I have been keeping my eyes out for a cute cart for a while now. I really love all the bar carts I've been seeing around the web, but since I only drink socially and my husband doesn't drink the whole idea of a bar cart doesn't really work for us, but I love love love tea. So I've been wanting to make myself a whole tea cart! I figued I can keep all my hot tea stuff and some snacks on it during the winter and add stuff for ice teas when summer comes around. And I finally found the perfect cart for it!
Though, it was a little rough when I first found it...
Kinda nasty, right? It was tagged for $15 but I got them to come down to $10 since it needed some rehab (yay for a little bargaining!). So I disasembled it, cleaned all the peices really well and sanded the tops just a bit before doing several light coats of universal spray paint (I like Rustoleom). I debated whether or not to change the color but realized I really like how industrial it looks. It kind of reminds me of something you'd find in a hospital or something!
I love collecting tins from thrift stores and my favorites are these little vintage tea-tins I keep all my tea bags in (I'd love to get back to loose leaf tea but have been really lazy lately). I'm also keeping my eyes open for a cute tea pot since I have a hand-me-down electric kettle that's a little...ugly. So I figure I'd keep that in the kitchen until I find a nice one to show off.
For those wondering the feather mugs were a gift (they're from Target) and I believe I got the black mugs at Marshalls a few years ago. The DIY for the herringbone tray can be found here.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
I have the exact same tea cart! Mine was a hand-me-down from my grandma, and it needs some serious love...it's so bare! Thanks for the inspiration to actually style it instead of just leaving it to fill up empty space!
Posted by: Laura | January 25, 2013 at 10:32 AM
Looks lovely Josie! Great job.
xx Allison
Posted by: Allison | January 25, 2013 at 01:33 PM
So cute! I don't really drink either, so I love the idea of a tea cart! :)
You should check out Etsy for tea pots. You can find lots of cute ones - both vintage and handmade. Worth a look.
http://2ndhandknowledge.wordpress.com
Posted by: Maggie | January 25, 2013 at 01:39 PM
You did a lovely job on this! I have a cart almost identical to this, but tit is RUUUUUSTY. I love the rust for some reason,and can't bring myself to paint it yet. You have isnpired me though.
Smiles,
The Joyful Thrifter
Posted by: Rachael | January 25, 2013 at 03:42 PM
good work on prettifying that cart - love those tea tins!
Posted by: Amanda | January 25, 2013 at 03:43 PM
How lovely, and you did such a great job on rehabing it!
Posted by: Kim | January 25, 2013 at 06:54 PM
Love it!!
Posted by: mariana | January 26, 2013 at 06:58 AM
So cute! You really turned it around! I absolutely love the way that it looks with your tray on top!
Posted by: Yelle | January 26, 2013 at 09:38 AM
vintage green tea caddy, not easily seen even in Chinaćwhere did you find it? (the blue one)
Posted by: Debby | January 28, 2013 at 02:53 AM
Debby - all three were thrifted! The blue and yellow one are definitely vintage/antique but I think the green one is newer.
Posted by: FineandFeathered | January 28, 2013 at 10:40 AM
dying over how cute that is!
Posted by: cristina rose | January 29, 2013 at 03:12 PM
The tea cart turned out great!
Posted by: Amy | February 1, 2013 at 03:16 PM