AARP Hearing Center
Merlisa Lawrence Corbett,
People who love coffee really love coffee. Whether it’s for the ritual, the health benefits, or just for the wake-up jolt the brew provides, more people are drinking cups of joe. And those java sippers are getting used to the high-end experience they receive in coffee shops and want to recreate it at home.
In the last two years, Nancy and Mike Macon, owners of furniture and home decor shop Just Repurposed in Hanceville, Alabama, have noticed a huge increase in customer requests for coffee stations — cabinets designed to house everything needed to enjoy America’s favorite beverage. “As soon as we make them, we sell them,” she says.
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Sixty-six percent of Americans now drink coffee each day, according to the National Coffee Association, which in March reported a 14 percent increase in consumption since January 2021 — the largest increase since the organization began tracking data. This has pumped up demand for at-home coffee bars and coffee stations that can display espresso machines and mugs and store coffee beans, flavored syrups and more.
In fact, it’s officially a trend. In October 2021, the National Kitchen and Bath Association predicted that coffee stations would be among the in-demand features in kitchen design over the next three years.
If you’ve been thinking about adding a coffee bar or station to your home, or want to upgrade the one you already have, consider the following easy steps.
1. Pick a place
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Using the kitchen as the setup location seems obvious; however, sometimes crowded counters leave little space for a coffee bar. Alternatives include a seldom-used butler’s pantry, a buffet or sideboard, or a large tray table or bar cart.
You could also repurpose a piece of furniture to give it new life as a coffee station. “Those entertainment centers? Nobody really wants those anymore,” Nancy Macon says. “You can make a coffee bar out of them, and it makes them useful.”
Macon transformed an antique washstand into an attractive coffee bar, using yellow chalk paint because it covers well and needs little to no primer, finishing the stand with a clear coat.