5 Creative Ways To Use A Wine Rack That Doesn't Include Alcohol

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Most people have random items scattered throughout their homes that they don't have a purpose for. For many, one such object is likely some kind of wine rack, whether it's a heavy-duty stacking one, or a simple metal tabletop rack. Wine racks are designed to be both decorative and functional, with Ski Country Antiques & Home explaining that they are structured for the bottles to lay sideways, keeping the cork moist and the wine as fresh as possible.

Not everyone drinks wine, though, or at least not enough that it warrants a dedicated wine rack. Still, wine racks are usually highly decorative, and you may not want to throw away your pretty bronze antique rack. There are also a handful of other things you could do with them, including storage and decoration. Aside from storing other non-alcoholic drinks and bottles in your wine racks, you can use them for organization, decoration, gardening, and more.

The primary purpose of wine racks is for storage and organization, so why not apply that principle in other areas of your home? Crafters know how difficult it is to keep track of supplies in a tidy and organized manner, and no material is more difficult to store and organize than yarn. Knitters and crocheters are in luck, though, because Repeat Crafter Me has a fantastic solution.

Cube-shaped, wall-mounted wine racks with a crisscross, diamond pattern are one popular and trendy style. They are perfect for easily displaying your spools of yarn, which can easily squish into the diamond cutouts while being visible and easily accessible. This doesn't just apply to yarn, though. Fabric, string, and other textiles would easily fit into the wall-mounted wine rack, as would a host of other crafting supplies. You can even apply this method in garages for tools, nails, screws, etc., or in your kitchen for spice bottles.

Another popular style of wine rack is also a wall-mounted design. Made of metal, these types of racks are long and narrow, about the width of a sideways bottle of wine, with hooks that hold the bottles in place. This is an incredibly convenient design, but not just for wine drinkers — these models also naturally double as towel racks.

This wine rack from Amazon, for example, is marketed as both a wine and a towel rack. Simply mount it on the wall in your bathroom, and display your rolled towels in it, which is incredibly convenient for guests and gives your bathroom a polished edge. The only caveat is that you have to roll your towels instead of folding them. To do this, start by folding your towel in half lengthwise, then corner to corner in a semi-triangular shape. Next, fold each end inward like an envelope and then tightly roll (via eLuxury).

Horseshoe-shaped wine racks are meant to be propped up on a countertop or tabletop for easy but simple wine storage. This one from Amazon holds only three bottles, but some hold more. However, there are plenty of other creative uses for them. The Navage Patch repurposes an old horseshoe wine rack into a super cute and wallet-friendly source of garden lighting.

For this DIY, you'll need the wine rack, as well as mason jars (make sure they fit the holes for the wine bottles) and fairy lights. The Navage Patch recommends getting mason jar fairy lights, which are solar-powered and have a solar panel on the lid of the jar. However, basic battery-powered lights will work, too. Simply add the lights to the jars and slot them into your wine rack. Place them on a patio table, and come nighttime, you'll have a super cute, incredibly cost-effective source of ambient lighting.

One of the most popular wine racks is the discontinued Ikea Vurm model, which is similar in design to the towel rack model, but it has curves meant to contour to the bottle as opposed to hooks. Curbly recommends repurposing your Vurm wine rack into a hanging herb garden, perfect for mounting in your kitchen.

Aside from the wine rack, this DIY requires four pint-sized glasses or plant pots (ideally with drainage holes), as well as your herbs and soil, and of course screws for mounting the rack. If you want to add some decorative flair to your herb rack, consider adding a layer of chalk paint to the bottom of the glass, so you can label each herb. Simply mount the rack horizontally on your wall in a place that receives ample light, and slot the glasses/pots into the bottle slots. This is perfect for people who want an herb garden but have pets or children that complicate things.

Finally, you can transform the same Vurm rack, as well as other wine racks, into a convenient shoe organizer. The previously mentioned diamond-shaped wine rack could easily fit a pair or two of shoes into each slot, as could the horseshoe model. So can the popular Vurm, according to IKEA Hackers.

As opposed to sitting inside the wine rack, they recommend you mount the Vurm rack horizontally in your mudroom or entryway, fitting your boots and clogs into the bottle holes. Since these shoes are usually a little more malleable, they can easily squish into place. This is perfect for gross winter and spring weather, keeping your muddy and sloshy boots off the ground and reducing mud and salt deposits. It also helps keep your floor free for additional regular shoe storage. They also suggest mounting the Vurm rack vertically in your bathroom or office for a magazine and newspaper holder.