Turn a Side Table Into a Faux Bar Cart

Transform a side table into an easy-to-create, affordable bar cart stocked with repurposed items.

By: Liz Gray

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As spring days heat up, I love to host small gatherings with just a few friends. Full-size bar carts are gorgeous, but you don’t need to stock a full bar for a casual affair. That’s why I decided to transform one of my favorite side tables into an easy-to-create, affordable bar cart stocked with repurposed items. You may even have most of the materials on hand! Here’s the finished product:

Ready to style your own faux bar cart? Here’s how to do it.

Find the Right Table

A small table with two or more open levels is ideal for a pint-sized faux bar cart. (This one serves as my bedside table in the cooler months.) Once you’ve shopped your home for the perfect table, move it to your sunroom, deck or patio to give guests easy access to beverages. You can even add casters on the bottom to move it from place to place with even more ease.

Pick a Theme

A loose theme ties your bar cart together and helps you choose the cocktail and the decor. I was inspired by both the hue and the flavor of in-season Meyer lemons. Since I have a lot of red-orange and turquoise pieces in my home, I decided to accent the cart with accessories in those hues.

Gather the Essentials

With your theme in mind, shop your home for essentials. Here are the basics you’ll need to stock your cart:

Signature cocktail ingredients
1-2 non-alcoholic beverages
Bottled beer (optional)
Shot glass or shooter glass for measuring ingredients
Container to chill cold beverages
Drinking glasses for the group
A serving tray
A hand towel to clean up spills or drips
A piece of art or fabric to display behind the cart

Use What You Have

Take a walk around your home and make a mental list of what you already have on hand. Don’t limit yourself to traditional barware: I repurposed a colorful tart pan as a serving tray, and hung a springy scarf as an impromptu curtain. Large terracotta flower pots make fantastic drink chillers. (Choose one without a drain on the bottom.)

Get Guests Involved

As a guest, I always enjoy trying my hand at mixing my own drink. As a host, it’s one less thing you have to do before the party starts. To empower guests to mix their own, I added a wooden chalkboard featuring the recipe for one of my spring favorites — Spiked Thyme Lemonade — behind the bar. (Recipe below!) The cute stoneware bin on the end was originally intended for pencils or utensils, but it made the perfect home for my thyme garnish.

Add the Finishing Touches

Stick-on chalkboard labels help guests determine what is what, and they can be easily changed for the next gathering. A glass dish of Meyer lemons is both a decorative accent and an ingredient in the signature cocktail. Don’t forget paper straws to garnish!

Spiked Thyme Lemonade

Serves 1

Ingredients
1 ounce Meyer lemon juice
2 ounce gin
1 teaspoon lemon-thyme syrup (recipe follows), or to taste
6 ounces lemon soda
Thyme sprig, for garnish

Directions
Fill a glass 1/3 of the way with ice. Squeeze 1 ounce Meyer lemon (about 1/2 lemon) into glass. Top with 2 ounces gin and 1 teaspoon lemon-thyme syrup. Top with lemon soda, then stir and enjoy.

Lemon-Thyme Syrup

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups water
4 sprigs thyme
Juice and zest of 2 lemons

Directions
Combine sugar and water over medium heat and heat until sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from heat, add lemon juice, lemon zest and thyme. Let stand for 15 minutes, then strain to remove lemon and thyme pieces. Refrigerate until serving. Keeps for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.