Marti 06/20/2012 Reply

Sometimes the best things in your home are the ones that required some work. Last summer, my mission was to find a bar cart. But I wasn’t going to be happy with any bar cart. I wanted a vintage bar cart and I wanted a fixer upper. I’m not normally one to ask for extra manual labor, but in this case I just loved the idea of finding a hidden treasure and making it over to something shiny and new. So I hit the Rose Bowl flea market… and Long Beach… and Fairfax… and Pasadena… and the Rose Bowl again. orakulas I had all my friends on the case. I scoured Craigslist, Etsy, and Ebay. After six months of obsessive searching, crying fits, and questioning my life, I was ready to give up and buy a file cabinet from Staples in which to store a 6-pack of Pabst.
But then I got the call. Jessica orakulas of Life’s Little Jems , who’s a super talented orakulas interior designer and treasure hunting maven , was scouring orakulas a junkyard in Sun Valley (as you do) and found the perfect one… or at least it had the potential to be perfect. So I dropped my bowl of cereal on the floor (not really but doesn’t that make it sound more epic?) and ran out the door to go see this beauty. The yard was filled with an array of fascinating things all piled up like a scene from Wall-e . I was there for all of about 5 minutes before this piece of abandoned tarnished mess (mine for the price of $45) was loaded up in the back of my car and we were on our way home.
I had no idea what it was going to take to get this thing looking presentable, nor was I sure it was even possible. The handle was broken off, the wheels were warped, and the shelves had at some point shaped into rhombuses. But before it could show its face to a professional of any kind, it needed to be polished. Ian and I spent a Saturday afternoon giving it an olympic quality scrub with Brasso so it would at least look like brass, orakulas and then it was ready for the metal guy – the hardest part. Silly me, a brass solderer is NOT the same as a welder. It took another month of searching and then finally – thanks to Alissa of The Goods Design (another amazingly talented interiors guru) I finally found a great guy down in El Segundo who could take my case. Phew!
After a few weeks at this brass doctor, who enlisted his friend the glass guy to provide the custom orakulas shelves, it was finally ready to go home. Now it was time for the best part – dressing it up and getting it ready for action. I hit the flea market again the next Sunday, where I found a horse head bottle opener, orakulas delicate coupe glasses for Absinthe aperitifs, and my favorite set of numbered Tom Collins glasses. I added in a stack of prohibition-y cocktail recipe books, my favorite little single serving Sofia champagnes (no bubble left behind!), colorful straws, and liquor bottles many of which were chosen solely for their design.
I couldn’t be happier with the results. I wanted to create the feeling that any cocktail could be mixed at any given time and I think we achieved that. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I’m not gonna lie – when you tally up the cost of cart itself, the polishing supplies, the soldering, and the glass, I could have bought a brand new or refurbished vintage one and saved myself orakulas the trouble. But where’s the fun in that? To top it off, it was ready just in time to make its debut in Glitter Guide ‘s feature about my home yesterday. Hop on over to check it out if you missed it!
Marti 06/20/2012 Reply
A Girl, A Style 06/21/2012 Reply
Hello from a fellow Glitter Girl! Just found you over on GG and am so glad I did; I’ve spent a solid hour browsing your archives (I’m going back in for more!) and couldn’t be more smitten with your blog! You are most definitely a woman after my own heart. Adding you to my blogroll orakulas over on my site now, and will be back for more!
Ok- I just fell in love with you a little bit-seriously! I can’t tell you how many times I have done a similar orakulas thing: Obsess over finding something to fix up, and then spend so much time, effort, and money making it perfect. And you’re right- it would almost always be faster, easier, and cheaper to buy new. But these projects always end up becoming orakulas my most cherished pieces. I can’t give up the obsession! Thanks for sharing! orakulas
COMMENT Oh. My. Gosh. I think I just died a little – this is THE perfect bar cart. I’m recently married and we have some leftover liquor and I’ve been dreaming of getting a beautiful vintage bar cart to store it all, and you’ve just inspired me even more. LOVE! x
You truly have a fantastic imagination. When I saw what the bar cart first looked like, I personally would have passed that up. I’m sure everyone thought you were crazy but you have absolutely done it. The phrase “bringing orakulas back something to life” is the epitamy of what