How To Design A Beautiful Bar Cart
Interior design isn’t just about making your home beautiful. It’s also about making your home fun to live [and entertain] in! One of my favorite design elements that brings both elegance and fun is a bar cart. Designing a bar cart for your entertaining space is like mixing up a perfect cocktail - it’s all about putting together individual elements that play off each other without being too “matchy.”
(Photo from Bloomberg.com)
Before You Get Started
Before you get to shopping for the “ingredients” for your bar cart, I suggest you start just like any other interior design project. Narrow down the overall color scheme and vibe that you want for your bar cart design.
Are you looking to create something classic, modern, or minimal? Do you want to stick to a natural color palette, gem tones, pastels? What’s your metallic of choice? Define your desired aesthetic, and let it inform every item you select!
Want to learn more about how to get started with interior design? Read Interior Design From Scratch: Where To Begin on our blog!
Once you’ve decided on your color and style, you’re ready to start shopping. Here are the must-have elements of any great bar cart:
(Photo from Good Homes Magazine)
Bar Cart
The first essential element of every unique bar cart design is… you guessed it, the cart itself! Did I just blow your mind?
There is a bar cart for every style out there, from classic to creative. No matter what look you go for, I suggest choosing a bar cart with wheels. That way, you can roll it around your home when you entertain - you can even serve your friends outside this summer!
(Photos from Pinterest)
Unique Glassware
When you serve a drink from your beautiful new bar cart, serve it in a glass that speaks to your style. Not only will your guests love your unique glassware, but they’ll look beautiful on your bar cart when they’re not in use!
I love the geometric options shown above. Other options include colorful glasses, stemmed glasses, or glasses particular to the kind of cocktails you enjoy most.
(Photos left to right: Amara and Restoration Hardware)
Decanter
For a truly beautiful bar cart design, I suggest ditching (at least some of) the liquor bottles and upgrading to decanters.
Choose a variety of heights and sizes so that they play against each other when you store them on your new bar cart!
(Photos from Pinterest)
Bar Tools
Bar tools - such as shakers, strainers, bottle openers, bottle stoppers, ice buckets,etc - are some of the most stylish and useful elements to add to your bar cart.
Remember your color palette, including your chosen metallics. That way, your necessary tools will also function as a display on your cart.
(Photos from Home Designing)
Coasters
Save your furniture in style with beautiful coasters. And, between cocktails, lay your coasters out on your bar cart as a decorative item.
These are one of the most cost effective elements on your bar cart, so go crazy!
(Photos left to right: My Scandinavian Home and Anthropologie)
Artwork and Accessories
Let’s add the final touches. I prefer a bar cart with natural elements, such as flowers and plants. Bonus - that means you also get to select a beautiful vase to complement your bar cart design.
Then, decide where your bar cart is going to live when it’s not in use. Choose a piece of art for the wall or corner where it will be stored. It will act as a backdrop for the gorgeous bar cart you just designed. There you have it - you just designed your perfect bar cart.
(Photo from Unsplash)
Booze!
Okay, okay. I lied. You’re not done designing your bar cart until you’ve stocked up on your favorite drinks and mixed up your first cocktail. Cheers!
Need to refresh your entertaining space this summer? Call August Black!
