A bar cart adds elegance and ease to entertaining

It’s a staple in Bond flicks, old movies, elegant homes and decorating magazines: the bar cart. More than just a table or trolley with a cadre of bottles lobbed on it, the bar cart is a stylish way to serve drinks and makes entertaining elegant. Better still, a well-outfitted bar cart will help guests serve themselves and give your party panache.

The choice

If you have a specific decor style, there’s a bar cart for any living room or dining room and for every budget. Bar enthusiasts can find budget-friendly styles like the Kahnah (www.wayfair.com), with racks for glasses and two shelves for just over $100. Or for go high end with the sophisticated Veronica (www.horchow.com), with its art deco appeal and three shelves for extra storage. For fun and flavorful tipples, the only choice is to go all in on color and verve. The Worth Rattan bar cart (www.shopsocietysocial.com) comes in a whopping 19 choices of color to coordinate with all manner of tiny drink umbrellas.

The function

What sets a bar cart apart from a regular bar are the wheels. Wheeling your cart around means you can mix cocktails on the fly. It’s that portability that means the party can move anywhere you wheel the cart. If the moveable bar isn’t your snifter of brandy, then a fixed bar might be more your speed. The Delphine Bar (www.jonathanadler.com), with its gilded trim and mirrored exterior, is the champagne of bars; it is full of sparkling beauty and opens up to a robin’s egg blue interior. With all its storage and style, you won’t even care if it doesn’t have wheels.

The style

Having a bar cart now is a statement of style as much as it is function. A bar cart is more than just a storage place for an assortment of spirits; it’s a place to demonstrate your flair. Great drinks and cocktails start with an imaginatively styled bar cart, and when done right your bar cart can steal the show in any room you put it.

With a bar cart, you can customize the styling for the way you want to serve your drinks. Friends dropping by for dessert? Top your cart with some port, dessert wine glasses and a bowl of strawberries to garnish. Maybe brunch is at your house. Create a mimosa bar with an ice bucket to hold Champagne, Champagne flutes or vintage coupe glasses. Add in a crystal pitcher of freshly squeezed glasses and a bowl of sliced kumquats for garnish. For another touch of decadence, add a bottle of Chambord to top off the mimosas and round out your bar. The squatty charm of the Chambord’s round bottle is captivatingly adorable.

The result

Creating an appealing bar cart is easy. Have a select number of glasses arranged with your libation of choice. Add in a bowl of fruit, such as oranges or lemons, to use as a garnish; or purchase a small bouquet of flowers for flair. The addition of fruit or flowers will soften your bar and make it approachable yet sophisticated. Finish with monogrammed cloth napkins and a small tchotchke to make it blend into the furnishings, and voila! Your bar cart is styled and ready to party.

(For more information, contact Kathryn Weber through her website, www.redlotusletter.com.)

(c) 2018 KATHRYN WEBER. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.