A décor trend that has become increasingly popular over the last couple of years are bar carts. It’s kind of a retake on an old trend that many homes in the 70’s and 80’s had – a wet bar. In fact, my childhood home had a wet bar in the family room. In one corner of the room there was a small section of built-in cabinets as well as a little sink. This was the place to serve drinks from whenever you had guests in the home.
Fast forward 30 years and homes aren’t built this way anymore and I would venture a guess that’s why the stand alone bar carts have become so popular. Just about every décor store sells a variety of these carts in varying materials from solid brass to marble or even wood ones.
I have wanted a bar cart for a few years now but with three little kids that seem to get into everything, the idea of fancy stemware and various alcohol at their reach has made me veer away from the idea.
But this Fall, I decided that if I couldn’t set up my fancy glasses, I could at least create a station with items they could enjoy. So when Kijiji reached out to partner with me on an exciting décor project for the season, the idea for a hot chocolate cart was born! When I told the kids, they almost hit the roof with excitement – their own fancy area, filled with chocolates, syrups and marshmallows!
Because I like to thrift for unique items I turned to Kijiji to find the items I would need since I didn’t really want to spend a ton of money on this project. I will be honest, over the last couple of years that I’ve toyed with the idea of a bar cart, I’ve always kept my eyes open whenever I’ve been thrifting for bar carts and they aren’t the easiest thing to find. The reason for that – the sheer popularity of this trend. I was intrigued at how décor is consistently among the most popular categories in the second-hand economy, so, you can imagine how EXCITED I was when on my first Kijiji search I found exactly what I was looking for, for only $60, compared to a retail selling price of $150-$300! Now, the bar cart wasn’t the right color and I wasn’t a huge fan of the design under each glass shelf, but I was pretty sure all of those things could be DIY’d! So I arranged for pick-up through the Kijiji app and got to work on setting up this hot chocolate cart for the kids!
I decided to spray paint the cart a copper colour, to match some of the copper accents in our kitchen. The second-hand economy offers a wide range of options providing unique finds and the opportunity to give them a DIY touch into something new! My husband was able to remove the metal designs on each shelf with a dremel. I absolutely love the way it turned out!
Next, we had to get to styling this cart. I really didn’t have any of the proper items at home, so I hopped back onto Kijiji to find exactly what I needed. The next big score were the apothecary jars. If you’ve ever looked for those brand new, you know that they are not cheap! Typically running anywhere from $40 – $100+, depending on size, I was crossing my fingers and toes that I could find some good ones. And did I ever! I absolutely love these two jars that I found and would you believe that they were $40 for both! START THE CAR! That’s at least a $40+ savings!
I want to note here that often when buying second-hand, you can negotiate a better price. When it comes to places like Kijiji where you are dealing directly with the buyer, you can ask for a lower price. But that being said, if you do a little bit of homework before and know what those items are selling for brand new, you may not even need to negotiate any lower than they are asking. That was the case for the bar cart and the apothecary jars. Knowing what those would cost brand new, I felt like the sellers were asking very fair amounts for their items and I was glad to pay them, knowing just how much money I was saving by buying second-hand.
The kettle was another amazing vintage find from Kijiji for only $20 (down from $30 – pocketing $10)! I absolutely love the vintage feel and the copper adds the perfect touch.
Now no hot chocolate stand would be complete without it’s own mugs, right?! I’ve been a fan of Rae Dunn designer mugs for some time now, but have never taken the plunge to start collecting them. As I was searching through Kijiji, I stumbled across people selling them and I loved the idea of each kid having their own mug with their own word on it. These mugs were one of the items that I did negotiate down a little and paid just over $11 a mug for – $35 total – which is a great deal!
The final item I bought from Kijiji was the porcelain flower pot. I had actually initially bought it to go on the bottom shelf, but once I got it home, I realized it was far too large to be on the shelf and decided to plant a taller plant in it and set it up beside. I love how this whole corner station looks. By setting down a small area rug and placing a few additional items beside the cart, it feels like a little corner that was set up with intention. When decorating spaces, don’t be afraid to place some items on the floor or stacked around it. In many instances, it can really help complete the look!
The kids are absolutely over the moon with this hot chocolate cart and we have made plenty more hot chocolates than we had in the past with the items more readily accessible. I absolutely love that I was able to save well over $200 on this project simply by buying second-hand! And if you think that’s a lot, last year alone, according to Kijiji’s Second-Hand Economy Index report, buyers saved an average of $843!
Have you ever shopped on Kijiji before? Do you like the idea of buying second-hand and making it your own? Personally, I find it so exciting to go on the hunt for second hand items because you truly never know what you will end up with! Having a personal buyer/seller connection is also a lot of fun as you really get to experience firsthand turning something old into something new!
Happy second-hand shopping!
Love & Blessings,
Note: This post was sponsored by Kijiji where I may have received product and/or compensation in exchange for my honest reviews. As always, my thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
