What's On My Bar Cart?

Welcome back to another blog post! Today I’m throwing it back to a photo of my bar cart from nearly two years ago. I pretty much still have the same design today, minus the addition of seasonal decor. I had a blast designing this cart fresh out of grad school in my first “adult” apartment. I found these items from all over the place! From Tuesday Morning, to West Elm, to thrift stores, and a DIY project in between, I wanted to be sure this cart encapsulated a fun colorful personality. For today’s sake, I’ve created a one-stop shopping list for similar items, all on Amazon. As I curated this list, I realized some of these Amazon items are even cuter than the ones I have, ha-ha! But I guess being a designer means I’m constantly finding more things I ABSOLUTELY need to buy, right? Continue reading for these links and how to style these items.

The most important item in a bar cart design is… the bar cart! Who would have thought? I can’t remember where I got my cart from but found this similar gold bar cart on Amazon. The biggest difference between the two is that mine has mirrored shelves, and the Amazon version has glass. I personally prefer a two-tiered cart with minimal decoration. There are a lot of carts that come with built-in wine bottle and glass racks which are super convenient, however I prefer to keep them separate. I like to keep the bar cart mainly for drinkware, decor, and ingredients!

Next up is the tray! I think the key to defining space on any bar cart is a pretty tray. Unfortunately, my orange “Hermes” tray is not real, but actually a DIY project. I randomly found a faux leather orange tray at Tuesday Morning and had the idea to recreate the iconic orange Hermes tray. I used a local woman who does custom sticker lettering. I found this orange acrylic tray and think it would be a great addition to any bar cart, even just plain.

To add height I would recommend leaning a piece of art, preferably a cocktail-themed print. I think I grabbed this print at T.J. Maxx years ago. I would do this vibrant Aperol Spritz print instead. This actually comes in a set with other cocktail prints, and can be swapped out or used in other spaces. I think they’re super fun, and would look great even in a gallery wall somewhere.

For glassware on the tray, a set of four is ideal. I found these vintage glasses with oranges on them at an antique store in my hometown. On Amazon I found this set of four glasses with different types of fruit, which I thought were adorable.

The pineapple on my cart is actually a candle with a detachable lid. I found this similar pineapple cookie jar and actually like it better, as it could be used for more storage.  The ginger jar on my cart was another Tuesday Morning find. I like this one on Amazon a lot and would even recommend using it as a vase for fresh flowers occasionally. Now you can’t have a bar cart without bar tools. I really like this set of gold tools that comes in an acrylic holder.

It’s important to have some champagne flutes on your bar cart. The flutes on my cart were from my Fab Fit Fun subscription. I like these stemless flutes from Amazon and would put them on the bottom shelf on a tray. The tray I have was also a Fab Fit Fun find. I like this similar lemon melamine tray. I love decorating with pops of lemon imagery, and these are a nice nod to the Italian Aperol Spritz print above. A bar cart also needs ingredients! I prefer these Root 23 Simple Syrups.

For another variety of drinkware, I have a set of four lowball glasses with strawberries on them. These were another Fab Fit Fun find. I found some similar glasses on Amazon with matching straws. I would then place these set of four glasses on a coffee table book! I prefer the Reese Witherspoon book because, 1. she’s a queen, and 2. the pink adds great color to the cart. However, any coffee table book would work on this cart. I recommend a lifestyle book with recipes.