How To Style A Bar Cart For Maximum Impact + 6 Designer-approved Tips

Although bar carts are technically a functional item, they have the capacity to become a work of art, turning a once forgotten corner into a veritable gathering spot. The re-emergence of cocktail culture has turned the once-forgotten bar cart into a covetable living room necessity, serving as a spot to store bottles and whip up delicious drinks, as well as a thoughtful display of style.

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With a few accessories and practical items, you can ensure your bar cart strikes the perfect balance between form and function. Here’s how to style a bar cart for your home.

1. Best on show

Your drink bottles themselves can serve a dual purpose; making a mean cocktail as well as providing visual interest to your bar cart style. “Put your best and most interesting bottles (they don’t have to be expensive brands!) first in the line-up,” recommends Anthony Spon-Smith, Coco Republic creative director and co-owner.

2. Not just for the coffee table

While aesthetically-pleasing weighty tomes are often thought of as coffee table material, bar carts can also benefit from a little light (well, heavy) literature. As well as the obvious cocktail recipe books, try displaying a couple of stunning fashion, photography, and travel volumes on the bottom shelf of your bar cart, or use them to prop up particularly beautiful liquor bottles.

3. Invest in the essentials

Don’t get caught empty-handed. Ensure your bar cart is stocked with the essentials; a stylish bottle opener (brass or vintage is always a hit), cocktail shaker, glassware, and potentially a citrus peeler. As for the drinks themselves? You’ll want a few key spirits (vodka, gin, whiskey, rum, and tequila), as well as a couple of mixers, and aromatic bitters.

4. Don’t go matchy-matchy

“Your bar cart style doesn’t need to match the other pieces of furniture in the room,” Spon-SMith tells us. “Colours and form should be considered, however, a unique and stylistic bar cabinet or cart that sits individually in a room suggests a unique and fun person owns it!” Don’t be afraid to incorporate pops of colour through fun serving accessories. Team vibrant cocktail glasses and serving jugs with elegant glassware for a stylish take on the high-low look.

5. Natural elements

Incorporate a bit of the natural world through greenery, fresh flowers, or crystal pieces. Plus, your display can double as cocktail ingredients if you select plants like mint, basil, and rosemary, or decorate using bowls of lemons and limes in chic glassware.

6. Opt for a cabinet

IMAGE: COCO REPUBLIC
IMAGE: COCO REPUBLIC

If sleek, subtle storage is more your style, a bar cabinet may be the way to go. Like bar carts, bar cabinets provide top surface space to display your favourite bottles and mix your drinks, while allowing you to discreetly store other relevant items.