DIY in the Kitchen: Wine Rack

Finished wine rack with accessories

Chuck and I consider ourselves "DIYers." We love decorating our apartment with homemade projects, but are a somewhat limited because we rent. It's necessary to be creative, and most importantly make mobile projects. Hence, our beautiful wine rack that will be sure to impress in any home.

When we first moved to the District we found ourselves storing wine bottles on the floor. That's right, literally just standing there. Not healthy for the wine, or our small apartment. Luckily we found an unfinished pine wood wine rack at World Market for $15.

We stained the rack to match our other wood furniture. To stain wood, first sand the entire surface to ensure it is smooth. Use a foam paint brush to paint on the stain, then use a rag (you will throw this away later) to evenly rub the stain into the wood. Let the stain dry over night. Repeat until you have the desired color (we needed two coats for this romantic dark finish).

Notice the beveled edge (above)? That's how we got the idea to fill the top of the rack with mosaic tiles. We purchased our material from MosaicMercantile.com - Flare Metallic ($13.50 per 1/2 lb. bag), 4-ounce glue adhesive ($5.00), Snow White grout ($5.00), and 8-ounce sealer ($6.00).

Adhesive and Sealer

The tiles we bought were not in the convenient quick application square format you see on HGTV.  These were all individual tiles, and we had to lay them out for the best color mixture before gluing anything. Once you are happy with the layout, glue tiles to the surface leaving a equal spacing between each (approximately 1/8''). This part took us about two hours.

Allow tile adhesive to dry for 5-7 hours. When the glue is dry, mix grout according to package instructions. Use a flat grouting tool to spread grout evening between tiles. Ensure all space is filled (it is okay for the tiles to also be covered in grout - you will wipe it off later).

Note: Follow drying times on package instructions. The timing above was as instructed by Mosaic Mercantile products.

To "cure" the grout, you will need to spray it several time over 24 hours. Once everything is dry and the top of the tiles are cleaned with a damp sponge, apply the sealant with a sponge brush.

Total cost for a gorgeous custom wine rack with leftover tiling material (I think a picture frame for the next project) = $44.50