The bar cart or bar station is really making a comeback and it’s so fun! Actually one of the things we like most about it are the vintage vibes, which if you really need vintage bar inspiration you should check out The Kitchy Kitchen (she also has great cocktail recipes). Obviously you can take it any direction you like - modern, farmhouse, colorful, retro - and then purchase, make or collect pieces that work for your style. We thought it would be fun to show you what we like on a bar cart and a few ideas for your own bar or drink station.
Part of what makes this tricky is that we don’t have a lot of links when it comes to purchasing things we love in this particular case. Most of what we’ve found has been at local antique shops, but also Ebay and Etsy (look, links!) are great places to find unique pieces.
When you’re looking for vintage glasses, consider mismatched sets - not necessarily individual glasses, but search for sets of 3 (hey, probably was a set of 4 until one broke…) or 5 and then choose two odd sets that compliment each other. Probably will get a better deal and end up with a fun mix of glasses.
Add a recipe card box - what could be more vintage than storing recipes on paper?! Also what better excuse to buy something cute from Rifle Paper Co. One of the fun things about cocktails is that it’s easy to play around with recipes and create something new or compare a variety of recipes and figure out your favorite (probably best with a group so you don’t have to finish all 10 margarita options yourself, but you do you). After all that, why not write down the winner and keep it somewhere easy to find! Bonus: bring out a recipe card for guests to follow on their own.
Re-purpose and rethink. This is kind of a staple of vintage shopping - what was this originally used for and what can I do with it now? And that’s how a glass clam shell jewelry holder became a margarita salt dish. It doesn’t even have to be vintage (or new) for this to apply. Maybe you’ll give something you already own a new life in a different context.
Lastly, the extras, little plants, knick-knacks, candles or other random objects that are totally unnecessary and yet we can never seem to help ourselves from adding. In this case, a very ironic vintage tray from the prohibition era that was too funny to pass up plus a few other little things.
And one more thing we wanted to add: so of course the idea is that it’s a bar cart, which usually means alcohol, but really we think it can mean whatever you want. In the winter, a lot of it gets switched out for mugs, tea and hot chocolate mix! (ok we do keep some mixer options on there, but also tiny marshmallows)
In case you missed it, we posted our signature pear cocktail here and for lots of other great recipes we love, check out the sisters at A Beautiful Mess!
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