Styling a Farmhouse Bar Cart

I have promised my husband for months that I would set up a nice bar cart in our home. When the online interior design site Havenly shared their tips for styling a bar cart on their blog, I knew this was the motivation I needed to create one for our home.

At first, I went on Pinterest to look for some ideas. And then I panicked. Every example of a bar cart on Pinterest did not fit our hundred-year-old farm style home. The shiny brass and glass bar carts that were everywhere would not work in our home. So I decided to take the advice of Havenly and start from scratch to create a bar cart that worked for our style of home.

The first thing I did was search the flea markets for a piece of furniture for a bar cart. I didn’t really find anything that jumped out at me, so I tried shopping at home. I couldn’t believe this cabinet was sitting in our living room, looking exactly like a bar cart. The opening in the front couldn’t be more perfect for storing liquor bottles and glasses.

Next, I raided our butler’s pantry. I pulled out all of my favorite glasses, an ice bucket and a galvanized flower vase. Then I grabbed a tray to set on top of the cabinet.

One of our favorite drinks is a Moscow Mule, so I thought it would be fun to feature it on the top of our bar cart. I grabbed vodka and gin and some of the Fever Tree ginger beer. We have a lot of the traditional copper mugs but I love the tall silver glasses that work just as well!

Havenly suggests you add art to the bar cart area so I created my own with one of my favorite vintage chalkboards. For years my parents and siblings have used the phrase “it’s five o’clock somewhere” and I knew immediately this was what I wanted on my chalkboard. I pulled out my Silhouette Cameo machine and made a reusable stencil. I used regular white chalk to fill in the letters and make the sign.

I found these beautiful faux flowers in my flower arranging area and added them to the galvanized vase. The ice bucket is one of about five I have collected over the years. It’s my favorite.

I added some important tools in the top drawer such as a bottle opener, wine opener, cocktail napkins, and a small cutting board and knife. I also placed a drink stirrer and shot glass in the drawer just so we would be prepared.

The last step was to place back up liquor and glasses in the bottom portion of the cabinet. We now have everything we need for cocktails. I love that everything in our new bar cart already existed in our home. I didn’t have to buy a thing. Most of the items were purchased years ago at flea markets including the cabinet, chalkboard, glasses, tray, and ice bucket.

I am so excited and can’t wait for my husband to get home and see what I finally created in our home. I even scheduled a small dinner party so we can test drive our new bar cart. This was such a fun project!