Dining Room DIY Furniture Lifestyle

How to style an Oliver Bonas bar trolley.

How-to-style-an-Oliver-Bonas-bar-trolley.l-styled-and-photography-by-Geraldine-Tan-Little-Big-BellI was super excited when Oliver Bonas set me a challenge to style my very own bar trolley.

(Stay with me on this post, as I have a special bar trolley styling surprise for you too.)

Anyway, back to why I was so excited.

Firstly, I’ve always wanted a bar trolley to style, and secondly, Oliver Bonas is one of my favourite high street homewares brands.

Whenever I see one of their shops, I am in there like a flash, browsing and without fail, spending!

So, indeed this was just the perfect collaboration for me.Bar-trolley-by-Oliver-Bonas-photo-by-Geraldine-TanOliver Bonas is renowned for their beautiful bar trolleys. I remember falling for their gold and marble Luxe drinks trolley.

Then for this season, the Studio drinks trolley (image above) was introduced, and it was love all over again.Bar-cart-Oliver-bonas-1-Little-Big-Bell-blogThe Studio drinks trolley is finished in a high gloss enamel, in hues of cream and apricot, set against a black metal frame.

In fact, there is a whole Studio collection of tables and shelves in pastel shades of sky blue and mint. So tempting! Are you tempted?

I say why stop there with the bar cart, buy the whole collection!cool-bar-cart-Little-Big-BellSo, how did I style my bar cart?

First, I decided on colours that would work well with the peachy apricot tones of the trolley.

I picked fuchsia, mint, orange, purple, turquoise/teal and my usual favourites – pink and gold.

I thought it would be fun to add this light box with the suitably selected words ‘Happy Hour’ and ‘Cheers’ in my chosen colour palette.

Every stylish bar trolley should have some gold accessories on it, to give it that touch of glamour.

I’ve chosen a golden pineapple from Oliver Bonas, to remind me of warm Summer months. That perfect time of year for sipping icy cold cocktails.

I’ve also picked a gold bottle opener (seen on the light box) in the shape of a cat, or is it a fox?How-to-style-a-bar-cart-by-Geraldine-Tan-Little-Big-BellI’ve seen many beautifully styled stand alone bar trolleys, but I often feel there is something lacking.

I think what surrounds the bar trolley is just as important as what is placed on it, to create that overall design look.

A framed print in a similar colour palette to that used to style the trolley, is a great way of completing the look.

One of my favourite things to buy at Oliver Bonas, is their wrapping paper. I have amassed quite a huge collection.

In fact, I have framed two of them, one placed above my bar trolley and the other on the floor, adjacent to it.

What do you think?Colourful-wrapping-paper-Oliver-Bonas-photo-by-Geraldine-Tan-Little-Big-BellHere’s a better view of my framed Oliver Bonas wrapping paper. It really compliments the colours I have chosen.

A cocktail shaker is an absolute must. My gold polka dot shaker is from Kate Spade New York.

What is your favourite cocktail?

I recently attended a good friend’s dinner party and we had Cosmopolitans.

I loved the colour and taste of that vodka infused with freshly squeezed limes and cranberry juice. It’s now my favourite cocktail.flower-on-bar-cart-styled-andphoto-by-Little-Big-BellHere are two more essentials for making a bar trolley pretty.

Colourful patterned coasters and fresh floral blooms in a little vase.How-to-create-a-cool-bar-cart-from-Oliver-Bonas-photo-and-styling-Little-Big-BellOf course a bar trolley won’t be a bar trolley without the alcohol and glasses.

My advice is to decorate with only a few bottles of your favourite tipple and avoid clutter. It helps to have pretty bottles on display too.

Glasses needn’t be plain nor boring. I have hopefully injected some fun with these colourful Champagne glasses from Oliver Bonas and the pretty patterned glasses from West Elm London.

Another easy way to add colour and interest to your bar trolley is to stack glasses on books with colourful spines.

My books are cookery related, but you could get more relevant ones, like those ‘how to make a cocktail’ books.

I simply had to use those books, which I also bought from Oliver Bonas ( see I told you I shopped there a lot!) for their colours.

Isn’t that bright pink and green just divine? They go so well together.Straws-on-bar-cart-styling-and-photo-by-Geraldine-Tan-Little-Big-BellAll bar trolleys should have a display of straws. Mine were naturally very colourful.Stocking-a-bar-cart-photo-by-Little-Big-BellIn addition to using flowers to soften and give the trolley a feminine touch, I made a little cream paper pom-pom ball, which I attached with some ribbon.Styling-a-bar-cart-Little-Big-BellThe final touch is the addition of some celebratory helium balloons. Colourful-bar-cart-styled-by-Geraldine-Tan-Little-Big-BellSo, what do you think? I hope you like what I’ve done and the little styling tips.oliver bonas pinterest competitionHere’s my special bar trolley styling surprise for you. It’s a Pinterest competition.

You too can style your own Oliver Bonas bar trolley and be in with a chance to win one of the 5 Oliver Bonas items you have used to style it.

All you have to do is follow the instructions in this link to the My OB Studio Trolley competition on Pinterest.

Remember to pin what you would use to style your trolley with.

It may be some colourful glasses or maybe a gold pineapple from Oliver Bonas.

I’m super excited to see what you pick, and hope you will enter. The competition ends on 15th April.

((Update 24/04/16: Thank you all for participating in this competition, the winner has been announced. Congratulations to Anna Tuckett.))

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

( All photography and styling are by Geraldine Tan, Editor of Little Big Bell, with the exception of the last competition image. This post has been done in collaboration with Oliver Bonas. I was gifted the bar trolley which I used for the styling. All opinions expressed are my own.)

11 Comments

  1. Ah, I’ve been lusting after this OB trolley for a while now G – love your styling! xx

  2. Great comp! I need Oliver Bonas to open up in Manchester ASAP its not the same shopping online!

    • littlebigbell

      I’m surprised there is no OB in Manchester! I’m sure there will be one there soon.x

  3. Very lovely, and so cheery, I felt in the mood for cocktails and a party just reading your post and looking at the images. I don’t think I have a favourite cocktail, but I had a rhubarb bellini recently which I liked a lot.

  4. Looks lovely Geraldine. And just in time for your birthday! Hope you have a great one. x

  5. Just gorgeous Geraldine, I really need this bar trolley in my life x

  6. Pingback: How to Make a Mini Home Bar - Love Chic Living

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*