Thrifted Vintage Coffee Cart Makeover Tutorial

This post was originally published January 2013 and was updated December 2020

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The Process

I dissembled it, cleaned all the pieces, and sanded the tops before doing several light coats of universal spray paint (I like the Rust-oleum paint the best). When it came to the color, I really like how industrial the white paint looked and decided to stick with it.

I’ve been collecting tins from thrift stores and my favorites are these little vintage tea-tins I keep all my tea bags in (I’d love to get back to loose leaf tea but have been really lazy lately). I’m also keeping my eyes open for a cute tea pot since I have a hand-me-down electric kettle that’s a little…ugly. So I figure I’d keep that in the kitchen until I find a nice one to show off.

For those wondering the feather mugs were a gift (they’re from Target) and I believe I got the black mugs at Marshalls a few years ago. The DIY for the herringbone tray can be found here.

Styling tips and ideas for decorating

Tea and coffee carts should always be useful, first and foremost! But, of course, as a piece of your home decor it’s even more fun when they’re pretty! Here’s a few of my tips for making your useful and pleasing to the eye:

• If you have an electric tea kettle, you’ll want to start by finding that the perfect spot. Mine is stove-top, so I didn’t need to worry about that
• Since our kitchen storage is so limited, I also like to use my tea cart for storing my mugs. Even if you have plenty of storage, I think the coffee cart is the perfect spot to show off your prettiest or favorite mugs!
• Use cute containers for keeping your tea bags, or coffee beans. I love using these vintage tea tins to separate my varieties, but you can use any canisters or other storage containers that will keep things protected.
• Fill in any extra space with books! Books are always my go-to when I have dead space I’m not sure how to use. I love these vintage cooking and etiquette books I thrifted!

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