This past summer, I had the honor of throwing a wedding shower for my son and his soon-to-be wife. I had a lot of different ideas for things to do, but having a mimosa bar was high on the list. I started scouring Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp for bar carts and kept turning up empty. There was one HUGE mimosa bar cart I could rent for the low low price of $500, and I think that's when I decided I wanted to DIY my own. I'm showing you how you can take an old worn-out service cart and turn it into a fun party piece for your next event!
DIY Mimosa Bar Cart
If you've been around here for any length of time, you know how much I like shopping at garage sales. There are some things I see often at sales and others that I see less often. For years, finding bar carts at garage sales was easy. No one wanted the added furniture piece taking up space in their home. In the past year or so, bar carts have taken off in popularity and become much more difficult to find.
This DIY bar cart was made using an old antique serving cart I purchased locally from a guy on OfferUp for $30.
Here are some things to keep in mind when searching for a bar cart you can DIY into a mimosa bar.
Search for Keywords
I often find that sometimes the best finds on resale sites like Craigslist and OfferUp are hidden. It's because when someone lists an item, they often don't know the best keywords to use. Try searching for bar carts under serving cart or service cart {what they used to be known as}.
Know Your Measurements
I got excited about finding this bar cart at all because I had been looking for a few days, but I didn't consider the measurements. In hindsight, I wish I had passed up on this one and gone for something taller and wider. In fact I found something at a garage sale that would have been a better DIY mimosa bar but I already had this one. Which leads me to this...
Take Your Time
When I throw a party or create decor for an event, I like to have plenty of time to create and DIY, otherwise, I feel like I rush into finding solutions. Finding pieces to restore or remake takes time, so make sure you plan ahead.
Consider the Use
All that to say, I hosted the bridal shower at a different location so I needed to transport it in the back of my van along with six million other things too! So, even though it wasn't the ideal size I wanted, it did transport rather easily. So consider how you are using it before you DIY so you can be best prepared!
How to DIY Your Own Mimosa Bar Cart
I love chalk paint. Especially this FolkArt brand chalk paint. This jar had enough to cover this bar cart plus some left over for touch ups.
You can use chalk paint without sanding, which is great when you are using heavily laquered vintage pieces like this one! I think I put on about three coats total, so while I could have saved myself some painting time by sanding the piece down, I would have spent that time sanding.
Oh, and I hate sanding. Just thinking about it gives me the willys and makes my skin crawl.
After painting the bar cart and letting it dry for 24 hours, I put my hubby to work on cutting out the holes to hold the two utensil holders I used that would hold ice and the champagne and juice bottles.
I bought the utensil holders at my local Goodwill because I'm cheap like that, but you can pick them up on Amazon if you don't want to hunt some down. Some thing to keep in mind when buying your wine chiller bucket. Make sure they have a lip on them so they won't fall through the hole you cut.
Let me walk through the images above, but honestly, my engineer husband usually over engineers things and we appreciate him for it!
Step 1: figure out where you want your wine buckets to go. I like mine on the end of the bar cart so I could use the rest of the top to display glasses, a sign and/or fruit for garnish. The good thing about DIY is that you can do whatever you want!
Step 2: {this is one of the over engineered steps you can skip} If it were me, I would have taken a pencil to draw around the base of the bucket. However my husband took a fancy tool I have no idea what it's called and made a circle. You do you.
Step 3: Use painters tape on the bottom of the bar cart where you are cutting through to help keep the wood from splintering when you cut.
Step 4: Use a jig saw to cut your circles out.
Touch up any paint that might have gotten messed up, and slip your buckets into the holes. Stand back and marvel at your creation!
I created a mimosa bar sign that I'm sharing with you for free! This is for personal use only, so please don't sell this.
I printed it and put it into an 8x11" frame.
Download the file here
Some Fun Mimosa Garnish Add-In's
Adding a few fresh berries to a mimosa is a fun way to garnish your drink. Set aside a few small bowls with the following:
- pomegranate seeds
- raspberries
- blueberries
- strawberries
- blackberries
- fresh herbs like rosemary, mint or basil
- orange slices
- kiwi rounds
After the event, I decided to list the bar cart on Facebook Marketplace. I had so much interest in the first hour, which makes me think, this DIY mimosa bar cart would be a fun addition for any shower or event you might be hosting soon.
You can DIY this for not very much {my total was around $40 all in}. I ended up selling it for a profit after I used it too! This was much more reasonable than renting a bar cart for $500!
What do you think? Think you'd give it a try?
disclaimer: this post may have affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing through them, I may receive a small commission. These small purchases help me to continue to keep writing content and creating at Rachel Teodoro. Thank you!
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