One thing I’ve wanted to add to my living room, for a very long time, is a bar cart. While I don’t see us having martinis every night, it would serve as a place to store beverage supplies with a classy look. Plus, when we host our annual Christmas Eve party or any other parties, everything will be in place already! But, I don’t just want any old bar cart… nope, I’ve decided to convert an antique radio cabinet into the perfect bar cart.
Antique Radio Cabinet
I bought this piece several years ago at a yard sale. It had already been refinished and I just loved it. For $30, I couldn’t pass it up! IronFish couldn’t fathom what we would do with it. In our old house, it ended up being used in our bedroom, holding movies and the cable and DVD player with the TV mounted above it.
In our current house (which 3 years later I’m still calling “our new house”), it landed in the living room.
Since the living room is 3 steps down from the front entrance but has 10-foot tall ceilings, it fits the space really well. Walking down the stairs, it’s not too low to set something down on. Standing in front of it, it’s slightly taller than counter height.
And the way it opens up is so cool!
But, in its new home, the antique radio cabinet is currently just storing things.
Like wine bottles! Which is how the idea to transform it came about. I love how the front flips down and the top flips up.
Everything currently inside the cabinet was put there last summer when I was preparing for the kitchen renovation.
And a few of the things, I’ve been looking for ever since!
Inspiration
The bar cart conversion is going to happen this summer so I’ve been on the lookout for inspiration. Especially in our weekly Home Matters Link Parties.
My friend Ashley at Sweetpea Lifestyle recently shared some great tips for styling a bar cart. I actually have a cart similar to hers, but I store crafts on it. Maybe I’ll use it as a secondary bar cart when we’re entertaining.
If you’re someone like me that is constantly looking for new ideas, check out this post for some styling tricks for your Summer bar cart. Or lean on the professionals to assist you with your styling needs!
I’m not planning on adding wheels to the cabinet. The last thing I want is something my son can move around!!!
One thing I haven’t been able to decide on is if I should paint the cabinet. I’m very particular to turquoises, aquas, and teals… Yes, not just on my blog, but in my house too! So this beautiful bar cart makeover from Art is Beauty really jumped out at me.
I do have lots of color in the room already, so I’m more likely considering painting it white like other pieces in the room and the cabinets in the adjoining kitchen. Maybe the inside should have a pop of color? It is rather dark looking into the cabinet.
And I love how Bird’s Party used her bar cart for a Mother’s Day Home Spa Party! Proof that bar carts can have more than one use.
Creating Function
We all know I can build anything I want, but my to-do list for this summer is getting longer by the minute. So, I’m looking for some ways to speed up the makeover. (Yes, affiliate links are used which means I may make a small commission if you make a purchase, no additional cost to you! This is my business afterall).
I need some new wine glasses, but I know I will need space for hanging wine glasses and champagne flutes. In our old house, we had a little bar area in the kitchen and used these for holding wine glasses, they worked great
I want to include an ice bucket on the top right-hand side of the cabinet. Because this is wood, I don’t want anything that can leak or sweat. I’m on the hunt for a square, insulated ice bucket. So far this is my favorite, but if I can find something similar but larger, I’ll be even happier!
Obviously, I’m able to store wine bottles in the lower portion of the cabinet. But, as they are right now, to get to the bottom one, I have to move all the other ones. To make this easier, I plan on building or installing a wine rack to keep the bottles in place. This folding rack looks to be the perfect size to fit on one side.
In my kitchen cabinets, I used several of these acrylic wine bottle holders. No, I don’t have a whole wine stash in the kitchen too… they hold all our water bottles! IronFish has specific ones for biking and running. Plus, all 5 of us have ones we use every day. This way you can get the bottle on the bottom of the pile without all the rest falling all over the place!
You can’t have a cool bar area or bar cart without fun decanters. I’ve been picking up ones similar to this at the thrift stores.
The more I think about this project, the more excited I get for this makeover! What should I make first? This roundup of cocktails is calling my name… I just need to decide if I want to paint the outside!
What do you think? Should I paint the antique or leave the outside the way it is?
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