Michael Gregor Ratz Interior Design Consulting

It's been years since trendsetters declared the comeback of the bar cart as a living room fixture. But as Washington D.C. interior designer Skip Sroka says, "Bar carts never left. They have always, always been around. Anyone who has been hospitable has one somewhere." Stand-alone, movable bars are helpful for guests because they allow them to make their own beverages, but they also help hosts delegate drinks while they manage the other details of hospitality.

Think about width and where you will put it, whether you want to see the liquor bottles or whether you want them behind closed doors. And what about wheels? If you want to move the cart from the dining room to the living room occasionally, you might want the ability to roll. It seems that every home-furnishings retailer sells bar carts now, so there's one to match every style.

Consider how the bar cart material will stand up to guests' cocktail making. Mirrored surfaces wipe up beautifully, spills on wood will add patina over time. (Note: Alcohol will etch marble surfaces.) There's a lot of personality going on with a bar, the basic design should complement your collections, whether its alcohol or non alcoholic beverages or beautiful glasses. Railings prevent bottles from tipping. If you think you might move the bar cart around, even seasonally, look for wheels. It's a rather Jetsons-like convenience to roll your bar cart to whatever room you're in, and that way nobody has to go far.

As soon as Ikea debuted the trim little Raskog utility cart, bloggers and DIY-ers started testing its versatility, resulting in Raskog nightstands, craft stations, vanity carts, toy storage, bookshelves, potting benches and, of course, bar carts ($30,ikea.com).

Look beyond home furnishing retailers for creative options. One company, Luxor, for example, manufactures specialty carts for work environments, but many of its utility carts could stand in as bar carts. The industrial feel comes with industrial function, too: The SSC-3 has casters with locking brakes, a one-inch lip around the top and middle shelves, and 300-pound carrying capacity ($148,webstaurantstore.com).

Small bar carts are ideal for tight spaces, but they can't hold an entire bar's worth of bottles and glasses. If you're hosting a get together, use them instead to set out ingredients for a special cocktail designed just for the occasion, and teach your guests a new recipe. Whatever you put out someone will use. Someone may prefer Scotch, but if you're serving lemonade with iced tea and vodka and mint, then that's what they're going to drink.

Accessories

If your bar cart doesn't have drawers, think carefully about the items you put on it. Consider what you want to look at and what will save space. Just a little glamour on a cart is tasteful.
What to stock for libation making? Besides glasses, I recommend a small cutting board, bar towels, cocktail napkins, tray, strainer, shaker, bottle opener, jigger, knife and ice bucket.

In addition, I always include a little vase for flowers or small branches, a few small, well curated books and if there's room on one of the shelves, and interesting & beautiful object.

A Las Vegas based company known as °BCS, or Black Crow Studios takes the art of wallpaper and literally puts the "art" into it! Founded in 2013, this quintessentially postmodern design team first creates original abstract watercolors on paper before further abstracting them by enlarging and exaggerating the transparent bleeds, drips & runs in digitally printed wallpaper panels which are made to order and customized for the intended space each order is commissioned for.

In addition, °BCS has recently begun selling pre-formatted watercolor murals you can buy by the roll, as well as frameable smaller scaled prints of their original abstract designs.