Photos courtesy of Steve Brickles
Drinks trolley are the coolest home trend of the moment, with retro, industrial and art deco inspired styles all in vogue. Interior stylist Céline Bridier gave us her top tips for styling yours for the festive season.
Given that we are spending more time at home and Christmas is coming, it makes sense to have a pretty and functional trolley for your favourite drinks. However, think ahead, as you don’t want to rush into a purchase. Ideally you want to add a piece of furniture that will complement your interior; think about style, rather than creating a cluttered environment. A well-chosen drinks trolley will take centre stage in your home, which is why it is important to combine practicality and aesthetic.
Selecting the right drinks trolley for you
I strongly believe like every house interior decision, you need to think about where the trolley will sit in the room, colours, materials, size, as well as how you want to use it. What’s the point of buying a drinks trolley that can only hold a few bottles when you where thinking of preparing cocktails on it? Just because you saw it on the front page of a trendy magazine does not mean it will fit your interior and needs.
How many shelves do you want? What do you want to store on it? Will you be making cocktails on it?
Then think: do you want your trolley to be mobile or stationery? Size is important to consider when thinking about this too; nothing could be worse than having a trolley that you want to move around but doesn’t fit through the gaps between the sofa and the dining table! And then there’s the various space and storage options to think about. How many shelves do you want? What do you want to store on it? Will you be making cocktails on it?
If your drinks trolley will be exposed, you want to make sure you dress it with aesthetic items such as bottles, glasses, candles, barware, and flowers. I recommend going for vintage-style bottles with attractive labels, or a carafe.
Styling your drinks trolley
Now for the fun part! To create a fashionably elegant and sophisticated drinks trolley, choose bottles with different colours and shapes and balance them with different heights. A mixture of alcohol types always adds to the intrigue.
Traditional crystal glassware is a totally back in trend. I recommend sourcing some classic Champagne saucers and old fashioned whisky tumblers, but make sure to mix them with different glassware styles according to what drinks you have and want to serve. You don’t have to follow glassware rules rigorously, but certain drinks do work better in certain glasses.
To create a fashionably elegant and sophisticated drinks trolley, choose bottles with different colours and shapes
Place some fresh fruits on the trolley, along with cocktail ingredients and brass cocktail sticks that can also be used to add a sophisticated look to your drinks. This will bring some colour to your drinks trolley, which works well against glass and mirrored surfaces. Silver shakers, ice buckets and bottle openers all work well as display items, too, so get curating your essential bar kit if you haven’t already. And don’t forget: less is more!
During Christmas, you can add a touch of tradition with holly and mistletoe. For the rest of the year, you can play with floral arrangements, accessories and candles to keep your drinks trolley in line with the seasons.
Styling your drinks trolley is thirsty work, so now it’s time to enjoy a glass of something from your very own stylised setup!
