Literally Just 29 of the Prettiest Bar Carts We’ve Ever Seen

When I moved to my second New York apartment, I was dating a college guy. I’d been pretty proud of my home decor skills, but I remember visiting his on-campus apartment and noticing the bar cart he’d placed in a corner. It was cute, sophisticated and interesting—and it made me a little jealous. How had I, a bona fide adult, neglected to fill my home with this obviously mature thing when my college-aged boyfriend hadn’t? This was a wrong that needed to be righted immediately.

I set to work to find and buy a bar cart for myself at once. But I quickly realized that was only half the battle—figuring out how to decorate it was a challenge unto itself.

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For starters, what do you put on it—liquor and wine? That’s an obvious place to begin, but I usually only have a few bottles at a time. The buy-drink-restock cycle doesn’t lend itself well to filling a shelf (or several).

OK, maybe glassware, then. But that raises the question of how to organize it. A circular bar cart fit into my space better than a rectangular one did, so I was denied to opportunity to arrange things in lines. Instead, I had to get creative—arcs, semicircles and clusters became key. But trust me when I say it takes a lot longer to put things in cute, appropriately sized clusters than it does to arrange them in straightforward lines.

Then, of course, there’s the question of color. All glass and a little liquor makes for a pretty dull corner—especially if your bar cart is made from metal, glass or some other neutral. I ended up adding candles, iridescent bar accessories and some colorful glasses in an attempt to make something interesting happen.

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To save you the heartache I didn’t save myself, I’ve perused Pinterest and pulled 29 of the most stunning bar carts I’ve ever seen. Consider browsing this list before buying a bar cart—it might lead you to preferences you didn’t know you had regarding things like shape, color and additional features.

And even if you’ve already committed to a cart, it doesn’t help to have a little decoration inspiration. (Been there, done that—let’s be real, still doing it.)