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. Published sizes and load limits for real trays are compared on bar cart trays. 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.