Styling a Rattan Cart as a Side Table

Serena and Lily Cart (c/o), lamp (pair), pumpkins, candle

It’s been so fun sharing some of our apartment updates with you. If you’re following along on Instagram, you know that over the last year or two I’ve been working on small updates to our happy place, a.k.a our apartment! While I’m not an interior designer, it sparks so much joy for me to create a warm and livable space that we truly enjoy being in. I’m a firm believer that what makes a house a home are the people who live in it and the memories they make. As I’ve grown older, I’ve also learned the value in having your home be a reflection of you, a functional space for your lifestyle, and a place that you love. I think making small changes little by little to achieve just that can really add up to a positive impact. So, I love taking you along with me while I chip away at our short list of decor projects and continue to make our happy place just a little bit happier. One of those projects was refreshing a few key pieces in our living room, including our side tables! So, I’m excited to show you how I styled a Serena and Lily cart as a living room side table, and why we love it so much. 

First, I want to thank Serena and Lily for gifting us this piece, it has been such a treat to style it! Our Serena and Lily cart replaced a vintage, oversized tray table that was just a bit too tall and a bit too deep for the scale of our sofa. It always felt like it was at shoulder height and not practical for putting things we were working on or drinks on it. But, when deciding on what to replace it with, I knew it needed to have ample surface space in order to house the same books and picture frames the old tray table did. That’s why the two-tier cart was so appealing, more surface space without being bulky and or too deep! A bunch of my friends have this very Serena and Lily cart, so I’ve seen it styled a bunch of different ways and knew that it would be perfect. I also loved how the rattan and woven details would flow with our antiques and the other Serena and Lily rattan pieces I’ve collected over the years. Actually, one of our other side tables in our living room space is a Serena and Lily rattan drum table that I got nearly a decade ago in 2012! Still in perfect shape, I might add. 

Most of the time, I see the cart styled as an occasional table or more of a bar cart! But I’ve seen Serena and Lily showcase it as a side table, as bedside tables and in a bunch of different settings. So, I had faith that it would look great in our space as a side table. I think the addition of the cart lightened the area up, added texture and tied together our coffee table and other side table. To make it feel like more of a side table and move away from the association of a bar cart, I styled it with pieces I would normally flank a sofa with: a lamp, books, picture frames, flowers for height and dimension and some ceramic pumpkins for fall! Had I used some decanters for decor, it would have been more of a nod to the bar cart idea. This cart is definitely an investment piece, which is not lost on me, but I cannot stress enough how well made Serena and Lily items are and how they truly stand the test of time. I think if you’re looking for a piece that you’ll likely have forever, can be versatile in a space and function in a multitude of ways, this cart is a great idea. I think no matter the way you plan to use it, whether as a kitchen cart, a bar cart, or as a side table, it fits the bill.

P.s. – the cart also comes in black and in a longer version as well.

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Thank you Serena and Lily for partnering on this post! I was gifted the cart. All opinions are my own.