Thursday, March 27, 2014

I never knew the value of wheels or a dedicated caffeine area.

Alert the internet gawds because I'm feeling quite design bloggery this week!  Earlier I had one too many grapefruit chia seed white wine spritzers in a DIY'ed gradient glass and passed out headfirst into a bowl of avocado toast and glitter.  I've also been thrifting like mad, starting some DIY projects and gotten googly-eyed over a bar cart.

WHO AM I?!?!?!?

A Beautiful Mess
Something about this cute little coffee station is hitting me right in my design feels.  My personal design no-nos are chalkboard walls (which the background might be...?) and bar carts and this picture appears to have both.  And yet I've stared at it for at least seven consecutive minutes this week.

Did you even KNOW you wanted a Mason jar of coffee stirrers until you saw this pic?  I sure didn't.

Maybe it's the organization... maybe it's the idea of having options for amazing coffee every morning instead of the terrible skunk tar that my office serves... maybe it's the two - TWO - bouquets of flowers...  I don't know but it makes me want to work on jazzing up my kitchen with a legit fancy coffee station.  I currently have a tray and some things but nothing that's even Instagram worthy.  I feel ashamed.

As a general rule I need to jazz up my house for guests with, like, fancy guest towels and sachets and shit because right now the only thing they can count on when they come over is a funky smell and lots of cat hair.

Look, the smell stays until I can refinish the hardwoods but the coffee station and cat hair I can totally - probably - maybe -  take care of.

A Beautiful Mess
Here's another coffee station ALSO from A Beautiful Mess the year before.  It's less my style but damn, this girl is really into styling caffeine stations.  Mad respect.  

PS Are vintage Thermoses (Thermosi?) the new Mason jar?  I could get behind that in a Moonrise Kingdom kind of way.  But not if Gawd and everybody is gonna do it too...

The other kind of cart that's been on my radar this week (I told you I'm crazy high on Design Bloggerz Lifestyles of the Middle Class and Internet Famous) is this cute little bastard.
Succulents and Sunshine
AKA the other time this week I stopped dead in my Pinterest scrolling.  Not only is it well done - the blogger is THE succulent queen and has several very affordable ebooks written about them which I MUST purchase immediately - but it solves a plant problem for me.

Not the problem where I kill 87% of my plants (although her books might help!) but the problem of wintering my succulents!  

This Little Street
I actually did a good job of sustaining a succulent container garden last year on my patio but then when cold weather got here I realized I was up cactus creek without a paddle.  I had no plan.  I brought everything inside and tried to find windowsills and tile corners where I could water and not ruin anything but it was very tense.

But a cart. A CART!  That I could move around inside, outside, to the window, to the wall, til the water drips down the pots into easy-to-care-for metal shelves...  

I probably wouldn't pick this color or paint racing stripes on it but I'm just showing you the good things other people are doing.

IKEA
This IKE-Rah cart is EVERWHAR.  A laundry cart does give me some good ideas...

Livet Hemma
I don't think I'd actually purchase Mr. Raskog but I do like the grey better.  The color would set off the succulents nicely though, huh?

How often can you say succulents without sounding like you're trying to badly sext someone?  I don't know if saying it more will help or hurt...

Fancy Farmgirl Photography I think...
Regardless, a plant cart of any sort makes a lot of sense for me.  Also, when August turns drought time I can just gently wheel everything in under the patio roof in the shade to save my babies.

Someone mentioned to me last year about getting an old kitchen baker's rack to use outside for plants and I thought that was genius.  I couldn't roll it anywhere but I have a lot of space that needs filling.

That sounded almost as bad as sexting 'succulents' over and over...

Suvi Sur Le Vif
Do you know how hard it is to find an inspiration image of a cart that's NOT used as a bar cart?  People are going insane with their bar carts.  I challenge every bar cart owner to make me three different cocktails using the ingredients on your cart RIGHT NOW!

Same source as above? I give up...
YOU LOSE.  Thanks for playing.

That's literally all the inspiration carts I could find on Pinterest.  

After searching for seven minutes... 

I started to do a shopping round-up of carts for us and our new coffee station/plant trolleys but realized I can find carts almost weekly at thrift stores and junk stores for less than new ones so you're on your own!


However, I did stumble on these Jayden metal shelves from World Market and at $64 and $80 these seemed like reasonable options for an industrial/creepy medical look which is hard to find on the cheap at the thrift store.

They can hold lots of coffee stirrers, succulents or bone saws til your heart's content.

If I actually do create (possibly non-mobile) coffee station or a garden cart I'll let you know.

Until then, try not to create a scene fighting over metal furniture at the Goodwill.

4 comments:

  1. I am saving my pennies for yard sale season this year! I am ready to take my house and my yard to the next level, and I need all the cheap things.

    BTW I am team bakers rack for my porch. I was on the fence, and looking for a tea cart, but I think I need more shelf space. And I have a bakers rack. Free for the win!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Obviously you need to call for yard sale day! I'm all for breakfast and bargain shopping.

      Delete
  2. I want all the carts! My mom drove an hour to get me a wholly unnecessary 1950s metal (foldable!) yellow cart for my birthday last year. It makes me happy every day.

    It is the only piece of furniture Hub eyerolled upon meeting and then revoked said eyeroll due to actual it's amazing usefulness. Used it as a food cart for parties, office bitch, now it's appliance/espresso machine holder. I lust after the Ike-rah one but he would stab me if I brought it home. Also, Colombo Boby cart.....would be worth the stabbing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Welp. That just seals the deal. Better go shopping. AGAIN!

      Delete