Compact Metal Wine Bar Cart with Reclaimed Wood Shelves

Sold at a neighborhood art show. Dimensions: Height 31.5 inches, Width 20.5 inches, Depth 16.5 inches, Weight 43 pounds. This funky little bar cart has a lot of capacity. It holds 10 standard-diameter wine bottles on the bottom two wine racks. Champagne bottles and other atypically wide wine bottles can be stored on the second shelf. That shelf could also be a great place to keep things like a cork screw, cutting board, or slate cheeseboard. Twelve wine glasses, up to 8 inches tall, can be hung upside down under that shelf. Casters make it easy to move the cart around to meet your personal or entertainment needs. My wife would love to keep this, but we simply have no room. Do you? $200.

The Story

This is a classic upcycling project, drawing on multiple sources, old and new. And despite how often people make bar carts on Flea Market Flip, this is the first one I’ve made. I found this metal piece in the parking lot of my preferred Home Depot, in Falls Church, Virginia. It had been abandoned there with at least one other old piece of furniture, near where their rental vehicles are parked. So that trip, just to buy some wood trim, really paid off for me! I immediately envisioned a small bar cart; it just needed some enhancements. When I got home, I realized that two wooden TV trays I had found around my Glover Park neighborhood of D.C. were almost the perfect size. I had to trim only about half an inch off one side of the one that became the the top shelf, and less than a half an inch off three sides of the one that became the second shelf. After making those adjustments, I used a belt sander and hand sanding to remove the old varnish and restore the surfaces to clean, natural wood. I also used a router to create consistent curved edges all around. I had four brass casters leftover from another project (Upgraded Lane Cedar-Lined Hope Chest with Cushioned Top). I just needed to make some feet out of scrap lumber to attach them to the four corners of the frame. From Home Depot I bought new 5/8-inch round dowels and 1x1 square dowels to create the two wine racks; I also bought a length of T-molding to create the wine glass holders. I refinished the metal frame (and painted the casters and feet) with Rust-Oleum Metallic Dark Copper spray paint. I applied Minwax Red Mahogany stain to all the wood surfaces. I finished the two shelves by brushing on two coats of Minwax water-based clear satin Polycrylic, and I finished the two wine racks by spraying on two coats of Ace brand clear satin polyurethane. One wine rack rests on the bottom metal shelf; the other is held in place with four 2-inch screws through the metal frame.

Related Items: Refinished Wooden Wine Rack #1, Refinished Wooden Wine Rack #2, Restored Library Card Catalog.