Best of bar carts

Who wouldn’t like a bar cart in their home? A little extra surface in the home to display your best glassware and prettiest bottles, where come 8pm (ok, maybe 6pm) the cocktail shaker’s rattling, the ice cubes are clinking and the bubbles are fizzing. Whether it’s a lovingly aged industrial style, a mid-century wooden design or minimal black affair, they’re perfect for home entertaining. Just add a record player, some vintage tunes and you’re rocking.

But, while we all enjoy a tipple every now and then, they also double up as a space to curate your favourite objects, design books and plants. I love a multi-purpose piece of design; it can be a shelving unit by day, a trolley for tea come the afternoon, and home to a set of candles or lamp for some moody lighting come nighttime. Plus if it’s on wheels, you can wheel it around to suit the space, use it as a coffee table or push it against the wall (is it just me who likes to move the furniture around every so often?!). Here I’ve gathered some inspiration on how you could style a bar cart, with some favourites of my own.

At the pricier end of the spectrum there’s modernist architect Alvar Aalto’s classic 901 trolley for Artek. Designed in 1936, this trolley was inspired by British tea culture and Japanese carpentry and architecture. The 901 version features an elegant, bent birch wood frame with two linoleum trays, while a later version, 900, has a wicker basket for extra storage.

I’m always one for investing in a timeless classic, but there’s also some really lovely, affordable designs at the other end, such as Ikea’s popular Raskog trolley – slim and sturdy it’s perfect for small spaces – at £49.00, or Normann Copenhagen’s stylish block table designed by Simon Legald which can easily be moved about at £169.00. It comes in a lovely peach and pastel mint colour, making decisions all the harder!

Here I’ve also gathered some pretty things from my shop to help you get the look, simply click on each product to view details, happy cocktail making!

I love the bar cart’s versatility, whether it’s for mixing up your favourite cocktail, a place to store all your coffee and tea-making gadgetry in the kitchen, an extra surface for piles of magazines, or a space for houseplants. It could also be used as a bedside table or to organise stationery and craft bits in a home office. Whatever the use, I think I’ll call that cocktail o’clock!

What would you use yours for?

Main image: houseology via my scandinavian home