Monday, October 17, 2011

Care For a Drink? (Barcart Reveal)

Nearly two months in the making, may I present to you all my newest project: my goldleafed barcart.
My inspiration:
The "Roland" bar cart from Worlds Away, which is understated in its elegance and out of my price range at $825.
Surely you'll agree that this piece has style in spades.
(via House and Home)

 What I started with:
A free (!) bar cart from Craiglist that was structurally similar, but a little clunky.
Just remember the operative word here: free.
The rounded trim on each end were quickly removed:
Instead of their rounded edges, I added a streamlined squared dowel to the two short sides and the back of the barcart.
I bought 2 dowels (cut in store) from Home Depot for about $2 each.
The rounded handles weren't the only thing to go.
The original casters were pretty heinous and fell off more than once, so I replaced them with 4 ball casters in brass.
Here is where the real work begins and where I keep it really, really, ridiculously real. 

Goldleafing is torture. 
 There, I said it. 
If anyone tells you otherwise, they are lying to you.
As a result, I didn't bother to take process pictures of the goldleafing (I was trying to power through, forgive me).

All that matters is this, the final results.
 To recap:
--free barcart + $825 inspiration
--roughly $35 spent on gold leaf, adhesive and sealer
--two months of on-and-off process to complete this work

Hope you agree that all the time and energy spent was well worth it!
Now, who wants a drink?

16 comments:

  1. This looks absolutely amazing! I'm always so impressed by your attention to the little details, too. I would never think to change out the casters, but it made such a difference!

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  2. hurrah! the place is really coming together. Looks fab.

    and yes, gold leaf is certainly the devil.

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  3. You did such a great job!!!!!!! It looks stunning! All that hard work paid off...I know you are going to enjoy it! xoxo

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  4. Absolutely worth it! It looks great and your home is positively lovely. Enjoy your new/old treasure.

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  5. It was totally worth it- what a great job you did! It looks beautiful!

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  6. You did a fabulous job!! it really looks great!

    ~Anya

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  7. I thought gold leafing sucked at first but once you get the hang its not so bad. Just work. With that being said i still havent finished my bar cabinets legs.

    great job!

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  8. Oh, Ashley, it looks fantastic. What a transformation!! You took something free and made it look like a million bucks. Yes, goldleafing is very time-consuming and messy, but it was well worth your effort here. And is that Sofia Coppola champagne in a can I spy? My friends and I snuck that into the Sex and City movie years ago. Good times. Oh, and your styling is the bomb. That brass alligator is awesome!

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  9. I have never gold leafed anything, but I would think it would take a lot of time. However, I am sure it was worth it because your bar cart looks awesome!

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  10. Amazing! It looks fantastic! You did a great job on that cart. It definitely looks like a very expensive piece of furniture!

    http://www.scavengenius.com/

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  11. Wowzer!! So impressive and well worth the time. Hope you've made yourself quite a few drinks after all that hard work.

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  12. Fabulous transformation, bummed I passed up on one here in Chicago. Not gold leaf, but brass! Kicking myself now! :)

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  13. okay this is AMAZINGLY good, I love the end result and it works just perfectly with the rest of your awesome living room :)

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  14. Pretty amazing my friend! It looks so good sitting next to your Parish chair! Your home is really coming together.

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  15. Wow! I'm in love! You did an amazing job.

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  16. All I can say is that it looks like it was worth the effort. WOW. What a showpiece!

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I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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