Vintage Coffee Station {sort of!}

Happy Thanksgiving Day my Farmgirl Friends! I hope your day is full of all the good pies (my favorite thing ever!).

Do you remember my post where I told you about my Hoosier Bakers Cabinet that I bought last winter? Well, after I changed things up a bit to make it fit, I was suddenly in need of a unique coffee station! (You know how that goes right? One thing leads to another….!!)

I was constantly running things around in my head but I kept coming back to a vintage kitchen rolling cart! Remember those? You can find them in most antique stores but most of them needed a lot of work to restore and I kept passing them up! Plus as is the norm in my marriage, my husband would say “but that is so ugly”! Smile!

One rainy antique browsing day in Nashville I happened to see one tucked in a corner covered with stuff. It looked in pretty good condition so I removed all the things off of it and took a good look. Other than a few rusty spots it was in great condition and I knew I could restore it easily.

I bought it and brought it home with me and my husband rolled his eyes! (To give him credit, it WAS very ugly!). However, there was very little rust and everything was original. And here a little bit of interesting info. See the handles on the top shelf of the cart? That shelf is completely removable just by holding the handles and lifting it off. I’m a little curious about what they used a removable shelf for… I’m still doing some research!

There was one thing I knew that my kitchen needed… and that was a touch more turquoise color! I have a vintage enamelware double boiler that has turquoise painted handles… and that was the color I wanted!

I began reading some articles online and loved the article here about a cart restored in Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint (pictured above). I was so excited to try the paint and also this color called Aqua Sky in the photo above was perfect! The description of the paint color was:

“Aqua Sky is a cheerful shade of seafoam. It is reminiscent of 1930’s and 1940’s kitchens, so it was the perfect color to use on our cart.”

That was exactly the color I was going for so I was so excited! I ordered the paint, the bonding agent, and the final milk coat.

I followed the instructions in the Miss Mustard Seed blog post. I was so surprised at how well the SOS pads worked for removing rust on the legs and handles!

Just a quick scrub and they were as shiny as new!

I used flat white spray primer to paint the shelves. The shelves themselves didn’t require any sanding; they were in excellent condition.

I also followed the Miss Mustard Seed blog post on the steps of painting. It’s the first time I’ve used milk paint and I was really impressed at how nicely it covered.

After I applied the final milk coat in a satin sheen, I let it dry for a few hours and then put the cart back together again!

It came out absolutely perfect! I even love the little chippy places where the paint didn’t stick! It was exactly what I was hoping for!

I put my vintage coke bottle crates on the bottom shelf with my colorful mugs in place.

On the top shelf I’m using a little mini quilt to protect the surface where my French Press is. And what do you think of those most darling little vintage glass canisters? A sweet young friend of mine gifted them to me and they are a favorite in my kitchen!

I couldn’t love it more! So tell me… you’ve got to have a Rolling Kitchen Cart memory right? I also am eager to hear if any of you know more about that removable top shelf! Leave me a comment and let’s talk about it!

Until our gravel roads cross again… so long!

Dori

  1. Dana Okerman says:

    The removable shelf was for the hostess to take off and offer drinks or nibbles to her guests.

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Hi Dana,

      Thats what I was thinking too. Someone told me recently that my rolling cart was a medical cart used in doctors offices… and the removable tray held instruments etc… Have you heard that before???

      ~ Dori ~

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