Design a basement speakeasy — a hidden bar in 11×10 feet
A speakeasy is a bar that acts like a secret. In an 11×10 basement corner that takes six pieces: a 48″ bar staged on the top wall with two 30″ stools pulled 2 inches off its front, a jukebox in the top-right corner for the soundtrack, a 36-bottle wine rack low on the right wall as the cellar, and two accent chairs facing each other 12 inches apart on a 6 ft round rug — the corner booth. Dark paint and low light do the rest.
Every speakeasy runs on the same trick: a spare, unpromising room that opens into somewhere glamorous. An 11×10 basement corner is exactly the right kind of unpromising. The layout has two halves — a bar wall where the drinks get made, and a seating pocket where the conversation happens — and the whole thing works because neither half needs more than it has.
Search the exact names in the Furnish panel and place all six pieces on the plan before you touch a paintbrush. The measurements below come straight from the template, so the clearances are already proven — your job is to see whether your basement corner holds them.
What you'll need
- •Home Bar Unit (48″ wide) — the stage, on the top wall
- •Bar Stool 30″ × 2 — pulled 2″ off the bar front
- •Jukebox — the soundtrack, top-right corner
- •Wine Rack 36-bottle — the cellar, low on the right wall
- •Accent Chair × 2 — the corner-booth feel
- •Round Rug 6ft — under the seating
- •An 11 × 10 ft basement corner you're willing to keep quiet about
Step by step
- 1
Stage the bar on the top wall
Search Home Bar Unit and set it against the top wall, back to the wall, serving side facing into the room — this is the stage, and everything else in the room faces it. At 48 inches wide it takes less than half of the 11-foot wall, which is the point: a speakeasy bar is a jewel, not a counter run. Center it on the wall or slide it left to leave the top-right corner free for what comes next.
- 2
Pull up two stools, 2 inches off the front
Search Bar Stool 30″ and place two of them at the bar, facing it, each pulled just 2 inches off the bar front — close enough to read as occupied, far enough to slide onto. The 30-inch seat height is the classic pairing for a bar-height counter. Space the pair evenly across the 48-inch front so each drinker gets a full share of the rail.
The speakeasy on the plan — bar wall along the top, the two-chair booth on the rug below. - 3
The soundtrack: jukebox in the top-right corner
Search Jukebox and stand it in the top-right corner, angled so its face plays into the room. A speakeasy without music is just a basement with bottles; the jukebox is the piece that announces the fantasy the moment the door opens. Keep it clear of the bar's serving side so the bartender and the record-changer never trade elbows.
- 4
The cellar: wine rack low on the right wall
Search Wine Rack 36-bottle and run it along the right wall, below the jukebox, back to the wall and bottles facing the room. It's only about a foot deep, so it steals almost nothing from the floor — but thirty-six bottles on display is what turns a bar into a bar with a cellar. Low is right: the rack should read as furniture, not shelving.
- 5
The corner booth, then kill the lights in 3D
Search Accent Chair and place two, facing each other in the open floor below the bar, 12 inches apart at the knees — the confidential distance of a corner booth without the millwork. Center a Round Rug 6ft under the pair so the seating reads as its own island. Then switch to 3D and orbit: check that a clear path runs from the doorway past the stool backs to the chairs, and picture the walls dark and the light low. If the plan works lit, it will sing dim.
The speakeasy in 3D — the bar staged on the top wall, the booth-for-two on the rug.
Tips
Paint it dark — all of it
The prohibition look is one decision: walls in a deep, saturated color — oxblood, forest green, near-black navy — and the ceiling too, if you dare. In a small room, dark paint doesn't shrink the space; it dissolves the corners, and the 48-inch bar becomes the brightest thing in the room, which is exactly the hierarchy a speakeasy wants.
Light the walls, not the ceiling
Skip the overhead fixture entirely and put wall sconces — two flanking the bar, one over the seating — at about eye height. Low, warm pools of light are what make 110 square feet feel like a hideout instead of a utility room. Aim for lamps you'd describe as too dim; that's the correct brightness.
The dream upgrade: a bookshelf that's really a door
The endgame for any speakeasy is the entrance itself — a hinged bookshelf that swings open to let people in. Plan for it now by keeping the doorway wall clear of furniture on both sides, so the swing has room whenever the carpentry budget catches up. Until then, a heavy curtain over the door and a password do the same job for a lot less.
Common mistakes
Upsizing the bar
In 11×10, a longer bar run swallows the seating pocket and the room becomes all counter, no booth. The 48-inch Home Bar Unit is the size that leaves the chairs their floor — if you want more bottle storage, that's what the wine rack on the right wall is for.
Spreading the chairs apart
The 12 inches between the two chairs' fronts is the whole corner-booth effect — lean-in, low-voice distance. Push them to a polite living-room three feet apart and the conspiracy evaporates. Keep them knee to knee on the rug, and keep both fully on it.
Blocking the lane behind the stools
The path from the door to the chairs runs behind the seated drinkers. A 30-inch stool occupied by a person needs roughly 18 inches behind the bar front — park nothing in that lane, and keep the jukebox and wine rack tight to their walls so the walkway between stool backs and rug stays about three feet.
Frequently asked questions
How much space does a basement speakeasy need?
This layout is proven in 11 × 10 feet — about 110 square feet. The bar wall needs roughly four feet of depth for the 48-inch bar plus stools, the seating pocket needs the 6-foot rug with the two chairs on it, and a three-foot walkway connects them. Smaller works if you drop to one chair; bigger just means more breathing room, not more pieces.
What furniture makes up a basement speakeasy?
Six placed pieces: a 48-inch home bar unit on the top wall, two 30-inch bar stools at its front, a jukebox in the top-right corner, a 36-bottle floor wine rack low on the right wall, and two accent chairs facing each other on a 6-foot round rug. Search each name in the Furnish panel and place them with the measurements in the steps.
Do I need a hidden door to call it a speakeasy?
No — the atmosphere does the hiding. Dark walls, wall-sconce lighting, and a bar that reveals itself only once you're inside are what make the room read as a secret. A hinged-bookshelf entrance is the dream upgrade, and worth leaving wall space for, but a plain door with a heavy curtain and a house password delivers the same ritual on day one.
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