I'm thrilled that bar carts are back in vogue. I have always loved them. There is something so chic and "James Bond" about them!
And I have the perfect corner in the dining room for one.
But have you priced bar carts lately? The can be very expensive for such a small piece! I've looked for bar carts on ebay and overstocks.com and nothing excited me. Then I found one on TARGET.COM that had potential and the price was right. It has an antique brass base, although I was not fond of the wooden shelves.
But I had an idea for the shelves... and the saga began...
Here is the before...
nice cart but blah shelves!
Here is the corner the bar cart calls home...
Here is the after...
unique shelves
unique shelves
At first I decided to paint the bar cart shelves and use decorative Frog Tape to make a chevron pattern on them. As I was looking through all the paint chips at Lowe's, collecting piles of them to choose two contrasting paint colors... inspiration struck!
Why not use the paint chips and Mod Podge them onto the bar cart shelves? Making a Mosaic-like pattern. That would be very unique and different and hopefully pretty!
So I began stuffing colored paint chips into the pocket of my purse. Lots and lots and lots of paint chips!!!! Any chips that I thought would work well with my dining room found their way... in multiples... into my purse!
Feeling quite guilty about this, I bought 2 samples of paint, more Frog Tape and a can of chalkboard spray paint. I thought that might defray all my paint chip hoarding!
These are just some of the paint chips on the ho-hum wood.
I really did not know where to begin! I've only ever Mod Podged one other thing in my whole life!
To see my aged map using Mod Podge, click HERE.
I decided the bottom shelf would be my "practice piece". Thank goodness! I made a few mistakes on the shelf and overlapped some mosaic paint chips to cover them up!
For the top shelf I decided to not worry about some tiny hairline gaps in the mosaics. Because most of the mosaic will be covered up with bar gear and bottles.
I had no real method of making the pattern... I just cut the chips with a Fisker's cutter and ruler, Mod Podged the back of the chips and pressed them down of the shelf next to one another.
The supplies...
When all the chips were laid down I used a small foam roller and painted 2 thin coats of Mod Podge over the entire top of each shelf, making sure the surfaces were dry between coats.
Ta-Da!
I think the tops of the shelves have an abalone look. Too bad most of it will be covered up with bar paraphernalia!
This bar cart cost nothing for me to makeover... excluding the guilty buy of sample paint, Frog Tape and chalkboard paint!
What could you cover with paint chips?
Stop back tomorrow when I'll share my favorite way to keep cozy this winter!
I'm part of a Tour called...
These are just some of the paint chips on the ho-hum wood.
I really did not know where to begin! I've only ever Mod Podged one other thing in my whole life!
To see my aged map using Mod Podge, click HERE.
I decided the bottom shelf would be my "practice piece". Thank goodness! I made a few mistakes on the shelf and overlapped some mosaic paint chips to cover them up!
For the top shelf I decided to not worry about some tiny hairline gaps in the mosaics. Because most of the mosaic will be covered up with bar gear and bottles.
I had no real method of making the pattern... I just cut the chips with a Fisker's cutter and ruler, Mod Podged the back of the chips and pressed them down of the shelf next to one another.
The supplies...
When all the chips were laid down I used a small foam roller and painted 2 thin coats of Mod Podge over the entire top of each shelf, making sure the surfaces were dry between coats.
Ta-Da!
I think the tops of the shelves have an abalone look. Too bad most of it will be covered up with bar paraphernalia!
This bar cart cost nothing for me to makeover... excluding the guilty buy of sample paint, Frog Tape and chalkboard paint!
What could you cover with paint chips?
Stop back tomorrow when I'll share my favorite way to keep cozy this winter!
I'm part of a Tour called...
CREATING A COZY HOME
Please join the rest of the blogs on the
Creating a Cozy Home Tour
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Yvonne you are always so creative! I have not used Mod Podge in years...hmmm!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Karena
Kansas City Culture
Love it! Such a creative idea. At first when I saw it, I thought you tiled it. I have been eyeing up that bar cart for a while. You really can't beat that Target price!
ReplyDelete-Shelley
Interesting concept. Now, what to put on that cart???
ReplyDeleteGreat to be co-hosting with you.
- Alma, The Tablescaper
Well aren't you just too smart!
ReplyDeleteI love love love this idea. At first glance I thought it was tile and man...that would have been a lot of work. This is so creative. Can you let us know how much the cart was? Love your blog and read visit every day.
ReplyDeleteGreat concept, love it! It's a great way to pull together soft and bold shades of a few colors to help blend a color scheme. Hmm.. where will I use this idea?
ReplyDeleteJebny, Go to the body of my post and find Target.com. Click on that and you will go to a page that has all the info about this cart. It is really a very nice bar cart.
DeleteSuzanne of Simply Suzannes at Home
ReplyDeleteI love the transformation! Looks amazing!
Thanks so much for the inspiration,
Suzanne
So creative Yvonne...that turned out fabulous!!
ReplyDeleteHi Yvonne , Thank you for sharing such a nice idea . Looking forward to many more. Quick question , how come we still see Santa ? Can you swap him out with another photo . Thank you .
ReplyDeleteI'm working on that!
DeleteLove your cart, how fabulous is that. So creative too. Hugs, Marty
ReplyDeletePretty cart Ivonne, you did a great job. I want to see how you decorate it as I have one full of liquor and that's it! Mine has glass, so I guess that's it. Hugs,
ReplyDeleteFABBY
I love paint chips ... so this is a super fun projects. I wrote a posts once about Martha Stewarts new line of paints and all their fun names. I stuffed my pocket full of samples and snuck out ... but wrote a great post for her line.
ReplyDeleteFondly,
Glenda
Brilliant idea Yvonne it looks so modern now.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dawn! That was exactly what I was going for!
DeleteLeave it to you to make it your own! I too have been eyeing that cart- You may have just convinced me to go for it!! Barbara from MA (pligko@hotmail.com)
ReplyDeleteYour bar cart definitely looks way more upscale now that your have applied your special magic! But I have to tell you Yvonne that I am sitting here laughing myself silly imagining you swiping all of those paint chips and sticking them in your purse. A woman on a mission!! LOL!
ReplyDeleteSuch inspiration and commitment...love it!!!
XO Barbara
The cart looks so much more modern now! Love the paint chip swiping story ;) gotta do what you gotta do.
ReplyDeleteOh aren't you the creative and clever one…it is beautiful!…now there will be a run on paint chips!!! :)
ReplyDeleteIt looks fantastic in the dining room!!!
How clever and a beautiful transformation! I wish I had room for a bar cart.. I wonder how it would work as an end table?
ReplyDeleteI'm guilty of stealing paint chips too- I tried to make a mosaic type art piece on canvas for in my laundry room but found when I glued them on the sides and corners all pulled up as soon as I put them on so I quickly finished putting them where I wanted, flipped it upside down and put books on top of it so they would stay glued on flat. I guess you didn't have this problem? It worked but some of the pieces moved just a bit so the clean straight lines I was going for ended up being a little crooked so I used those flower color cards they have to hide most of the areas where it wasn't straight. Turned out really nice and now my laundry room doesn't feel like that anymore-it's a "fun" place to be you could say.
ReplyDelete100% fabulous, Yvonne!!! I would never have thought to use paint chips for this job, but I guess it helps to bring color without having to paint a hundred little chips of wood!!! :-) I have a vintage bar cart in our dining room that my Mom bought from place called House of Vogue (or was it Harzfeld's?) back in the early 50s before I was born. It has glass shelves, but I'm always really hinky about what I sit on them for fear the shelves will come crashing down before my eyes. This is an excellent trigger for me to start thinking about how to change that! Thank you! It looks FANTASTIC!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYvonne, you are oh so clever, this turned out GREAT!!!
ReplyDeleteCynthia
Yvonne- You are SO creative! I just saw this same cart at my Target store yesterday and thought it was very cool, but your added embellishments make it waaay more cool! Love the look :)
ReplyDeleteYvonne,
ReplyDeleteYour bar cart looks like a "high end" piece of furniture with your paint chip make~over, dear friend!!!
I love paint chips for setting color palettes. . .hole punch and safety pin and into my purse they go!!!
When I run across an interesting accessory, out come my paint chips for a color test!!!
Great inspiration @ Stone Gable!
Fondly,
Pat
This just gave me an idea! Probably like you had in the store with the paint chips. I have a tea cart that I can't stand the color! It was given to me. I love the cart, but thought about painting it. I think I will still paint it, but I'm thinking now of using the paint sample chips to cover the top. It definitely has to be painted or covered because it has water marks on it. This will be a good summer project. I will definitely let you know how it turns out.
ReplyDeleteMJ
You are one clever girl my friend. I love ti, just brilliant:)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was looking for my own bar cart, I scoped out the same one at Target. But like you, I wasn't in love with the wood grain shelves. But I love your transformation. Now, where's that guy in white coat with my drink order? :)
ReplyDelete