Bar Cart: Service with Style

Gals, our bar cart has been empty for over 2 years because of our darling Vivian Louise & her inability to resist tampering with it. She's now at a place where Mamma's shiny things don't intrigue her so much so I can start using it again! 

A bar cart is not only for styling. Do you gals remember 5+ years ago when it was ALL the rage?! For holidays, shindigs and everyday decor IG was covered in #barcartstyling. 

Fun Fact:  A bar cart's purpose is actually for serving. 

Bar carts allow a host to serve guests in rooms away from the kitchen. It has wheels so that the host can outfit the cart with the necessities and easily transport it to the appropriate room. It was the lifestyle midcentury. 

Now, you can use it for serving or decor. I use it for both.  Whether it's a dinner party, birthday party, tea party, coffee & cake, a shower or even outdoor soiree the bar cart makes for festive fun!

Currently entertaining is on hold so I've filled the shelves with some of my favorite pretty things.

It's in a corner of our formal dining room and fills the space quite nicely. 

It's a great piece for showcasing seasonal decor.

I have a picture of Ryan & I, because he's my favorite to cheers with and the colors go with our wallpaper :)

A stack of monogrammed cocktail napkins - necessary with every spirit.

A glass keepsake box with the place cards from our wedding rehearsal dinner (Ryan saved them unbeknownst to me and had them on the table at our 1 year anniversary - my heart nearly burst) and a couple brass candle sticks. I love tapered candles for the dining table.

On the second shelf I have a Christmas cactus, one of my favorite house plants and some gold lowball glasses & matching shaker. 

On the bottom shelve I have books, one being Emily Post's Etiquette, as a polite reminder to always have good manners. Now the marble wine cooler is fitting and chic but the Staffordshire dog figurine is more of a humorous addition.

I bought it at an antique store as his peculiar appearance spoke to me.  And I love midcentury chinoiserie style.  Ryan however was appalled by it and finds it to be absolutely hideous. I laugh just thinking about his offended sensibilities.  So over the years I tease him by placing it in his office or around our house as a joke.  He continues his threats to destroy it but I think he secretly enjoys the banter. :)

I encourage you to enjoy your bar cart whether it's for entertaining or decor.

 

Bar Cart Options Here - Here & Here 

Dress Your Bar Cart Beautifully

XOXO Sarah Louise

The Wonder of Wallpaper

Fun Fact: I'd wallpaper every room in our home if Ryan & budget allowed!

Wallpaper is just so beautiful to me! It's like clothing a room in a pretty dress. And as with yourself, dressing a room with color, print, texture and quality materials is the key to great style. 

Wallpaper can be as subtle or bold as you want.

 Dining Room Paper

The herons have sentimental meaning to me

Details to come soon when I share our dining room design

Wallpaper isn't your basic element of design.  It's a luxury these days for the investment in materials and installation. And because of this, and the lack of an easy undo, choosing where and what wallpaper is a big decision.

Typically, wallpaper is best for small and/or formal spaces.  Gone are the days of wallpapering kitchens and living rooms. Today it's most commonly used in powder rooms, formal dining rooms, entry ways, and bedrooms. Kids bedrooms are the most fun!

Entryway Paper

The hydrangeas, color & print are all sentimental

Details to come soon when I share our entryway design

I'm not an interior designer and in no way want to step on their expertise.  They are educated and have the unique talent & resources to do what they do BUT I believe that having ownership of your space is a must.  It is your home where you live and where you make your memories. Therefore the design, decor and elements should mean something to you and reflect who you are. 

When choosing finishes for our home I implement these very principles in each room.

Here are My Tips for Implementing Wallpaper into Your Home:

• Choose the room 

• Choose a color palette - we have an heirloom rug in our living room in pink and blue that set the tone for the papers in the adjoining rooms

• Narrow down the pattern - florals, graphics, small or big repeats ...

• Pinterest, IG & Google image Search!  When you believe you've found a wallpaper you love, search online to see it implemented in spaces.  It will help give you a good idea of what it would look like on your walls. 

• Order a Sample! It's hard to know colors and textures online shopping. Our dining room paper has metallic gold throughout that just doesn't covey in images. The raised texture in our entryway paper is a detail you can't feel on the screen.

• Visit a Design Store! It is so helpful to see, touch and flip through books of papers.  It can help you hone in on your selection.

• Hire Professionals! This is not where you watch a Youtube video and try and hang it yourself. NO. It is an art to paste and line the print up just right - it's worth every penny! If it's off just a hair it will haunt you.

I started to round up my favorite papers and about an hour into it I realized I could be here uploading and linking for weeks!  There are so many beauties out there. 

Here are some that I would add to our home if I could (I just may and beg for forgiveness after!) ... 

Citrus Garden

I'd love to incorporate this into our sunroom

Chinoiserie Mural

I originally chose this for our dining but now want it for our bedroom

Formal with Birds

8 colors

I love this for our upstairs hallways

Bowood

This would be precious in Vivian's room

Snake

I'd love this for the back of lacquered built in shelves in the office or in our closet!

Forest

I love this for our office, powder room or den

Swan Lake

This would be so lovely in our guest bath or bedroom

Our master bedroom had gold grasscloth paper already up when we purchased our home.

While I absolutely love the natural texture, the gold wasn't my favorite at first but it's beauty has grown on me! It actually warms the space and compliments nicely as a lustrous neutral.

I believe for such a large room (it's over 25 ft long) a print would have been too overwhelming. I highly recommend grasscloth for depth if paint is just too plain and print is a tad too much. 

P.S. I'm will be sharing more of my home decor & inspiration this year because I enjoy dressing it beautifully almost as much as I do myself!

Dress Your Home Beautifully in Wallpaper

XOXO Sarah-Louise