{"id":487688,"date":"2026-02-20T13:09:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T13:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/487688\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T13:09:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T13:09:30","slug":"inside-mixologist-kaitlyn-stewarts-cheerful-home-bar-in-vancouver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/487688\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Mixologist Kaitlyn Stewart\u2019s Cheerful Home Bar in Vancouver"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pull up a stool at mixologist Kaitlyn Stewart\u2019s home bar. <\/p>\n

You\u2019d expect Kaitlyn Stewart<\/a>\u2014one of the world\u2019s most acclaimed bartenders<\/a>\u2014to be hosting cocktail parties every night. And you\u2019d be wrong: the 2017 World Class Bartender of the Year<\/a> champion is actually a happy homebody.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy partner doesn\u2019t drink, and I rarely want to drink alone,\u201d she laughs. \u201cPlus I do so much stuff with alcohol for work. Home is a place to detox and decompress.\u201d <\/p>\n

All of which is to say: you\u2019re most likely to find Stewart mixing a mocktail, not a martini, under the neon lights at her home bar. The joyful, trinket-strewn nook in the apartment she shares with girlfriend Emily Huffman, the web manager for Lainey Gossip<\/a>, and their pets (dog Timber, cats Cowboy and Goose) is the same space where she developed all the recipes you\u2019ll find in her new Three Cheers book<\/a>\u2014her first. It\u2019s also the backdrop for all the digital content she films<\/a> for the hundreds of thousands of social media<\/a> followers on her Likable Cocktails channels<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But while it\u2019s artfully composed, this is definitely her home, not a set: a true showcase of Stewart\u2019s playful personality (and extensive glassware collection). \u201cI want my videos to feel like me, for people to glimpse inside my personality and feel welcomed into my home,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Doing It for the \u2019Gram: Vancouver\u2019s Creator Economy Is Bigger Than You Think<\/a><\/p>\n

The bar zone exists in what previous tenants probably used as a dining area, and every square inch is optimized for storage or for showcasing, say, a collection of grape-flavoured treats Stewart collected on her world travels, or spare tiki glasses. An Ikea workbench is the centre of Stewart\u2019s self-described \u201ccontrolled chaos\u201d; the island is surrounded by a sea of bottles<\/a> and colourful baubles. There are as many toys here as there are half-finished tequilas\u2014Spongebob blind-box figures<\/a>, Lego sets and Golden Girls<\/a> memorabilia line the shelves both here and throughout the home. \u201cI\u2019m a giant kid at heart,\u201d Stewart shrugs. Cheers to that.<\/p>\n

\"\"Brick by Brick: If it wasn\u2019t clear from the Lego radio, the Lego ship in a bottle and the Lego Flintstones car on display: \u201cI\u2019m a Legohead,\u201d admits Stewart, who likes to work with her hands even on her off days. Her partner permits only a certain number of pieces out at any given time, but \u201cI push my limits, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d Stewart laughs. The dining area has been replaced by the bar area, so Stewart and Huffman mostly eat on their couch, or pull up some stools to the bar\u2014which technically is a workbench Stewart found in Ikea\u2019s gardening department. \u201cOur dining table at our old apartment just became the spot to drop everything,\u201d says Stewart. \u201cWe don\u2019t miss it.\u201d During parties, Stewart will push the bar over to the side (her dad added wheels) to improve the flow or set it up to be a buffet table.<\/p>\n

\"\"Collect \u2019Em All: Atop her mini fridge (which stores liqueurs and syrups), find a vessel holding matchbooks and swag from bars across the world. It\u2019s next to another container holding grape-flavoured treats from Stewart\u2019s travels.
\n\"\"By the Book: Every year, Stewart writes a manifesto: her goals and dreams for the year. They\u2019re collected in a rectangular vase. \u201cIt\u2019s funny to read back and see what actually came true,\u201d she says.
\n\"\"Bottle Service: Stewart couldn\u2019t even guess how many bottles she owns. \u201cI\u2019ve been bartending for 20 years and you just collect them along the way, and people give them as gifts,\u201d she says. \u201cThe cabinets are full, and there are a bunch in my storage unit, too.\u201d There\u2019s only one, though, signed by Stanley Tucci\u2014a Tanqueray bottle from when he and Stewart were both doing work for the gin brand.
\n\"\"You\u2019re Golden: If you need some company as you peruse the Golden Girls-themed cocktail book (Drinks on the Lanai<\/a>), just grab Stewart\u2019s Rose Nylund action figure<\/a>. Other pop-culture obsessions represented here include Spongebob and Archie comics.
\n\"\"Light It Up: In addition to a neon smiley face light from 33 Acres<\/a> (\u201cThree is my lucky number\u2026 and they\u2019ve got a really good cider,\u201d says Stewart), she lights the space with bendy neon tube lights from Govee<\/a> that can be shaped to her whims and controlled via a phone app.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Stacey<\/p>\n

Stacey is the editor-in-chief of Vancouver magazine, and a senior editor for our sister mag, Western Living. She’s also the author of Vanmag’s monthly Know It All column\u2014if you’ve got a question or wildly unsubstantiated rumour about our city, she wants to get to the bottom of it: [email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/p>\n