Stylish Bar Cart Ideas for the Host With the Most

Ah, the bar cart — classic, timeless, and functional. There’s no other piece of furniture that more clearly announces you as a top-notch host and a lover of the finer things in life.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a master mixologist or your drink-making skills are limited to popping Prosecco. (Hey, getting the cork out of a bottle of bubbly is a dangerous endeavor — we applaud your bravery!) A bar cart can make your home the official party destination of all your best friends, or it can give you an opportunity to kick back for a quiet evening with a complex sipper.

And although the bar cart has classic appeal, this piece can be reimagined in so many ways. It can serve everything from coffee to cocktails, and it can even act as a super fun side table in small spaces.

Regardless of whether your home is small or large, traditional or contemporary, we’ve found bar cart ideas to fit your style. Plus, we’ve rounded up some essential accessories that every bar cart owner should have. Drink in all of these bar cart decor ideas, then start decorating the serving area of your dreams.

Bar Cart Ideas to Match Your Favorite Interior Design Style

Whether you love a romantic French country look or prefer the functional, retro-inspired style of mid-century modern decor, we’ve found the best bar cart and accessories to match. Use these bar cart ideas to deck out your cart with everything you need to host your next mixer.

Traditional

For a traditional style bar cart, look for wood accented with gold or brass. The overall shape should be more rounded than square, and it should have decorative flourishes, like turned wood posts.

This Two-Tier Serving Cart in Merlot and Brass looks like it rolled right out of a traditional English study. We can imagine ringing for the butler and having him push this cart in with a martini shaker and two glasses on top. The butler is not included, but we won’t blame you if you decide to name this bar cart Jeeves.

Here’s what to add to complete your traditional style look:

• Cut crystal glassware
• A brandy decanter
• Brass barware
• A marble and brass ice bucket

Contemporary

Unlike traditional style, contemporary style is sleek and functional. Eschewing decorative flourishes, this style favors square silhouettes and modern materials like glass and chrome.

For a bar cart that offers both contemporary style and maximum functionality, this Glass Shelf Serving Cart in Chrome has three shelves, stemware racks, and a 24-bottle wine rack, which you can use to store your favorite vintages or your top-shelf liquor bottles. Once all 24 spaces are full, you’ll know it’s time for a party!

Use these bar cart ideas to top off your contemporary bar cart:

• A seltzer dispenser
• Stainless steel straws
• Stemless wine glasses
• A succulent or other modern greenery

Mid-Century Modern

This minimalist design style focused on natural materials like wood and brass in functional shapes. Mid-century modern home decor features clean, straight lines, and always puts the way you’ll use an item above all else.

For a functional design with mid-century lines, this wood bar has room for 18 bottles of wine, plus it has wine glass racks, a cabinet, a glass top (no rings on the beautiful wood finish), and guardrails on every shelf (so none of your glassware goes sliding off). While a bar cart is more functional for small spaces, this stationary home bar makes an excellent focal point in a large living room or dining room.

Add this bar cart decor to finish the look:

• Colorful martini glasses
• Vintage cocktail stirrers
• Rattan coasters
• Whimsical cocktail napkins

Art Deco

One of our favorite vintage home decor trends, Art Deco style is all about geometric patterns, gold accents, and black and white paired with a bright pop of color. It leaves natural materials like wood and stone to more traditional homes, and embraces modern materials like acrylic and glass instead. Picture the inside of Gatsby’s mansion, and you’ve got the idea.

If you can’t get enough of Art Deco interior design, this gold bar cart with its octagonal shape and mirrored shelves will add the perfect touch of glitz and glam to your next flapper party.

Here’s what to add to complete your Art Deco bar cart styling:

• Speakeasy coffee table book
• Bottle of bubbly
• A couple of champagne coupes
• Vase filled with ostrich feathers

French Country

This romantic interior design style was inspired by the worn-in but always glamorous homes of the French countryside. French country style pairs lightly faded linens and well-worn antique furniture with elegant touches like crystal chandeliers and fresh flowers. Furniture often has a patina of worn-out paint over the wood, or it pairs classic white paint with wood tones.

This timeless white and wood-top kitchen cart doubles as a French country bar cart. With plenty of cabinets and storage compartments, you’ll only have to worry about what you display on top of the cart. The butcher block top allows you to slice lemons, limes, and other garnishes directly on its surface.

To complete your French country look, top your cart with these essentials:

• Infusion bottles for your favorite mixers
• An antique pitcher full of fresh flowers
• A floral-print tea towel
• A tabletop A-frame chalkboard displaying today’s house cocktails

Industrial Farmhouse

In industrial farmhouse design, modern metals meet reclaimed woods. Industrial home accessories appear to be salvaged straight out of old warehouses and barns. They have a comfortably worn-in look, straight lines, and functional design. This style is refreshingly unfussy, which makes it easy to live with.

Create an industrial style entertaining area with this stationary bar unit. It has an antique nutmeg wood finish paired with a bronze metal frame. The footrest along the front of the bar is perfect for pulling up some barstools so you and your guests can chat while you practice your mixology skills.

To complete your industrial farmhouse design, add these bar cart accessories:

• A stoneware pitcher
• Hammered copper mugs
• Cement utensil holder for your barware
• Coffee table book about different types of tequila

Essential Accessories to Add to Your Bar Cart

When we look at an empty bar cart, we see potential. The bar cart accessories you add can transform it from a mimosa station to a whiskey haven. You can declare that your bar cart is intended for serious mixology by adding all the mixers and shakers that will fit. Or you can let your guests know that this is a wine-and-cheese house by topping your cart with your favorite vintages and leaving room for a charcuterie board.

Pick your favorite accessories from this list and style your bar cart to your heart’s desire:

• All the essential types of glassware, from wine glasses to shot glasses to highballs and martini glasses
• A metal barware set
• A cocktail recipe book (or two or three)
• An ice bucket
• A tall pitcher
• A glass beverage dispenser for pre-batched cocktails
• Cocktail napkins
• Drink markers
• Cocktail stirrers
• Wine bottles
• Liquor bottles
• Mixers
• Tea towels
• Charcuterie board
• Cheese knives
• Fruit bowl
• Tea or coffee set
• Flower vase or houseplant
• Seasonal decor, like pumpkins in autumn and fairy lights during the holiday season
• Candles
• A table lamp
• A quirky decorative object
• A letter board or chalkboard

Set the Bar for Stylish Bar Carts

Before you can start decking out your bar cart with all the swanky cocktail books and vintage glassware you can find, you’re going to need … a bar cart. You can go minimalist and modern or glitzy and glam, but before you do, go meet your favorite bar cart in person.

Head to your local furniture store to see your options in real life. You can wheel them around, experience how it feels to actually use the cart, and make sure it looks as cute IRL as it does in the pictures.

And if you’re looking for ways to use your bar cart, beyond storing your barware, we’ve got plenty. Happy styling (and sipping!).

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