summer has finally arrived and the time for gatherings with friends is here! nothing beats lounging around with a good friends and a good drink, but not everyone has room for a full-fledged bar in their home. so, in the interest of facilitating summer drink get-togethers, i thought it would be fun to compile a roundup of 48 great bar cart options in the market. a small group of you have been demanding this roundup for the past few months so i’m happy to finally push this live today.

a quick note about barcarts- these days the particularly cool looking modern bar carts seem to cost an arm and a leg. so i’ve tried to include both the highs, lows and in-betweens in this guide (as well as a few small, stationery bars). that said, i’ve also included a special “fixer-upper” section of the roundup devoted to good, basic, affordable bar carts and trays that are just begging to be upgraded with a little DIY love. you know, a coat of paint, a piece of wallpaper on the shelves to dress it up. so, if cost is an issue (and these days, it’s pretty much an issue for most of us) be sure to scroll all the way down the guide to check out this special section. they may not look pretty on first glance, but they are perfect for customizing and making your own- without breaking the bank. need some inspiration? here are two great bar cart makeovers from d*s readers right here and here.

[TOP image above, clockwise from top left: luxembourg trolley in apple green $487.50, circa bar cart $1309, cetra trolley $639.54 (so cute), cosmopolitan bar cart $125, panton bar boy $3210 (my fav), vintage 'jamaica' rolling cart $4500, colorful acrylic bar carts $1100 each, gastone folding trolley $766.70]

[image above, clockwise from top left: vintage paul mccobb bar cart $3800, polished nickel bar cart $999.91, vintage faux bamboo bar $5500, formosa tray table $49.95 (great for small spaces and small parties)]

[image above, clockwise from top left: duncan bar cart $700, butler tray and stand $139+ (great for small spaces), gable bar cart $299.49]

[image above, left to right: sydney bar $399.99 (safe for the outdoors), three tiered serving cart $95.79]

[image above, clockwise from top left: capri bar cart $639 (safe for the outdoors), modern serving cart $64.90 (i'd paint this sucker a bold glossy color, with a lacquer-like finish), bordeaux bar cart $119.95]

CLICK HERE for the rest of the bar cart guide after the jump (including the budget-friendly fixer-upper selections)

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designer reiko kaneko recently released two new pieces of gorgeous furniture: the ovangkol table and dapple light.

the ovangkol table seems to float in mid-air because it’s sturdy wooden top and legs float in crystal clear resin legs. i love the combination of heavy and light- it is such an elegant table, but still so warm and rich because of the wood.

the dapple light has a wood veneer shade and, on the inside, thousands of glass mirrors. inspired by a disco ball, the dapple light casts a dramatic shadow and creates an “explosion of light” thanks to all those tiny glass mirrors. click here to check out more of reiko’s work online. thanks, reiko!

back in 2006, designer (and then pratt student) marianne von ooij debuted a beautiful series of shelving called the ‘slim shelves‘. ever since their debut i’ve been waiting to see them for sale at a store near me, and finally the day has come! ok, well, they’re not at a store near me, but they are for sale on marianne’s site. the ’slim shelves’ have changed a bit from her original design and instead of being made from aluminum, they are now made of a clear acrylic and home in a tall and small version. manufactured in upstate new york, marianne’s shelves are the perfect combination of storage and display- you can fit a decent amount of books in each shelf, but they’re designed to face cover-out so that you can enjoy the artwork as well. you can pick up your own slim shelf right here for $179-$239. thanks, marianne!

i also wanted to take a moment to welcome neal of present&correct to the d*s guest blog! i’m a big fan of neal’s work and am so excited to have his voice on the site this week. his first post is bursting with beautiful images (including some fantastic vintage stamp designs) so click here to check it out. welcome, neal!

although the weather today isn’t conducive to outdoor celebrations in brooklyn, it’s bound to clear up some day. and on that day, i’m going to wish i had space to sit outside and enjoy the sun. if i did, i’d definitely be in the market for something like these new tingle stools from australia’s luxxbox. designed by jason bird and made of 100% recyclable low density polyethylene, the tingle stools are stackable, weather-proof, and come with a pad that can be added for extra comfort, or a hard top that can be used as a small table (i’d love to pick up a white set and make my own cushions out of summer-friendly josef frank patterns). the best part is, you can stack a ton of these together with a pretty small footprint, making storage easy, even if you need to provide seating for a larger group. and to those of you with room to seat that many people outdoors, i salute you. as a brooklynite with no backyard, i can only dream of what that will be like one day. click here for more info on luxxbox’s tingle stools.

i wanted to wrap up this week with some beautiful images of workroom new zealand’s work. all of their furniture and home accessories are made from recycled new zealand wood and have a wonderful sense of warmth to them. i’m in the process of rethinking our apartment and have been thinking about integrating some more warm wooden pieces- and these would be perfect. if only brooklyn was a bit closer to new zealand. click here for more info on workroom’s work. [thanks, rebecca!]

i’ll be back on monday with a full week of regular posting. i’m still about 800 emails behind and am catching up as quickly as possible, so i just wanted to apologize to anyone who emailed 10 days ago and hasn’t gotten a response back. i hope to clear out my inbox by sunday. thanks!

ps: hope to see some of you at renegade on saturday (and i hope this rain dies off by then…)

good morning! ac and i just got back from montana and i’m trying to jump back into life with internet and phone connections (it was so nice to be without them for 10 days). after days of living outdoors and trying things i never thought i would, i’m now happily pouring through the emails and submissions i’ve missed. thank you for all your kind notes and honeymoon well-wishes.

i wanted to start today off with two pretty pieces that have been sitting in my inbox for a few days. first up- beautiful new ceramic lanterns from alyssa ettinger. i almost always love alyssa’s work and these new designs are no exception. i have a weakness for ball jars (we drank out of them every day in montana, yay!) so i can’t wait to see these hit stores- click here to contact alyssa about purchasing. [photos of alyssa's lanterns by jen sliker]

next up is a beautiful new chair from molly at chairloom. her intern, jacqueline quinn from the moore college of art & design designed and hand made the fabric for this chair, using water-based ink. her beautiful fabric sure does this craigslist chair justice. click here to shop this design and all of molly’s other furniture makeovers.

my icff image folder is officially empty and this will be my final post on this year’s show. so here are the last eleven booths/designers that caught my eye. be sure to click “read more” at the end of the post for the full selection of images after the jump. up next- before & afters!

beautiful woven rugs from brooklyn’s amy helfand.

i love the textured textiles at anne kyyrö quinn’s booth.

duduc branched out this year to include a beautiful new line of furniture called mason gray- designed to be their modern take on traditional furniture- with an accent on interesting finishes.

a seriously multi-use table from stilvoll.

i love the simple, clean, rounded lines on the furniture (made from reclaimed lumber) at moe’s booth.

walnut and marble coat rack from matt carr, for U+/umbra.

CLICK HERE for the rest of the ICFF designs after the jump!

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