What to put on a bar cart

Most advice about what goes on a bar cart is a photograph with a caption. Here is the version derived from dimensions, which is the version that works in your room rather than in a studio.

The objects, with their real sizes

• 750 ml bottle: 11.8 in tall, 2.95 in diameter. Needs the tallest gap on the cart.
• Rocks glass, 12 oz: about 4 1/8 in tall, 3 1/2 across. Fits anywhere.
• Coupe: 4 1/2 to 6.69 in tall depending on model.
• Ice bucket, 3 qt: 8 to 10.4 in tall, roughly 8 in across. The awkward one.
• Tray: about 12 by 16 in. Needs 15 in of cart depth to sit flat.
• Tool stand: 5 to 12 in wide depending on the set.

The two-tier plan

Two shelves, roughly 13 inch gaps on a 33 inch cart. Everything fits, so the arrangement is about grouping rather than about clearance.

Top shelf — the bar. The tray, and on it four to six bottles arranged tallest at the back. Beside the tray: the ice bucket if it is a short one, or the tool stand if it is not. This is where you work, so keep about a third of the shelf clear as landing space for a glass while you pour.

Bottom shelf — everything else. Glassware, the taller ice bucket, spare bottles lying down, a stack of two books, a small plant. The bottom shelf is visually the base of the arrangement, so it should be heavier-looking than the top.

The three-tier plan

Three shelves, roughly 8.5 inch gaps. Bottles only stand on the top shelf, which decides the whole layout.

Top — bottles and the working area. The only shelf tall enough for an 11.8 inch bottle, so all of them live here, on a tray if the cart is deep enough.

Middle — glassware. Rocks glasses at 4 inches and short coupes at 4.5 fit comfortably; a 6.69 inch Riedel is tight to lift out. This is also where a compact tool stand goes.

Bottom — storage and weight. The ice bucket, bar towels, the cocktail book, spare bottles lying down. Nothing here needs to stand up, which is exactly what a low shelf is good for. If this shelf has a lower load rating — the HOOBRO BF21TC01's mesh shelf is rated 22 lb — keep the bottles off it.

What does not belong on a bar cart

• Anything you will not use in a month. The unopened bottle from a wedding, the novelty glasses. A cart is small and every object on it is competing.
• More than one plant. One small trailing plant softens a cart. Two makes it a plant stand.
• Paper. Coasters, napkins and cocktail books look excellent and go soft near a wet shelf. Bottom shelf, or a drawer elsewhere.
• Anything above 11.8 inches on a middle shelf. It will not stand, and lying it down looks like an accident.

The tray question

A tray is the single most transformative object here and it is a depth decision before it is a styling one. A standard 12 by 16 inch tray needs about 15 inches of cart depth to sit flat; on an 11 inch cart it overhangs, and an overhanging tray is a lever rather than a tray.

If your cart is shallow, use a smaller tray — 10 by 14 or a round one — rather than skipping it. The grouping effect is what matters, not the size. There is more on the visual side in how to style a bar cart, and the shopping list itself is in how to stock a bar cart.