You don’t have to leave home to enjoy a bar with an art deco vibe or tiki kitsch. With the right ingredients, you can create your own inviting atmosphere.

“There’s a revival of the residential lounge,” Minneapolis designer Billy Beson said. “The economy is part of it. But with people’s hectic schedules, they want a more intimate type of entertaining than being in a loud bar with a bunch of people you don’t know.”

The comeback of the cocktail culture and the growing numbers of wine collectors and beer geeks is also driving the trend toward comfortable, well-appointed home bars.

Rather than go out on weekends, Jake Rudh, an event DJ and founder of the Facebook group Twin Cities Midcentury Modern, has friends over to his basement bar room, which he describes as “straight out of a scene from ‘Ocean’s 11.’ ”

Even in a down economy, new home buyers aren’t eliminating bars, many of which continue to be carved out of lower levels. Instead, they’re enhancing them with sophisticated finishes and materials, said Andy Porter, owner of Refined, a Minneapolis homebuilder.

“Our clients want themed bars like an Irish pub to create that atmosphere of going out,” he said.

Designer Greg Walsh, owner of Walsh Design Group in Minneapolis, agrees.

“The lower-level bar is not an afterthought anymore,” he said. “It’s the core initial design of a home to utilize the lower entertainment space.”

In some homes, the bar has become the hub of the basement. The newer shapes – graceful curves or kitchen-style islands – are designed to encourage conversation. And the bars are often surrounded by amenities – billiards tables, golf simulators, flat-screened TVs – that spur interaction.

“What’s nice about these home bars, you can add a malt machine or smoothie machine and have a great place for the kids to hang out, too,” Beson said.

That was the template for the “cottage chic” bar that Betsy Conroy put in the lower-level walkout of her new home in Edina, Minn. With its cheery decor and marble-topped island, the bar is a place for the whole family to gather.

Many newer bars, such as the Conroys’, act almost as second kitchens, with built-in refrigerators, ice makers, wine chillers and microwaves. When the party’s over, dishwashers make it easier to clean up the mess.

But Lars and Amy Jenkins of Edina didn’t add a bar in the basement of their 1950s rambler because they wanted the amenities. The couple re-created a Polynesian-style, tiki-themed watering hole – with its vintage rattan-and-green-bamboo bar – because they’re passionate about midcentury modern design.

They serve mai-tais and martinis at the vintage rattan-and-green-bamboo bar they bought.

“Don the Beachcomber restaurant started it all in California,” explained Lars. “Tiki bars were originally about escapism – transporting you to another place.”

When they have friends over for themed parties, Lars plays exotica and German schlager music from his vast record collection to complete the retro experience.

“It’s all about good company, friends and beverages,” he said. “You can create your own world in your basement.”