The return of the bar trolley....

For some reason, I've got it into my head that a bar trolley is an essential item of furniture for our living room - which is a bit odd given that neither I, nor Mr SG, really drink. But there's something about the nostalgia of a bygone era and all the paraphernalia that goes with mixing a drink, from beautiful glasses, to the stirrers, the cocktail shakers and the shape of the bottles themselves that is really appealing. Plus our house was built in 1927 so it kind of fits with the era.

For now I've created my own little drinks area, stretched across two units. The first unit was a big heavy kitchen unit which was given a new lease of life in the summer and which you can read all about here. Behind its glass doors it displays these bits and bobs...

Gin bottles. The reason that we have lots of bottles of gin is because my Dad lives in Guernsey and every time he comes to visit, he brings us another bottle of gin (duty free). I love the bottles. Thinking about it, the fact that we have two teenagers in the house could well mean that they have been emptied, re-filled with water and I would never know. I must give them a sniff sometime.

The ice bucket was a present from my aunt from a jumble sale and I just decided to fill the cocktail glass with small baubles that we had, as a nod to the bubbles it doesn't see in real life.

Fizz glasses!

The second unit is a new acquisition from a local shop, Cherry Tree Interiors which is one of my favourite local shops for a browse. This photo wasn't taken for the purpose of the blog - had it been I may have tried (but probably failed) to make it look a bit better. But at least it gives an idea. 

Because of the direction of the light in this room, the photos always will be a bit pants but you can see this collection of knick-knacks - a silver apple (a find from my Mum in a charity shop), a light up flamingo, a pineapple candle holder from Laura Ashley and a Kate Spade glass similar here. 

And at the other end of the sideboard, there's a combination of a succulent, a pear candle (also from Laura Ashley) a pineapple candlestick and a copper pot, which is waiting for the one and only item that I'm going to allow myself to buy when I go into town tomorrow...

But if we are going to go down the full on trolley route, I think it's a little way off yet. First I have to persuade Mr SG that painting the entire room dark blue is a good idea. He seems to think that we should sort the kitchen and bathroom out first and whilst I agree on the one hand, on the other hand the living room is nearly there (apart from the footstool and a chair being covered, plus some new cushions).  That's nearly there right? Oh, and it being decorated a darker shade of pale.

But that little matter of delicate negotiations aside, these trolleys have made it onto my hit list...

Rockett St George round brass and marble drinks trolley (£340)

Swoon edina drinks trolley (£349)

John Lewis west elm bar cart (£296)

I was looking at another brand earlier which had a great selection but I can't for the life of me remember its name now. So I decided to post this post anyway. It was either that or wait for 3 weeks to go by before I got around to hunting for it again. But anyway, you get the gist.

So until such time as the walls are (or aren't) painted/papered blue, or the bathroom/kitchen are/aren't finished, I will be going to John Lewis to get these flamingo forks (stirrers in my eyes - £5) for my make shift drinks cabinet/trolley. And I know that they will make for a very happy Friday!