Collections can be tough to find space for when you live in an apartment as small as ours is. And when you collect lipsticks, nail polishes, hair appliances and just about any beauty product you can get your manicured hands on, bathroom storage and organization can be especially challenging. So when Gwyneth spotted a discarded rolling cart next to our dumpster last week, we knew just what we’d do with it. And today, as Apartment Guide Blog Partners, we’re sharing our DIY and Apartment Guide’s tips for organizing your beauty space with you!
Now, we know it’s not too much to look at here, but with the images from our Pinterest boards flashing before our eyes, Gwyneth and I saw this piece of trash crying out for a transformation.
If you don’t have one of these at home or if you don’t have a magical dumpster like we do, you can pick up an inexpensive cart on wheels at Target or The Container Store to make your own Beauty Bar Cart.
Aside from the cart, you’ll need:
- Spray Paint (We used Krylon Satin Finish White Spray Paint)
- Decorative Paper (We found ours at Paper Presentation)
- Heavy Duty Contact Paper (We found ours at A.I. Friedman)
Since our cart came assembled, our first step was to take it apart completely. Once all the pieces of our 1’ x 1.5’ x 4’ cart were separated and taking over our entire 470 sq ft apartment, we began spray painting each piece.
While the pieces are drying, we got to work on the top. We placed our decorative paper right-side-down on our (extra clean) kitchen counter, gave the wood shelf a shot of spray adhesive and placed it on top of the paper.
Then flipped it over to make sure it was smooth, and wrapped it like a present.
Finally, we covered with protective, heavy-duty contact paper.
Once all the parts were dry, we reassembled our cart and got to the fun part – the styling!
A lucite tray from The Container Store wrapped with ribbon from M&J Trimming now houses our nail polish collection.
And now the space that houses our beauty essentials is a little more beautiful itself! If you’re inspired to organize or give your bathroom a makeover, here are two articles from the Apartment Guide Blog that you might want to check out:
Apartment Guide has tons of tips to help organize and make the most of your bathroom and all the spaces in your place, whether you’re living, looking or moving. Check out their blog for ideas or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or Pinterest for real-time inspiration. And if you are looking to move, they have photos, floor plans and features to help you find the perfect apartment community.
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
Part of the Link Parties at:
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Love it! I just cleaned out my toiletries (read: bins of random grooming products) and self-diagnosed as a hoarder. I like that you can see what you have in your collection. I would probably stop re-buying items I already have.
Hi Diana! Thank you – so glad you like it!
And story of our life over here – if it’s hidden, we completely forget about it! Jewelry, nail polish, anything!
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
I love this! You are terribly clever. I love that you can see everything – makes shopping so much easier as it eliminates duplicates!
Thanks, Talia! All credit goes to Gwyneth for her finding the cart and supervising my work!
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
A perfectly functional and stylish dumpster dive after you two worked your magic!!
Thank you, Pam! We’re sending lots of love West to you!
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
I think I need a bar cart in the bathroom! I was just thinking the other day that we have no space under our sink but I have no idea what is even under there… There is no excuse! Thanks for the motivation! The bathroom bar cart is fabulous love that you can see everything. And that paper is TDF! Well done!
Thanks, Simone! It definitely helps when you can see what you’ve got! Let us know if you end up making one!
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
OK, so where do I begin? The whole idea is genius! I especially love the lucite box with the trim. These ideas would work well anywhere in the house (or apartment).
Also, I just lost about an hour on your Pinterest and only looked at one board.
Matilda, we are two (or three) peas in a pod. We could spend an eternity on Pinterest! We have to set a timer whenever we decide “to go in!”
xoxo,
mk & G
This is great! I was afraid you were out of room and Gwyneth might not be able to convince you to do even one more dumpster dive. Go Gwyneth!!!!
HA! Gwyneth will never let me live down that amazing bookcase I left behind! Extra motivation for finding space for our finds!
Happy Friday!
xoxo,
mk & Little G
You made it into a real beauty! Love it’s new look, feel and the practicality! Good work!
Liz
Thanks, Liz!
xoxo,
mk & Little G
I need to bookmark all your apartment DIY’s for when I have a place of my own – they’re going to come in handy!
xx
Hi Diana! So glad you’ve found a few things you like! We can’t wait to see all your DIYs and how you make your apartment your own!
xoxo,
mk & Little G
Such a great transformation! I really like the paper you chose!
Thanks, Allyssa! We’ve got some leftover and didn’t dare throw it out. So we’re trying to figure out what to do with it!
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
What a great transformation. I have a few of those dumpster-dived items in my home, and they always turn out great.
Thanks, Gina! We always love hearing from a fellow dumpster diver!
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
Great Transformation!! I LOVE magic dumpsters…how funny!!
My sister and I host a joint party and we’d love for you to join us. When you link up at one site, it shows up on both my blog and my sister’s blog too…double exposure!!
http://www.saving4six.com/2012/10/welcome-to-think-tank-thursday-2.html
Thanks, Carrie! We would love to join you! Headed over there now!
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
Clever! Love your whole apartment. So chic.
Thanks so much!
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
Love the paper you chose. How fun!
Thank you! The minute we spotted it, we knew we had to do something with it! Thankfully Gwyneth found the cart in the dumpster to get me started!
xoxo,
Meredith & Gwyneth
Love it! Apartment dumpsters are awesome, I once found two vintage chairs when I was an apartment dweller! Your little cart turned out so nice and it looks great in the bathroom with all your bathroom necessities!
Tania
2 vintage chairs?!?!? We are green with envy! Thanks so much for the compliment on the (Beauty) Bar Cart!
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
Hi Meredith, I’m Anne from Life on the Funny Farm (http://annesfunnyfarm.blogspot.com), and I’m visiting from the Pinteresting Party.
This is great! You have more imagination than I have, b/c I wouldn’t have known how well this could have been transformed.
Anyway, thanks for posting this. I hope you can pop by my blog sometime to say hi…
Hi Anne! Thank you and thanks so much for coming by! We would love to check out your blog!
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
Great transformation! I love the new look. Well done.
Pam
Thank you, Pam!
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
Really nice cart – I know storage is a small space is essential! Thanks for sharing!
Stacey of Embracing Change
Thank you, Stacey! And thank you for hosting! We just got power back from the hurricane and can’t wait to curl up on the couch and go through all of the links tonight!
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
Looks great and holds so much! Thanks for linking up last week, we’d love to have you back!
http://www.joyfulhomemaking.com/2012/10/welcome-to-think-tank-thursday-3.html
Thanks, Margo! We were definitely going for maximum storage since our bathroom is so tiny! We’ll definitely be back soon! We don’t have anything to share this week (thank you, Hurricane Sandy!), but we will soon!
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
Hey Merideth and Gwyneth,
This post will be featured tomorrow at Wednesday’s Adorned From Above Link Party for Wednesday’s Adorned From Above Link Party 23. I love your beauty bar cart. You did a great job with it.
You will find it tomorrow at http://www.adornedfromabove.com
Thank you for sharing every week.
Debi @ Adorned From Above
Oh wow! Thank you so much! We are so excited!
xoxo,
mk & Gwyneth
Fantastic!