My entire life, "Mr. Cart" has been a part of my childhood. I've been told that "Mr. Cart" is a brand name. That is what the box said when purchased in the '80s, anyway. Before I was born and after assembled by my father, Mr. Cart worked as a kitchen cart. In my early years, he held toys, dirt, and craft supplies in my room, and until last year, he sat with rusty tools in our shed.

Last year I was moving into my own room as a Resident Assistant, and I felt inspired to make my dorm room feel a bit more like home. Pegboards were popular, and I remembered the rusty companion of my childhood. I also wanted a coffee cart that I could roll into my lounge for hall functions and Bible Study.

Without pictures (So sorry!), here are the steps I took to upgrade Mr. Cart into Monsieur Cart. (Because French is fancier)

Steps (links to products used below):

1. ​​I cleaned the whole cart with water and my Norwex cloth.
2.  To remove paint chips where the metal was rusting and create a smoother surface, I scrubbed select spots with steel wool.
3.  I covered the wood and wheels with a cardboard box, newspaper, and painter's tape
4.  I rolled Mr. Cart outside to spray paint. I used almost two full 2 cans of Krylon Aqua Matte spray paint to cover the metal.
5.  I tried to find S-hooks specifically made for hanging mugs, but I was distracted by the beautiful mug hooks that had screws on the end... So I bought washers and nuts that would fit the screws. I put one washer on the same side as the mug, and another on the opposite side with a nut. After assembling them, I ended up stripping a lot of the screws, and most of the hooks are loose. 

I wasn't an expert before this project (I just sort of dove in with no direction or guidance), so I learned a lot of lessons!

Tips:

1.  Make sure it isn't windy if you're spray painting outside. I lost a lot of paint to the wind.
2.  Invest in spray paint that will cover rusty spots (like Rust-oleum). I didn't, and some of the rust is coming through the paint.
3.  Buy S-hooks, not screws. Please choose function over form.

Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to leave any comments, questions, advice, or stories of your own DIY projects.
(P.S. If you plan to take a stab at your own DIY and want to use any of the products I used, please consider using the links on the post. I'll get a little commission to help make more projects like this one. :) )