NEVER KNOWINGLY CONCISE: DOES D.I.Y // BAR CART OF DREAMS

Since we moved back from Berlin, we’ve lived a more minimalist life. Afterall, our entire worldly belongings were put into a storage shipping container – we had NOTHING in Berlin as we lived in a holiday let – didn’t have our own bedding, cutlery, prints, books,  NOTHING. Which was weird whilst we lived out there… but when we moved back, we soon realised just how much STUFF we had and really didn’t need. We’ve sold a lot on selling sites etc, but we’ve donated just as much to charity too; which always feels good.

One of the item’s we did use was our drink’s cabinet – a Danish, Midcentury thing of beauty. But it just felt like this big old cabinet was too much now we were scaling down – it felt like it was overwhelming the room. (We did also use it for Eli’s Art & Crafts/School gear too, it wasn’t JUST a drinks cabinet! hah). So it was a begrudgingly out with the old… in with the D I Y! DIY you say?! Why? Well, scroll and see…

I’ve always been in love with gold and marble bar carts – you know, the antique 20’s type – cemented with stays at Soho House group (DREAM household interior btw). But these gold and marble carts come with a pretty price tag too. See below the kind of vibe I had as inspiration:

 

// BAMBOO DRINKS TROLLEY – OLIVER BONAS – £395

        
// ROUND DRINKS TROLLEY – GRAHAM & GREEN £315

  
// TERRACE BAR CART – WEST ELM – £349

As you can see, most bar carts are around the £300 mark, ouch! So I thought, why not live by the motto, ‘Fake it, till you make it!’ and make your own! So that’s what I did! See my step-by-step below of how I got my own Bar Cart of Dreams.

WHAT I USED:
IKEA – SUNNERSTA Trolley – £18
x1 D-C-Fix Marble Effect Adhesive – £6.50 per roll
x2 RUST-OLEUM Gold Spray Paint 400ml – Bright Gold – £8.75 per can
x1 Premium ‘Any surface’ tester pot – Black – £1.25 per pot

EQUIPMENT:
Scissors / Stanley knife
Pencil
Ruler
Tea towel

TOTAL COST: £53.25

    

  

    

 

HINTS & TIPS

  • Use spray paint in a well ventilated space. Not only because of the obvious issues with inhalation, but also the dust from the spray paint goes EVERYWHERE. Alternatively, use a traditional paint and paint brush to avoid dust settling.
  • You’ll need to do around 2 coats of paint – so just go at it finely at first, you can always cover up any bare bits!
  • Allow the paint to thoroughly dry – at least 3 hours but preferably overnight.
  • Take your time with the adhesive paper, lots of bubbles form as you’re applying – these can be popped with a pin afterward, or just use a towel to roll as you go.

So there you have it – my bar cart of dreams! This would obviously also work well as a cart for bath linen / lotions & potions or even just as a display trolley.

#DIYLikeAMum

Cheers!

Cx

OMM Design, “D.I.Y Banner” | This Modern Life.

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I’ve wanted a ‘DIY Banner’ for such a long time. I’ve wanted to write out our favourite slogans or words across the walls of Eli’s bedroom – obviously, without the permanent graffiti! So a few months back I finally got mine ordered from the really lovely This Modern Life online store. It was a toss up between the black and the gold – but the black just pipped it at the post. (It stands out against everything). As soon as it arrived, I took out all the letters and laid them out to see what I could write first…

Then realised that the metal fasteners were missing! A very swift response from the very lovely Suzanne meant that a new set of clips were in the post… (thanks a bunch again!)

I set to work…

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Even though Eli’s birthday was 6 weeks away at the time, I knew I wanted to debut my banner then. We removed the antique painting from above our sofa and strung the banner up in the centre of the wall. We were over the moon with it – I think it looks spot on! It was the perfect backdrop for Eli’s 2nd birthday (we will of course be wheeling this out every year going forward! A new little tradition!)

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Obviously, the birthday banner had to come down at some point… boo.

So, I set to work again – this time, I clipped together “Always be curious”. Our family motto. (Which is actually a little longer… “Always ask questions, always be curious.”) We *might* have taken inspiration from a certain Mr Richard Dawkins’ in his letter to his 10 year old daughter there; but it fits so nicely as we’ve always wanted our children to be curious about the world around them – and Eli has definitely always been a curious boy!

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This one is on the wall beside Eli’s library.

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And I just had to keep a little something for Eli’s bed-head too 🙂

What do you think of the DIY banner? What would be your favourite words to spell out?

MM.

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From the This Modern Life product page for the OMM Design D.I.Y Garland:

We love this multilingual DIY letter banner – use it to spell out your child’s name, a special song lyric, Happy Birthday, or even ‘MARRY ME?’

There are loads of letters in each pack, so you can create several banners with one kit.

Design Tips:

 Spell out your baby’s name in the nursery, or a cute phrase like ‘night night little one’ or ‘wake up bright’.

 Write out favourite song lyrics in your kids room, or use words like ‘PLAY’ and ‘READ’ to define areas of their room.

 How about ‘WELCOME’ by the front door, or ‘LOVE’ in the bedroom? Perhaps a family message in the lounge or kitchen.

 These not only make a perfect gift, they are also ideal for ‘Happy Birthday’ banners, and as a tag on beautifully wrapped presents.

Size: Each letter is approx. 8cm tall.

Good to know: 122 characters in each pack:

AAAAA BBB CC DDD EEEEEEE FF GGG HHH IIII JJ KK LLLL MMMM NNNN OOOO PPP QQ RRRR SSSSS TTTT UUU VV WW X YY Z ÅÅ ÄÄ ÖÖ ÆÆ ØØ Ë Ï Ü ßß Œ Ç Ñ & ! ? ‘ ‘

Plus 18 symbols:

♦︎ ♥︎ ★ ♠︎

Our Baby Boy’s first bedroom.

We’ ve been super organised during this pregnancy – despite all the scares and the tests and the anxiety. I think the being organised has been therapeutic in a way; and has given us something to keep our minds focussed 🙂

Here are the first picture’s of Baby Boy’s first bedroom – he’s going to be in our bedroom for around the first six months however! I did say I was organised, didn’t I?

We painted the walls first – ‘Willow Tree’ by Dulux. We must have painted the room at around 12 weeks. We needed something to do while awaiting CVS results.

We then went to IKEA at around 18 weeks and bought all the furniture! Check out the little dog-bum hooks!

This is OH putting together the cot. All very exciting!

Then putting the shelves up! He very much enjoyed using his new drill and fancy spirit level 🙂

I’m particularly enjoying my curtains, which I hemmed and put up myself. It’s quite a small room, but feels so cosy and nice. We just need July to hurry up now!

MM.