Hey y’all! I’ve been SUPER busy with home projects with all this time we’re spending at home. One of the biggest successes I’ve had is making my own, personalized bar cart. Read more on how I turned a $30 bar cart into one that looks $200+!
I was actually inspired by this blog post, which I found on Pinterest, to pursue this project. But I definitely took my own spin on it since I had a different style of bar cart and learned more about the the tiling process. I was able to use tile and learn how tiling works (for the wall, floor, anywhere!), which is a pretty nifty skill to have. Imagine being able to cut the contractor/handyman costs and tile your own floor! I actually took this skill over to install tile around my bathroom mirror…. but that will be another post. 🙂
To start, I found a super cheap bar cart that would match the rest of my interior. I typically would pick a gold frame, but my bar cart is close to my kitchen, which has all chrome/stainless steel and gray countertops. I would say to pick a cart that which has a frame that compliments your other interior accents, but don’t pay too much attention to the shelving, since it’ll be completely redone anyways! This is the one I purchased about a year ago at Walmart, although it’s now out of stock, but there’s a good, cheap selection available.
Once you have your bar cart picked out and receive it, I would suggest assembling the car and then measuring how large the shelves are. I recommend assembling it first because the bars from the frame can get in the way and make the shelves smaller than anticipated. The last thing you want to do is tile the shelves and then find out that they’re now too large! Anyways, measure each shelves and keep it in mind when picking out the tile you want. I would suggest buying a couple extra tiles too in case accidents happen. If interested, this is the tile I picked out and purchased. I ended up needing 20 tiles for my cart.
In addition to the tiles, you’ll need the following items:
- Wet Tile Saw – Seriously, I tried a snap tile cutter and it didn’t work. You need the big boy.
- Painter’s Tape
- Ceramic Tile Mastic (a lot easier than cement!)
- Flooring Trowel
- Ready to Use Grout (in your desired color)
- Rubber Grout Float
- Sponge
- Silicone Caulk (in your desired color)
- Paper Towels or Towel that you don’t mind getting ruined!
The first step is to arrange your tiles in the desired spots. Once they’re arranged in the way you want, get a permanent marker and a rule to draw a line where you need to cut the tile (there’s a small, but possible, chance that the tiles fit perfectly and you don’t need to cut. If that happens, lucky you!). Do this for all tiles that need to be cut, collect them, and cut them as directed with the wet tile saw.
Once you have the tiles cut, arrange them back on the shelf into the desired position and make sure all properly fit. If they look good, I recommend removing them and placing them on the floor in the same position before you fasten them on. Then, grab your painters tape and wrap it around the frame and other areas of the bar cart that are close to the shelves and could get messed up. Clean off the shelves’ surfaces and then get your tile mastic, trowel, and sponge ready. You’ll then get the trowel and smear the mastic on the shelve, leaving textured grooves when you put it on. I wouldn’t go too crazy, since a little goes a long way! Also make sure that it is pretty level on top and then lay your tiles on, applying a bit of pressure and again, making sure they appear level. There most likely will be mastic coming out on the sides, which is fine! Just get your sponge damp and wipe it off. Repeat this on each shelf and leave be for 24 hrs to give it time to dry.
The next step is to grout! This was my favorite part. You’ll need your grout, grout float, and sponge. It’s a really satisfying process because all you need to do is run the grout along all the spaces in between the tiles and rub the float along the top to make sure it spreads evenly. Don’t worry if you get excess on the top of the tiles, it’ll easily come off with a wet sponge. Once you are done grouting the entire shelf, grab your wet sponge and rub the excess off. You can then get a dry towel or paper towel to wipe up the water from the tiles. Repeat this process for all shelves and leave it to dry for 24 hours.
The last step! Caulking. This was my least favorite part since it’s pretty tedious. You’ll need more painters tape, caulk, grout float, dry or damp sponge, and paper towels. There’s probably multiple ways to do this, but I started by marking a small amount of space that I want to caulk and adding painters tape below to ensure a smooth line and avoid any excess caulk. I would cover the rest of the shelf with painters tape to avoid any caulk splattering. Once you do this around the perimeter of all shelves, grab the caulk and either the float or paper towels. You can begin to squeeze the caulk on the side of the tile, the gap between the tile and shelf, and the side of the shelf where exposed. You’ll then need to smear the caulk to smooth it out. I first tried using the grout float, but found it to be rather difficult. I then used a damp paper towel to smear the caulk, which worked a lot better for me. Whichever way you choose, do this for every shelf around the entire perimeter of the bar cart. Before the caulk dries, remove the painters tape. You’ll see it makes a crisp line and it’s super satisfying! I’d again let the caulk dry for at least 24 hours before interacting with the cart.
Once the caulk has dried, you’re done! Say hello to your fancy new, DIY bar cart!!
xx, Rachelle
