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Best bar carts 2024: stylish storage indoors and outdoors

If you're looking for style options as well as storage solutions, the best bar carts are everything you need. They'll endlessly elevate any room.

On of the best bar carts, a West Elm mid-century bar cart in a home, stocked with gin, wine, and cocktail equipment
(Image credit: West Elm)

Every room could use a bar cart. These simple but sophisticated staples make for beautiful storage. They're much more elegant than just leaving your bottles out on display.

The best bar carts are also convenient. They save you from dashing to the kitchen every time you need to fix a drink. But while originally designed to store liquor and wine, they're also perfect for a coffee nook. It goes beyond drinks, too - lots of people use them for craft materials or to display houseplants or coffee table books.

Our interiors experts are full of bar cart styling ideas, and in the interior design world there are few products that will blend style and functionality like a bar cart will. 

As an ecommerce editor, I'm a full-time shopping expert. I looked through a range of stores and hundreds of options to find the very best bar carts for your home. From modern marvels to vintage classic, these are my favorites. 

Best Wooden Bar Carts

Lulu and Georgia Bar Cart

(Image credit: Lulu and Georgia)

I love wooden furniture. The natural tone and grain of wood sets a tasteful and organic tone in a room. All of these bar carts have minimalist silhouettes, so they will seamlessly fit into your spaces. They're also made with premium woods, designed to last a long time. The teak trolley can even go outside too.

Best Metal Bar Carts

Anthropologie Bar Cart

(Image credit: Anthropolgie)

Easy to clean, metal bar carts are sturdy and practical. They often have an industrial chic look, which I love. I'd recommend these for bar carts plants, bathroom products, or anything that's likely to spill or leak, because they'll be the easiest bar carts to clean.

Best Mixed Material Bar Carts

Anthropologie bar cart

(Image credit: Anthropologie)

Mixing materials, whether it's metal and glass, or metal and wood, is an excellent way to create two dimensions of aesthetic appeal to a room. Gold, for example, looks really sophisticated, but without some natural stone or wood, it can look quite cold. If you pair it with glass, it will look really elegant, but might be harder to clean. There are endless material combinations that you could use, so here's a list with one for every home.

FAQs

Are bar carts good?

They're so much more than good. Bar carts are some of the best practical storage options that you can invest in. They'll make a stylish statement, but they're also a mobile storage unit for any of your hobbies.

Are bar carts practical?

Just because bar carts can look really beautiful, it doesn't mean that they're not practical. In fact, they're one of the most versatile pieces of furniture that you'll own. Some have fold-out tops, removable wheels, and adjustable trays. These are all features that you don't want to live without.

Are bar carts in style?

People think of bar carts and trolleys as retro, but, as with lots of 30s retro styles, these are back in fashion. They're sophisticated storage solutions that are becoming increasingly popular again.


Our Verdict

You might think of them as retro, but bar carts are back and there are some beautiful models on the market. I love the wooden ones, especially the teak trolley from Anthropologie. You can extend the leaves to maximize your space and wheel it inside and out. There's no limit to what that bar cart can do.

I would always recommend buying a minimalist bar cart, unless you have a purpose, such as wine storage in mind. A simple silhouette is the most versatile way to have a space-saving and stylish cart. Whether your hobby is coffee, crafts, plants, or wine, a bar cart will let you express your style whilst tidying your home up too.

Laura Honey
eCommerce Editor

Laura is our eCommerce editor. As a fully qualified barista, she's our expert in all things coffee and has tested over thirty of the best coffee makers on the market. She has also interviewed Q-Graders and world-leading experts in the coffee industry, so has an intimate knowledge of all things coffee. Before joining Homes & Gardens, she studied English at Oxford University. Whilst studying, she trained as a master perfumer and worked in the luxury fragrance industry for five years. Her collection of home fragrance is extensive and she's met and interviewed five of the world's finest perfumers (also known as 'noses'). As a result of this expansive fragrance knowledge, she always puts quality and style over quantity and fads. Laura looks for products which have been designed simply and with thoughtful finishes.