10 Best Budget Gold Drinks Trolleys
The gold drinks trolley is both stylish and chic and I’ve got 10 of the best for you with tips and recommendations on how to stock and decorate your budget gold drinks trolley to make it look expensive. Recommended by a profession bartender.
If you’ve read my recent post on the best neon signs for home bars. You will know that currently, I’m spending a lot of my time, crafting, decorating and building my home bar on a budget. However, sometimes you just don’t have the space for a full home bar. I’ve only just been able to do this, prior to this week I’ve been stuck with minimal space.
In those times, the best option is a drinks trolley. Not only are these great for drink and cocktail enthusiasts but from a home interior point of view, they look incredible when well stocked and well designed.
Gold drinks trolleys or gold cocktail trolleys, or bar carts (whatever you call them) in particular seem to be the most popular, and its easy to see why. They fit in pretty much any home and look amazing decorated with plants, books and well stocked booze.
The problem with a drinks trolley or bar cart is that they tend to be quite pricy. For some reason once you add “drink” into the name of a trolley on wheels it becomes very expensive.
However, there are some amazing finds online if you do a bit of digging for cheap and affordable drinks trolleys. And nothing screams luxury quite like gold.
How to find affordable bar carts
The trick to finding a high quality gold drinks trolley that is cheap is for the most part, not to look for drinks trolley at all!
You see, what a gold drinks trolley basically is, is a shelving unit that looks stylish and is on wheels. Something very similar but a lot less expensive is the humble storage trolley. You know, those things you have in your bathroom to hold towels or in your office for paperwork, the utility shelves on wheels…
Using them as your drinks trolley isn’t as such a “substitute” for a “real” drinks trolley, its basically the exact same thing but marketed differently. Granted, you have to find storage trolleys that would be sturdy enough to hold your booze and be functional enough to make drinks from.
But that comes down to research, research that I have already done for you. So firstly, let me show you the best picks for cheap gold drinks trolleys that cost less then £100/$100 and you can actually get delivered without paying double the delivery fee for “bulky” items. Then I will show you how to turn your gold drinks trolley into a fantastic stylish bar cart with my top tips to decorate your cheap budget gold cocktail trolley in a way to make it look expensive.
Oh, and did I mention I’ve only chosen gold trollies? Why? Because they are stunning to look at of course! its all aesthetics, this is something you may have in your lounge staring you in the face all day. You want it to look good don’t you? I also like to decorate bar carts with flowers and plants, something gold pairs beautifully with. Not to mention, if its a gold cocktail trolley you’re after, then it will pair beautifully with any of these gold cocktail shakers.
10 Budget Gold Drinks Trolleys
#1 Gold Drinks Trolley With Glass Shelves
First on the list is a stylish gold drinks trolley which is perfect for small spaces. Its not bulky, nor large yet has 2 shelves perfect for drinks. The shelves themselves are mirrored glass which looks beautiful with cocktail glasses on. And at less then £100 its affordable and perfect for those small home spaces.
Put your glassware on the bottom shelf and your gold cocktail set on the top and you’re good to go. Just wheel in whenever you need a tipple.
#2 Marble and Gold Drinks Trolley
When it comes to cheap drinks trolleys, this one really takes the cake. Even though its small and easily wheeled around it still holds an impressive storage capacity thanks to its extras. Such as a built in wine rack. It also has marble styled shelves which look great with gold, or if you have a space in mind you want to keep looking clean.
I’d recommend this for the wine lover due to the obvious - the wine rack. But also, you can put your bottled cocktails or pre batched drinks on the rack and use the upside wine glass holder for cocktail glasses.
#3 Rustic Gold Drinks Trolley
The last two had more of a stylish and sleek gold look, this one has that loveable rustic look. Perfect if you’re going for the fern bar look or colonial look. Cheap, affordable, but high quality. The perfect size for filling a small space and looking extremely stylish.
If it was me, I would decorate this bar cart exactly like the photo with table books, a candle and a hang over plant or some flowers.
#4 Small Gold Drinks Trolley
Similar to the last one is this rustic gold drinks trolley perfect for small spaces. You’ll notice that they don’t actually advertise it as a drinks specific trolley. More a decorative gold shelving unit on wheels. This is exactly what I was talking about in the beginning, if you want a budget/affordable drinks trolley, you have to be creative with how you search for it.
This is a perfect example. Not a drinks trolley, yet it’s gold, it’s 2 tier, it’s stunning and it’s luxury.
#5 Stylish Luxury Gold 3-Tier Storage Trolley
Now we have reached my favourite option. This is sold as a luxury trolley yet it’s super cheap. For how long it’ll stay that price? I couldn’t tell you. So get it now and hey, if you don’t like it, just sell it on when it becomes more expensive!
A few decanters on the top shelf, bottles in the middle and glasses at the bottom would turn this cheap gold storage trolley into a high quality gold deluxe drinks trolley.
#6 Gold 3-Tier Drinks Trolley
Even cheaper still and perhaps a better point to prove is this 3-tier storage cart. Its not the most reliable or the largest. But with just how cheap it is, it would make a brilliant gold drinks trolley. It’s super cheap and it although it’s small, its 3 tiers so it’ll fit all your cocktail trolley needs!
#7 Gold 3-Tier Mesh Rolling Drinks Trolley
Another cheaper option is this gold storage trolley. Now, turning this into a bar cart will take a bit of creativity as the shelves are mesh wire, not create for balancing bottles or glasses. But with some innovation and fake plants. This would look amazing.
What I would do is use aesthetically pleasing table books to hold my bottles on and thread hanging artificial plants through the mesh. Much like they’ve done with the top shelf on the photo, but instead of flowers on the book, its a cocktail book with bottles on top.
#8 Gold Quirky Stylish Gold Drinks Trolley
We’ve done rustic, chic, luxury and clean. I think we’re due time something more elegant, don’t you?
Well I hope you do because that’s exactly what this is. The shape, the feel, the ideas to decorate! So much you can do to add to this already elegant looking gold drinks trolley to turn it into a luxury gold cocktail trolley. Currently, it’s screaming home gin bar and Martini bar to me.
#9 Gold Wine Rack Drinks Trolley
Back to the gold drinks trolleys that are intended as drinks trolleys, we have this one. Perfect for the wine lover (don’t ask why the bottom is full of snacks on the photo, but I kind of like it)
It’s elegant, it’s gold, and if you are big into your wine, this will go down a treat. You could even have a little section with all your fancy luxury wine accessories, gadgets and gizmos. Imagine that!
#10 Circle Gold Mirrored Shelved Drinks Trolley
How to decorate your gold Drinks Trolley
Making your cheap gold drinks trolley look like a high end luxury gold bar cart.
Now you have your base, a beautiful gold (but empty) bar cart. You now need to decorate it. After all, what’s a drinks trolley with no drinks?
First thing you want to do is to check out my article on DIY home bars for my top tips on bottles to stock your bar on a budget.
After that, you’re going to need some glassware, I have a page here where you can find some quirky glasses that would look amazing on any bar cart.
Lastly you’ll need a gold cocktail shaker set to sit on top of your gold drinks trolley.
Your bar cart doesn’t need to be filled with bottles and glasses. Most glasses and bottles you can keep in your kitchen, just get a variety of nice looking bottles and glasses to fill the space.
Next is the big question of how to make it look classy. Having a drinks trolley filled with booze is great, its very functional. But a drinks trolley is more then a moveable bar, its a piece of your décor. So you need to do it justice.
Here are my recommendations for bar cart décor that looks great, especially sitting on gold bar carts.
Plants
Photo: Bar cart plant decor - image source
The green of plants looks amazing set against gold. If you have a lot of natural light then real plants are a great go to! Things like snake plants or succulents are great for indoor living and bar carts. They are low maintenance and look amazing.
However, if you are a plant killer like me, you might want to consider artificial plants. Here are some of my favourite from Amazon UK. Affordable and tasteful.
Table Books
Photo: Table books decor - image source
Table books are usually oversized, hard cover books that sole purpose are to look good. Sure, they are great to flick through but the main purpose is aesthetics. Below are a few from Amazon UK that would look great on any bar cart
Art deco - Black and gold, fits perfectly with a gold bar cart
Neon Signs
Photo: Affordable neon signs for home bars - Image source
Neon signs always look great on bar carts. I’ve already written a full list of the best neon signs and where to find them which you can find here. There is something on there for everyone and for every home bar on a budget, so browse through and see what takes your eye!
Styling Ideas for Gold Drinks Trolleys
Whether you go minimalist or maximum. It’s not about the gold drinks trolley itself, it’s about how you decorate and style it. So to give you some inspiration, it’s a bunch of images I found that give great ideas on styling.
Stylish gold drinks trolley - image source Pinterest
Vintage gold drinks trolley - image source Pinterest
Retro gold drinks trolley - image source Pinterest
Silver and gold drinks trolley - image source Pinterest
Pastel gold drinks trolley - image source Pinterest
Neon bar sign gold drinks trolley - image source Pinterest
Neon gold drinks trolley - image source Pinterest
gold Party drinks trolley - image source Pinterest
Wine gold drinks trolley - image source Pinterest
Blue gold drinks trolley - image source Pinterest
Pink flowers gold drinks trolley - image source Pinterest
Green plants gold drinks trolley - image source Pinterest
Clean chic gold drinks trolley - image source Pinterest
Dark gold drinks trolley - image source Pinterest
Smartblend is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.co.uk and amazon.com. Smartblend does earn a small commission on goods purchased through the included links. Don't worry, it doesn't cost you any more, but we do appreciate your referral!