DIY: Vintage Bar Cart Housewarming Gift

One of my favourite people just put in an offer on his very first home which was accepted - even in this crazy Ontario housing market! What do you give as a gift for such a special occasion? I will always choose something personal and practical with a vintage touch.

A couple of months ago I was in Value Village and saw this vintage bar cart for only $8! I already have a brass bar cart that my parents bought me a couple of years ago but ... I couldn't in good conscience leave this one at the store. I bought it knowing that I could fix it up and find it a good home in the near future either as a gift or as a redesigned item in my shop.

Brass Beauty: a birthday gift from my parents

It had a few scratches, the brass was worn and tarnished in spots and the wood handles were pretty dry but I saw the potential. Enter Method's "Wood for Good" wood furniture polish and "Bar Keeper's Friend" brass cleaner.

I was really happy with the way it looked after a good cleaning so I visited my favourite haunts: the Orillia Habitat for Humanity Restore, Salvation Army Thrift Store, Antiques on 11 and Value Village. I was really lucky to find glassware at Value Village: 2 red wine glasses, a set of 4 scotch glasses and 4 small vintage glasses for less than $8! All they needed was a little washing and polishing to look brand new.

I then took a quick trip to our local LCBO and purchased the usual bar basics but made an effort to go for great design and support some of our local distillers at the same time.

Now it's time for styling! As far as I'm concerned, no bar is complete without a little swagger and this picture of Roger Moore was the perfect fit. Roger normally sits on my piano in our music room but I made an exception in this case - for photos only - he was not leaving this house ...

I added a few finishing touches including some tulips from the garden in a lucite ice bucket and voila - the perfect housewarming gift!

Then yesterday happened ... I learned that Roger Moore had passed away.

I debated on whether or not to post this and in the end felt I it would be a nice homage to one of the greats. I hope I did him justice with this little design and I'll continue to play for him on the piano.

- Carley