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Personal Space: Inside Mixologist Kaitlyn Stewart’s Cheerful Home Bar in Vancouver

Pull up a stool at mixologist Kaitlyn Stewart’s home bar.

By Stacey McLachlan /

You’d expect Kaitlyn Stewart—one of the world’s most acclaimed bartenders—to be hosting cocktail parties every night. And you’d be wrong: the 2017 World Class Bartender of the Year champion is actually a happy homebody.

“My partner doesn’t drink, and I rarely want to drink alone,” she laughs. “Plus I do so much stuff with alcohol for work. Home is a place to detox and decompress.”

All of which is to say: you’re 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, and their pets (dog Timber, cats Cowboy and Goose) is the same space where she developed all the recipes you’ll find in her new Three Cheers book—her first. It’s also the backdrop for all the digital content she films for the hundreds of thousands of social media followers on her Likable Cocktails channels.

But while it’s artfully composed, this is definitely her home, not a set: a true showcase of Stewart’s playful personality (and extensive glassware collection). “I want my videos to feel like me, for people to glimpse inside my personality and feel welcomed into my home,” she says.

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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’s self-described “controlled chaos”; the island is surrounded by a sea of bottles and colourful baubles. There are as many toys here as there are half-finished tequilas—Spongebob blind-box figures, Lego sets and Golden Girls memorabilia line the shelves both here and throughout the home. “I’m a giant kid at heart,” Stewart shrugs. Cheers to that.

Brick by Brick: If it wasn’t clear from the Lego radio, the Lego ship in a bottle and the Lego Flintstones car on display: “I’m a Legohead,” 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 “I push my limits, that’s for sure,” 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—which technically is a workbench Stewart found in Ikea’s gardening department. “Our dining table at our old apartment just became the spot to drop everything,” says Stewart. “We don’t miss it.” 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.

Collect ’Em All: Atop her mini fridge (which stores liqueurs and syrups), find a vessel holding matchbooks and swag from bars across the world. It’s next to another container holding grape-flavoured treats from Stewart’s travels.
By the Book: Every year, Stewart writes a manifesto: her goals and dreams for the year. They’re collected in a rectangular vase. “It’s funny to read back and see what actually came true,” she says.
Bottle Service: Stewart couldn’t even guess how many bottles she owns. “I’ve been bartending for 20 years and you just collect them along the way, and people give them as gifts,” she says. “The cabinets are full, and there are a bunch in my storage unit, too.” There’s only one, though, signed by Stanley Tucci—a Tanqueray bottle from when he and Stewart were both doing work for the gin brand.
You’re Golden: If you need some company as you peruse the Golden Girls-themed cocktail book (Drinks on the Lanai), just grab Stewart’s Rose Nylund action figure. Other pop-culture obsessions represented here include Spongebob and Archie comics.
Light It Up: In addition to a neon smiley face light from 33 Acres (“Three is my lucky number… and they’ve got a really good cider,” says Stewart), she lights the space with bendy neon tube lights from Govee that can be shaped to her whims and controlled via a phone app.

 

Stacey McLachlan

Stacey McLachlan

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—if you've got a question or wildly unsubstantiated rumour about our city, she wants to get to the bottom of it: [email protected]