This Once-Basic Kitchen Cart Now Looks Straight Out of an English Cottage

As a creator who’s spent over a decade deep in the trenches of home decor Instagram and Pinterest, my feed has shown me approximately 4.7 billion DIY projects. At this point, very little makes me pause mid-scroll. But this kitchen cart transformation stopped me dead in my tracks. I didn’t just stop scrolling — I audibly gasped.

Nothing is more exciting to me than when good design meets a small-space solution, so this project tapped into my particular dreams. But this wasn’t just your average before and after: Bridie West, the DIYer behind the project, upleveled the details — dainty brass hooks, pretty knobs, scalloped edges — to completely transform this basic kitchen cart into a dreamy, cottagecore kitchen workstation.

West is a professional baker and cake decorator based in the United Kingdom, but clearly her talent for beauty extends beyond baked goods. West’s nostalgic, feminine aesthetic is clear in both her cakes and her interiors.

West started out looking for a solution for her small space. “Our kitchen is too small for an island, but this acts as a very small one … we love to cook so just having another little surface is lovely,” she notes in an Instagram Reel. She found a solution in a basic kitchen cart purchased online (this one from The Home Depot looks pretty similar!).

The first step to transforming it was to prep the surface of the cart by filling holes with putty and giving the whole thing a sanding, so the primer and paint would adhere to it. Then she added a bit of character by attaching frames of simple trim around each drawer and cabinet door. Next she painted the entire piece a soft sage green (Lick’s Green 002 Matt), which matches her existing cabinets and gives the cart a custom-built appearance. To make the cart’s counter match her kitchen, as well, she covered it in a marble-effect peel-and-stick vinyl that mirrors her quartz countertops seamlessly.

However, it’s the thoughtful details that take this project from fun and functional to absolutely enchanting. Along the base, West incorporated the sweetest scalloped trim, painted the same sage hue for continuity. She swapped out the basic, utilitarian hardware for clover-shaped brass backplates with ivory knobs (both from the wildly talented British designer Matilda Goad).

She also added sweet, vintage-inspired bow hooks to the side, which are useful for hanging her baking utensils. The final touches include styling the shelves with some gorgeous glassware, a few patterned table linens, and a small scalloped basket for even more storage.

While I have no doubt the extra counter space and storage is invaluable for West, every choice she made — from the color palette to the whimsical accents — transformed this once-ordinary cart into a charming and functional work of art. My own kitchen is calling for an upgrade!