Bar Cart Essentials: How to Decorate Your Bar Cart Like a Pro
Create a focal point for your mobile bar!
Bar carts don't always live up to their potential, with function beating out form more often than not. But by adding in a few key accessories, your bar cart can truly become a focal point in your home. Like many of us, you have been utilizing your at-home bar a bit more frequently this past year – whether at night while curled up with a Netflix show, getting together with a close friend, or joining your company’s Zoom happy hour. To help you, we’ve pulled together our best tips on essentials you need for crafting the perfect cocktail, decorating your at-home bar cart, and where to put it in your home so it looks sophisticated and chic.
Essentials
It’s important to stock your bar cart with the essentials, starting with alcohol! Stock your bar cart with your favorite alcohol: liquor, mixers, wine, and champagne. We like to stock tequila, vodka, gin, Grand Marnier, and our favorite champagne.
Once you have your alcohol selected, it’s time to stock your favorite stemware and glasses. We suggest having sets of four to six white wine glasses, red wine glasses, martini glasses, champagne flutes, and lowball glasses. From there, you’ll need bar tools and accessories for your drinks: a bar tool set, shot glasses, wine glass charms, coasters, bottle toppers, and a cocktail shaker.
Decorating
Make your bar cart personal since it’s such a fun piece to have in your home! This is the time to print your favorite photos to put in frames. Layering and stacking is a great technique to bring interest to your photo frames, so they don’t get lost with your tall bottles of alcohol. Florals and plants bring color and texture to your bar cart, and we suggest adding a plant to the top shelf next to your liquor bottles.
A small tray to hold bits and pieces is always a cute accent. You can even add a small candy dish with wrapped candy or chocolate.
Add some figurines and candles that are meaningful to you. Choose a piece that represents your hometown, a family heirloom, or a souvenir from a favorite trip. Make the space special and meaningful with pieces that you love!
Put something tall and fabulous behind your bar cart, whether it’s a full-size mirror to open up your room or a large piece of artwork.
A bar cart can be placed anywhere close to the kitchen and dining area, living room, or den.
If you are placing your bar cart in your dining area, make sure it’s at least 3 feet from your dining chairs so you have enough space to move your chair out. The living room is a great place for a bar cart since you can hang out and relax in this space. Put your bar cart on one side of your sofa in place of an end table. You can also place it in the corner of the living room if you have an empty space next to a seating area.
A den is also a great space for a bar cart if you have a seating area, such as a small coffee table with four chairs surrounding it. Place your bar cart on an empty wall at least 3 feet from all chairs.
Make it the centerpiece, and hang stacked artwork to the left and right of the bar cart, place a mirror behind it, add a floor lamp and plant if you have room – and make it a feature wall with your bar cart at the center!
Annie Spano is a residential interior designer and real estate broker based out of Raleigh, NC, and a founder of “blogger tribe” Style Collective. You can find her design and real estate services portfolio at anniespano.com.
