The Sexy Bar Cart

If you missed my 12th & Broad post Valentines weekend, here’s a chance to catch up. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Photo via Glitter Guide

The famous bar cart – serving beautiful libations and serious style in the home and workplace for decades.

Popular in the 1950’s and 1960’s, this vintage gem is finding its way back into the home and office. The resurgence of mid-century décor, fashion and home bars began as AMC’s hit series Mad Men dazzled us each week on the television. This year, you will be seeing a plethora of modern and vintage bar carts in home décor. Accompanied with beautiful bar and glassware in stunning designs. The demand for this functional and swanky home accessory is at its peak once again, making it one of the hottest items for 2015.

From industrial to Hollywood regency, there are lots of styles this year for the bar cart. No longer are you limited to vintage shops and high dollars, the bar cart can be found in numerous stores in a wide range of prices. Whether you choose a simple or over the top design, this home décor accessory will bring a lot of style to any space. And if you are not sold on aesthetics alone, these beauties are very functional as well as stylish. Versatile, mobile, time savers that showcase your treasured high-balls and limited edition whiskies.

Bar Car Must-Haves:

1. Daphne $499 2. Luiza $310 3. Threshold Bar Cart $129

4. Wooden Bar Cart $498 5. Ivanna Bart Cart $325 6. Three Tier Cart $179

7. Josef Bar Cart $499 8. The Coleman Bar Cart $1,199.00 9. Workshop Bar Cart $699

Once you’ve chosen your bar cart, you’ll need to learn the art of stocking the bar. Otherwise you’ll end up with a haphazard liquor collection, mismatched glassware and a short supply of bar tools giving you an aesthetic reminiscent of a frat house. One of my favorite bloggers, Design Love Fest, has a gorgeous tutorial on “Setting Up Your Bar“. There is no point in purchasing a beautiful cart if you’re not going to set it up properly. If you desire the swankiness of the 60’s, you’ve got to dress up that cart and give it the attention it needs.

Glassware and Bar Accessory Must-Haves:
1. Orb Metallic Barware $9.95-49.95 2. Noctua Wing Corkscrew $28-32
3. Lusa Glassware $78 (set) 4. Hemingway Print Price TBD
5. Gold Cocktail Picks $18.95 6. Sculpters Glassware $16-78
*Psst! You can’t go wrong with Cocktail Kingdom. It’s an excellent one stop barware shop.

Now that you know where to buy and how to set-up a sexy bar, it’s time to make a damn good drink. Enjoy the Long Kiss Goodnight, a refreshing winter cocktail created by the talented Prairie Rose (author of Bit By A Fox ) for Design Sponge’s Behind the Bar .

Photo by Kristina Gill

The Long Kiss Goodnight by Prairie Rose

1 1/2 oz Bourbon
3/4 oz Grand Marnier Liqueur
3/4 oz Blood Orange/mandarin/clementine juice
Sparkling wine
Pomegranate seeds for garnish

In an ice filled shaker, combine the first three ingredients. Shake until well chilled. Strain into a large, chilled coupe glass. Top with champagne and pomegranate seeds.

Gas Lamp Antique Mall

One of my favorite things about my job is that I get to shop. A LOT.

A local favorite is Gas Lamp & Gas Lamp Too Antique Mall located in 100 Oaks. With over 25,000 square feet of goods in each building, your guaranteed to find something wonderful. And most likely, magical. The mall is filled to the brim with one of a kind items, oddities, antique & vintage furnishings, home decor and artwork. Whether you are looking for a gift, a unique item for your home, or a prop for a photo-shoot, Gas Lamp will likely have it and a few other things you didn’t know you needed.

On my most recent trip to Gas Lamp, I was on the hunt for over the top, ornate statement pieces. My current project is a baroque modern office with a strong influence of music and fashion.  The client wish list is flocked wallpaper, oxblood red & graphite black accents, tiger stripes, brass & gold-leaf, mirrors, modern & antique furnishings and lots of pop art. Fun, right?! Having a client who knows what they want and is willing to take risks is the best client to have.

Phase one of my projects is research and scouting. Before I have my heart set on a specific design, I go out and explore. It’s important to free your mind and allow yourself to be open to new ideas. Especially when you are at an antique store. You never know what you are going to stumble upon. You could miss out on something really special because you were too stuck on your original idea.

Design Tip: Enjoy the process, don’t be in a hurry and think outside the box.

Here are a few photos of my trip to Gas Lamp: