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Great styling ideas whether you're a mixologist, a great host, or both.
If you love entertaining at home, a drinks trolley is an essential piece of furniture for your living space. Previously seen as a relic of the past, the drinks trolley (also called a bar cart or serving cart) has become a fashionable way to display your favourite spirits and glassware, whilst having the functionality of a moving bar.
Whether you want a trolley that doubles up as storage or you're looking to create your own DIY home bar, there are a few things to consider when buying a drinks trolley. Choose a size that won't take up too much space in your home, but one that will still enable you to serve in style, and think about how many shelves you want for bottles and glassware, or additional compartments to hold an ice bucket or garnishes, for example.
Also consider the material and design and how that correlates with your interior scheme. For example, a gold bar cart would probably look out of place amongst country and rustic-inspired interiors. While gold bar carts are all the rage (especially on Instagram) for adding the right amount of luxe to any space, don't rule out a more minimalist or vintage-inspired drinks trolley either. And, if you're hosting a garden party during summer, then invest in an outdoor drinks trolley.
Either way, we've rounded up some of the most stylish drinks trolleys for your home, all with castor wheels so you can effortlessly move it around, without the restriction of having it in one space.
This Art Deco-inspired bar cart on wheels can move around with the party. The glass top allows you to store drinks, while a mirrored bottom shelf reflects the light creating an airy surface.
Display your favourite tipples with chic wine and cocktail glasses on this metal drinks trolley. Sleek, refined and with an industrial-inspired edge, this bar cart is ideal for your next dinner party. It can also be used for decorative purposes.
Make a style statement with the chic Dolly trolley from the House Beautiful collection at Homebase. There's plenty of room for glasses and drinks bottles, stylish sintered stone shelves to place them on, multi-directional wheels for movement around the room, plus did we mention it's only £100? It's an absolute steal.
Perfect for a contemporary home, this black steel bar cart is both sleek and minimalist, and despite being compact in size, boasts three shelves for storage.
Exuding Hollywood glamour, we love this glamorous drinks trolley in a stunning brass finish from the House Beautiful Marketplace. Curate the shelves with your favourite wines and cocktails.
We love this squared, sleek and refined drinks trolley with an industrial-inspired design. Perfect for barware and bottles, this small bar trolley is ideal to easily transport between rooms thanks to the metal castors.
This two-tier metal and glass drinks trolley is perfect for a dining room or living room. The top is made from clear glass and the bottom from mirrored glass. Finished with a polished silver-coloured frame, this drinks trolley is the perfect addition to any contemporary home.
This sleek drinks trolley boasts an industrial-style handcrafted frame made from copper pipe. It has two acrylic shelves and comes with a lovely glass rack and a wine rack compartment, which we're particularly fond of.
Store more glasses and drinks on this three-tier trolley from the House Beautiful Marketplace. Finished in silver, it's perfect for hosting your next party.
Bring the party outdoors to your garden with this black and brown rattan effect drinks trolley. You can roll it wherever you need, and there are six compartments to securely store bottles without the worry of them toppling over.
This luxe gold bar cart boasts a mixture of marble and two burnished mirrored shelves, plus castor wheels.
Limited on space? Choose a small drinks trolley instead. This circular gold bar cart is perfect for keeping spirits and glassware close to hand. Crafted from metal and tempered glass, it comes complete with a convenient handle and castors.
HOW TO STYLE A BAR CART
Whether you're a mixologist, a great host, or both, the most important thing to remember is that bar carts don't always have to be used for drinks. They're great decorative pieces of furniture, and could also be ideal for storage, whether that's displaying your favourite coffee table books or a potted plant.
It's important that your drinks trolley looks good too, so to ensure it's just as stylish as the rest of your home, we speak to five interior design experts on how to style a bar cart.
No drinks trolley is complete without glassware, but think carefully about what you will be serving, and stock accordingly.
'Bar carts create a sense of occasion in any sitting room as they are a perfect accompaniment for entertaining guests, but no bar cart is complete without beautiful glassware,' says Ivana Allain, Studio Director at Helen Green Design. 'We recommend a statement decanter or two for airing wines, and simple but practical wine glasses and tumblers. The longer and thinner the glassware, the nicer it is to hold and the more elegant its appearance.'
If you have a multilevel bar cart, it's important to use both the top and bottom to balance its décor. Too many bottles on one side can make it appear cluttered, so place bottles of similar weights at opposite sides on different levels. Of course, this doesn't have to be a perfect symmetry.
'Always put bottles on the bottom and glassware at the top of a bar cart,' says Eva Leone, Studio Director at Lawson Robb. 'This is both practical, as it is safer to put heavier items at the bottom. Bar carts do not have to be used exclusively for drinks and glassware. You can place accessories such as vases, small sculptures or flowers to create an alternative use for your bar cart that focusses on sculptural art.'
Don't forget all the accessories you'll need to help you host to perfection. From bar tools to straws and mixers to jugs, prep your drinks trolley with all the essentials to elevate your hosting skills.
The easiest way to create a casual but charming bar cart is to incorporate natural elements into it. Whilst bar carts can be busy in terms of décor, leaving room for flowers can make the drink station seem approachable instead of intimidating – choose tall vases and smaller bouquets to conserve space.
'When you are styling your bar cart don’t just think nice whiskies and fancy glasses, plants and flowers bring character and life to your display and soften all that glass and shiny surfaces,' explains Alexandra Laird, Design Manager at Burbeck Interior. 'You could use a hardy succulent or aloe vera for a long-life addition, or you can try a more feminine arrangement of your favourite colourful florals. Also, don't forget herbs as some fresh rosemary snipped from the garden in a nice short vase or even jam jar is not only pretty but adds the perfect flourish to your 6 O'clock G&T!'
Cocktail garnishes add the finishing touches to your drinks, but why not use the ingredients as décor as well? For example, a mint plant could help liven up the drinks trolley, both visually and through smell, whilst a bowl of citrus may aid visual interest.
'Cocktails have made a real comeback recently. People love to mix drinks at home, so it's important to have different garnishes to add that final touch to any drink,' says James Ashfield, Studio Manager at Rigby & Rigby.
So that your bar cart always remains in fashion, match your choice of drink to the season. Not only will this keep your bar cart updated and fresh, but you can centre your designated colour scheme around the colour of the bottles. For example, the autumn season is defined by colourful shades of red, orange, yellow, purple and brown, so it would be good to style the bar cart with bottles of bourbon, fall spices and cranberries.
Alternatively, 'if the season is spring, you could accessorise and style your bar cart with pastel colours to match the alcohol on display,' says Nicki Rodriguez, director of LHR Design. 'For example, rhubarb gin with pieces of rhubarb in the dispenser, would work great in spring. For the warmer, summer season, Pimms is very popular whereas autumn promotes enriching oranges, red and browns, like those found in a whisky or cognac.
'Lastly, Christmas is a fantastic time of the year, with seasonal drinks such as mulled wine. During the festive season, decorate with bowls of cranberries, mistletoe, orange segments and cinnamon sticks.'
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