{DIY} VINTAGE BAR CART

BY POPULAR DEMAND!

THE STORY OF HOW I BROUGHT NEW LIFE TO AN OLD BAR CART! 

When I was transforming my latest dining room for a client, I had no idea that bar carts were on the rise of trends!  So once I had them sold on why they needed a bar cart, the hard part was finding one in our budget.  Most bar carts I found started at $400 and went anywhere as high as $1,500!!  Wowza!  That was more than our budget for the entire space!  So that meant I was on the hunt for a bar cart, that was cheap!!  

I found this guy tucked away in an antique store.  It had books and objects stacked all over, but I saw some potential underneath all that!

Key elements I was looking for in a traditional bar cart included, wheels on the bottom, a handle bar on one side to push the cart around if needed while entertaining, at least two levels for storage, and glass! 

This guy had all of the above, and for only $100, it was a score! After a can of hammered gold spray paint to give the piece a more vintage style, this bar cart looked brand new! 

{CLIENT} DINING ROOM continued...

THE GEM OF A DINING ROOM:  

FINISHING TOUCHES OF THIS DINING ROOM MAKEOVER

This Dining Room just wasn't complete until we changed out the chandelier.  When building a new home, sometimes you are under so much pressure to get items picked out that you don't choose what you really want in a space.  So after living with a builder basic chandelier for years, this client was finally getting the chandelier of her dreams! It is the real gem of the dining room and the perfect finishing touch!!

The room is NOW complete!!

{Client} Dining Room

A dining room transformation on a budget!

This dining room started as a great space, but it was lacking a stylized, finished look.  You might remember the Lynch home, I transformed their home office into an amazing space for the entire family in grays and yellows.  They loved the room so much, I received the opportunity to makeover their dining room too!  

Before

Bare walls in an unfinished space.

In desperate need of a dramatic center piece. 

 The After results of turning a bare space into a beautiful, formal dining room ready for some serious entertaining!

 

 

Here are the items that brought this space together... 

A grouping of mirrors!

The once lonely dining room table dressed for fall with layers of candles, glassware, and plants.

New head chairs add some comfort and softness to the space.

A glass top vintage bar cart!  LOVE!! :)

Hand-made custom artwork from old dictionary pages.

Individually, these items were all inexpensive and bought on a budget.  Together, they make an amazing high end dining room!

It's all in the details!

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers! And happy dining! 

"interior design inspired by high end design, created for modern living"

-Jessica 

Sneak Peek: Dining Room

Mood board for a modern traditional dining room. 

Installation for this dining room makeover is tomorrow, so here is a sneak peek of what is to come!!  

Stay tuned for all the before and after, and everything in between pics!

DIY {My Home}

{Here is an easy and inexpensive way to add a BIG impact in a space}

In my home, there is one loooong, continuous wall that stretches throughout the living room and into the dining room.  I wanted to make the wall a focal point for each spaces.  So once the colors scheme of sea blues was determined for the walls, I created large, horizontal stripes along the wall to make a big impact in the spaces.  

I marked the areas NOT to paint with painter's tape.

 How to:  First measure the ceiling height of your room.  Larger horizontal stripes are going to make a bigger impact than a lot of smaller stripes.  So with 9' ceilings, I decided to do 7 stripes at about 15-1/2" wide each.  Once the base wall color was painted, I taped off the stripes using a laser level to get a straight line and a little help from my husband! :)  Once all of the tape is in place, paint the accent color!!  The fun part is stripping off the tape and seeing the results!

AFTER:  a suttle but huge impact of the over sized horizontal stripes!

  {Artwork Above a Couch} 

Keep with the scale of the couch, which in my case was a huge over sized sectional.  I created a collection of artwork that is about 12" in on either sides of the couch.  

This amazing driftwood sunburst mirror was the jumping off point.  It just wasn't enough of an impact by itself. 

Rustic, empty picture frames hung on the wall in pairs of different sizes added the drama I was looking for!

OFFICE {Gray & Yellow}

 Lynch Residence.  Most of my design projects start with one piece of inspiration...fabric, pottery, a picture.  This project wasn't any different, except that the client knew she loved the gray and yellow combination that is trending right now!  So when we both fell in love with this fabric, the room was built around it. 

Inspiration Board:  Coastal Industrial Office 

Jessica Stout Design is inspired by high end design but for the everyday budget.  Crate and Barrel Chair:  $999 Ballard Designs Chair:  $400 with custom fabric

  Since we were buying two chairs for the office, it was crucial to find a similar chair at a much lower price.  The Ballard Designs Gramercy chair was the same design as the high end Chloe chair just a little smaller in scale.  I was able to buy the exact same Dwell fabric online at www.fabric.com and for a fraction of the cost, I was able to get my client two chairs for less than the price of one!  

Notice the re-occurrence of circles throughout the space -- from the rug, globe pattern, chandelier, accents. Repitition and Rhythm are KEY design elements. 

BEFORE: a clean slate for a new design

Before

AFTER

This fabric is AMAZING!!

Spend your money where it counts!  Custom upholstered chairs, custom made roman shades, and the high end light fixture are something that will last throughout the years and make a HUGE impact in the room.  Saving on accessories from thrift stores, big box stores, and of course Home Goods make the space affordable!

It's all in the details!  

For me, interior designs really come alive in the details.  This is what brings style and life to a room, personality to a space, and makes the room personal for a client.  In the Lynch office, the entire family planned to use the space, so it was important to keep it functional with storage and organization while keeping it cozy and comfortable for reading a book. 

Industrial for him, a little bit of crystal for her!

I covered the Ball Jar lids with leftover fabric from the chairs!

Extra fabric was used to cover the lids of these mason jars for a pop of color and a playful, fun look!

 When making a collection of items in a bookshelf, think of 3 main rules to conquer stylizing shelves.

1. Color:  Select 1 or 2 colors to repeat throughout the shelves to make each shelf look uniform. A mix match of colors will just make it look too busy!

2.  Repetition:  Here I repeated the circle form to keep unity throughout the shelves.

3:  The Power of 3:  Groupings just look more organized in collections of odd numbers.  Here I used the "power of three."  A stack of bookcases is considered as one.