Space saving rolling cart: Perfect for a small home

Stylish chromed steel and glass end table on wheels

This is one of of the most versatile pieces of furniture in our tiny apartment. I don't know what we'd do without it and it looks so stylish. THe classic styling is perfect and the price is right too.

Almost a classic design

I chose this because it reminded me so much of the classic Eileen Gray side table. The problem with that model - and reproduction versions are available (see below) - is that I really needed something on castors. If a piece of furniture is going to be multi-functional in a small space, it needs to be easy to move around, especially when it's loaded up.

When do we use it?

Well, we tend to use this almost every day. When not in use, it lives in alongside our George Nelson MCM bench and the glass shelves and mirror-like chrome finish means that it looks so light that it's hardly noticeable - this is important in our tiny apartment. Here is some of the ways in which we use it:

• When not in use, it holds nothing except a Chinese bowl that I use every morning for burning an incense stick. I like to keep it free of clutter so that I can use it straight away without clearing items away from its surfaces
• It adds a further work surface to my tiny kitchen. It's so convenient to put ingredients and utensils on the glass surfaces that are ready to use when I need them.
• When it's time to serve dinner, I load it up with everything we'll need - plates, silverware, the main dish, salad, bread, wine glasses (and wine!), napkins, condiments ... everything is taken to the dining table together. It's also used for taking everything back to the kitchen after the meal. It then sits to the left of the sink whilst I do the dishes.
• We use it a lot when we're working. We work from home and our 'office' is our dining table. When we work, this cart is used for holding files, reference books, paperwork, the diary and many other odds and ends
• It makes a great temporary nightstand. We don't have a television in our bedroom (my neighbor tells me it's bad Feng Shui!) but if ever we want to watch a movie in bed, this holds our tiny TV well and at just the right height. If we're watching movies we've downloaded onto one of our laptops,the same applies
• We use this outside. We have a fixed, circular table outside on the deck and often we have casual get-togethers with our neighbors out there. The table is quite tiny really but this cart holds wine bottles, glasses, salads, hors d'oeuvres, sandwiches, napkins - everything we need. Plus it can easily be wheeled from one person to another when they want the cheeseboard
• By adding a Lazy Susan to one of the shelves, I can make this piece of furniture even more useful. It means that everything is easy to reach for everyone
• We sometimes use this in the lounge when we're settling down for a good movie-watching session - we just wheel it to the side of the sofa. That way we have no reason to miss a minute of the action to go to fetch a drink or a snack.

Not the cheapest

You can get circular rolling carts that are much cheaper than this but

a) they are not even remotely stylish
b) they are nothing like as sturdy and well made as this and
c) cheaper ones need replacing in no time when they are in daily use.

We've had this one now for about seven years and when you consider how fabulous it looks and how useful and flexible it is, it was worth every penny.

Other items we love

We are both designers so style is important to us in addition to function.

See more about the designer who inspired this look