Like statement couches and Gray Malin prints, acquiring a bar cart has become a rite of passage for creating a chic apartment. Look at any cool-girl Instagram feed and you’ll likely find one parked in her kitchen, decked top-to-bottom in pretty bottles, glasses, and garnishes. But with the sober social scene on the rise, and more and more people swapping their kombucha cocktails for straight up kombucha, why not ditch the booze and re-design your bar cart as a wellness cart, instead?
It’s practical, too, offering up a design-friendly alternative to the massive cartons of collagen peptides that are constantly crowding your counter and it *finally* gives you a place to hold the fancy-looking juicer you dropped $500 on that’s currently hiding in your closet.
Here, LA-based designer Christina Higham (a booze-free babe herself!) serves up her advice on how to make your bar cart healthier than ever, so you can finally throw away those bitters that have been collecting dust for the last two years.
Keep scrolling for the easy ways to create a wellness cart.
Play with heights
Styling a bar cart is pretty much the same as accessorizing a bookshelf or a coffee table. Play with different heights to make sure accessories don’t all blend together, and when in doubt Higham suggests using the rule of three. “Objects look great paired in groups of 3,” she explains. “When you see an odd number of things, your eye is forced to move around more, which makes for a more interesting visual experience.”
Find your vibe
Since you won’t just be mixing and matching different booze bottles, it’s important to make a plan for the look you’re trying to create. “Try to select items that are similar colors and shapes to create a look that feels pulled together rather than a hodgepodge of things you found at the flea market,” says Higham. Pick a complimenting color palette that works with the rest of the room, then get a bit more wild with your textures.
Go crystal crazy
Finally—somewhere else to put the crystals that are crowding your bedside table. “I love the look of crystals on a display,” says Higham. “Not only are they beautiful, but amethyst is great for anxiety, moonstone helps invoke creativity, and black tourmaline is good for protecting your energy from negativity or just any energy you don’t want to pick up on.” Depending on where you plan to park your cart, check out this guide for how to up your crystal game in every room.
Add the sense of scent
Bar carts may have an element of taste to them, but wellness carts corner the market on the scent. Higham suggests adding some essential oils to make the cart a full-room experience, tapping DoTerra essential oils for her display. “Not only do they smell great but they have major healing properties,” she suggests. She also loves the idea of putting on a cool-looking diffuser, such as the White Stone oil diffuser from Virtuvi.
Start smudging
Good news: You now have another place to rest your sage while it burns and clears the negative energy from your home. “I love smudging (AKA burning) sage particularly after cleaning my home,” says Higham. “It clears out any stagnant energy and I immediately feel a lightness throughout the space.” Give it a home atop a beautiful dish on your cart so you can grab ’n smudge whenever the mood might strike.
No bookshelf? No problem.
Books deserve to be on display, and a cart is the perfect way to give them a place to live that virtually begs people to pick them up and read them. “Rather than cocktail books, include some books that inspire you and your wellness,” says Higham. She loves cookbooks, yoga books, travel books and design books, but find something that interests you (and, ok, has a pretty cover) that can also work as a conversation starter when new people come into your home.
Staying in really *is* the new going out. Don’t believe us? Even the college kids are on board.
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