The wine rack project-- finished!

The wine rack project is done! Whew, and it was a heavy piece to move upstairs.

Where it all began....

We had this wire wine rack. We loved it (though often wished the holes were bigger... but that's another issue not addressed here), but it looked so plain and exposed on the wall. It was fine in our old place, but in our new place, we didn't hang it up because a) we didn't want more holes in the wall, and b) we wanted something a little nicer.

So, yesterday, I headed off to the Home Depot. I loaded up on Douglas Fir boards, 10" wide (which is actually only 9.5"-- a reminder to always bring your measuring tape!) and 1.5" thick. I had them cut them for me into certain lengths, so save myself trouble.

Here are the materials in my trunk...

And unloaded. I also got some white moulding (super cheap), one thicker to put on the bottom, one narrower to put on the top.

Leaning abandoned against the wall of the garage: Our wine rack.

Though I had stupidly forgotten to take something into account, I made a few changes with the lumber I had and constructed, essentially, a box. I added a few more planks to the bottom section so that way, the entire unit sat off the ground (where it wouldn't get as dusty), and so I could add the trim on the bottom. I reused some old 2x3s I had for the joints. Could I have done a better job on the joists? Yes... but they're hardly noticeable and having the hunky joist there was a sacrifice I'm ok with to have stability. I also bolted everything, which is hardly noticeable in the end product. I wanted this sucker stable.

I next added the crown moulding on top and trim on the bottom. You can now see why the bottom had those extra added pieces. And let me add: I HATE cutting moulding. It makes me long for a chopsaw, for there is no way my little jigsaw is going to do nice cuts for it. Result? Horrible moulding that had to be patched with caulking. BAH! Is it perfect right now? No... but I might get some putty in the near future and do some corner sculpting. Granted, no one else but me might notice, but whatever.
Coat 1 of black paint: Finished! The room where the piece was going has cream walls with white trim, but all the hardware in the house is black. This was a good color to go with. And I had to paint the piece because of the white trim and caulking.

I also measured the unit and went out and got some 1/2" thick plywood for the backing. I had to go with heavier plywood since part of the wine rack hardware screws into the back, and I wanted it to have a solid surface.
After a second coat of paint and a coat on the backing, I installed the rack! This took some careful planning, since holes had to be predrilled, but it all worked out.



And after some huffing and puffing, the unit is installed in the house (we put felt pads on the bottom to keep from scratching the floors)! All our wine (that fits...) has been added. I really do need to get a case of cheap wine and put it on the bottom (for an easy grab for cooking). Now all we need to do is go wine tasting!

Voila. Finished. AND, we have about 7 fewer boxes in the office!