchen, we sometimes design the coffee bar into a run of cabinetry that sits between the kitchen and the wider living area. This positions it for both family morning rituals and entertaining moments, all in a beautifully made piece of joinery. Wherever it lives, the goal is the same. Coffee should feel effortless, and the ritual should have room to breathe.
How Planet Furniture Approaches the Bespoke Coffee Bar
At Planet Furniture, every bespoke coffee bar we design starts with a conversation about how you actually drink your coffee. Are you a serious espresso drinker with a particular machine in mind? A flat white household? A bean-to-cup family that values speed on weekday mornings and something more ritualistic at the weekend? Do you host often and want to offer proper coffee to your guests? From these answers, the joinery, storage solutions and layout are all designed around your daily routine. The cabinetry, timber, finishes and hardware will match the rest of the kitchen exactly, so the coffee bar reads as part of the room rather than an addition to it. Everything is handmade in our British workshop; the piece is built to absorb the daily wear of a serious coffee lover. Additionally, we have close relationships with premium appliance brands, where we can guide you through a great choice of machines and integrated refrigeration.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a bespoke coffee bar?
A bespoke coffee bar is a purpose-built zone within the kitchen where the machine, grinder, beans, cups, mugs and accessories all live in one considered place. In a handmade kitchen it can be tucked behind pocket or bi-fold doors, slotted into a full-height column of cabinetry, or built as a small run of its own alongside the main kitchen.
What should a bespoke coffee bar include?
The machine leads the design, with the grinder beside it and a shallow cupboard above for filters and cleaning supplies. The best coffee bars also add a pull-out waste drawer for used grounds, a discreet plumbed water supply, a water-friendly worktop, an integrated fridge drawer for milk and a warming drawer so cups are properly warmed before pouring.
Where should the coffee bar go in the kitchen?
Most work best near the entrance to the kitchen, so the first person up in the morning can start the routine without crossing the whole room. A quiet corner also lets the coffee bar double as a hosting station during gatherings. In larger open-plan kitchens it can sit in a run of cabinetry between the kitchen and the wider living area.
Can a coffee bar be hidden away when it is not in use?
Yes. Pocket doors or bi-fold doors close the whole zone away completely, leaving the worktop clear and the room calm. Because the cabinetry, timber and finishes match the rest of the kitchen exactly, the coffee bar reads as part of the room rather than a specialist appliance zone.
Does a coffee bar need a plumbed water supply?
It is not essential, but it is one of the details clients appreciate most, because nobody is forever filling a jug. A discreet plumbed supply is designed in from the first sketch, along with power outlets placed in the correct positions from the outset, hidden neatly rather than trailing across a beautiful worktop.
Does Planet Furniture design bespoke coffee bars?
Yes. Every coffee bar we design starts with a conversation about how you actually drink your coffee, then the joinery, storage and layout are built around that routine. You can see full installations at our Hitchin showroom, and because our kitchens are bespoke and handmade, we design the cabinetry around the machine you choose.
