I don't have anyone but close family in my house, but I like the basement access to drinks and conveniences.

If you are unsure, why don't you just have the rough-ins put in? That way if you decide to do it later, the plumbing is already there

Civilized people entertain on main floors with windows. Basements are for the middle class living on small lots.

I personally see them as a waste of space, but we don't entertain in our basement -- and we have a nice, built-out basement with full-sized windows. I could see it being useful when the kids get older and hang down there with their friends but I'm not sure it would be so useful that it would justify the cost.

The only thing I like about a wet bar is if I end up using the basement as a guest space. Then I can give them a coffee maker and some drinks.

What's your lifestyle? If in normal world you or DH entertains a lot, maybe book club or football watching, and it would be nice to have easy access to food and drink separate from the kitchen it might be convenient. Make sure to include a fridge and dishwasher so you aren't hauling plates and glasses up and downstairs anyway.

Most of our friends use their downstairs rec room as more of a kid space, while adults entertain or hangout on the main level, so I'd discourage a "bar" at that point!

For me it would be a detraction I think. We don't really drink, though.

Anonymous wrote:No, thank you. Who on earth wants to socialize in a basement??? Basement are useless except for storage.

Whatever, love my basement.

As a potential buyer, I always get excited when I see one because I could never justify the expense to put one in, but I don't have to if it's already there. Really, though, it's not moving the needle for us one way or another because my wife doesn't care about it.

Anonymous wrote:No, thank you. Who on earth wants to socialize in a basement??? Basement are useless except for storage.

Mancave! You want DH and all his friends in the family room watching football?

At the very least OP, put the rough-ins for plumbing and electric.. but at that point you might as well put in a simple wet bar.

No, thank you. Who on earth wants to socialize in a basement??? Basement are useless except for storage.

I agree it's not a deal breaker but we have a bar in our basement and it gets a lot of use. If it were a wet bar it would be just a little more functional.

we don't use ours at all. it's a waste.

Personally, if i were a buyer - I don't think a wet bar would put me over the edge on one property over another that much. Doesn't detract though.

We're building new construction on our lot and thinking about getting a wet bar in the fully finished basement. We've never had one before and don't exactly see too much use for it since it's not a "thing" where we're coming from. But it seems very common in this area and we wanted to add one if it's something that potential future buyers would consider valuable. Is it? Do you use your wet bars often? Space is not an issue.