Bar Cart Styling

The awesomeness of the bar cart was first introduced to me years ago by the always fabulous Mrs. Lilien. Her boozy concoctions always resting on beautiful brass and glass. I longed to sit poolside with her highness, in Palm Springs, dressed in a bright flowy kaftan, sipping libations, garnished with a juicy chunk of pineapple and a pink umbrella. Yes, I know, that was very specific. But then I awake from my fanciness to face the reality of my two young children. Ha! I love them, but that party on wheels is so not happening. Besides, I partake in a drink or two, but not enough to require a full-on bar cart. The Boy is primarily a beer drinker…German beer…specifically Kolsch. Bar cart styling was not in my near future. Whomp. Whomp.

Yes, I drool over beautifully styled bar carts and secretly imagine where I might stash one. A luxury I thought I’d never owned myself. That was until a couple of weeks ago. I received a tweet from Summer Thornton Designs for her 2-Day Flea in Chicago. Since I’m an avid Lonny Magazine stalker reader, I had just read about one of her featured makeovers in the city. Super stoked, I was totally down for this event, especially since I was attending The Randolph Street Flea the same morning.

The original plan was to hit early buyer at the flea, hop on over to Summer’s followed by a quick pit stop at Humboldt House. The Boy was watching the little monsters for the day and letting this momma have a fun play day…alone. However, the monsters had different morning activities in store. I wound up leaving the house after the early buyer started. Whoopsies. Change of plans. I hit Summer’s studio first. A happy accident…it got me my very own Society Social Mrs. Lilien bar cart! A deal I couldn’t say no to. Slap a sold sign on that sucka and give me a virtual high five!

Please disregard the mess that is in my garage.

Her studio was smaller than I expected (hence she’s moving to a bigger space, hence the flea), but jam-packed with goodies! I scored a brass étagère, gorgeous turquoise painting in a gold frame, blowing horn, and that fancy bar cart. Yahtzee! Thank you for the delay monsters. You earned cake for dinner tonight! The deals were plentiful. This flea only happens once every couple of years, so you can bet your bottom vintage dollar I’ll be first in line for the next. Only then I’ll be bringing a larger vehicle. Let’s just there was blood, sweat, tears…and possibly a lot of curse words and a plea call for support to The Boy. It put up a good fight, but after 15 minutes, it finally fit…with only a few minor scratches to the car.

And a quick message to the biker who yelled at me for double parking on Armitage…well, let’s just say I’m still bitter.

So now that I have the bar fully stocked, next up is some serious bar cart styling. Styling that would make Mrs. Lilien proud. I’ve been hitting up Pinterest for some inspiration. I’m thinking of a white vase for sure. Florals. And probably these cool vintage glasses that I adore. Can’t wait to show you what I come up with! Cheers!