Funky “trash” as wall art

Our dining room has lots of wall space for pictures, but our budget doesn’t have lots of cash for pictures. Do you also have some wall space that’s just crying out for art?

Here’s a conversation-starting idea: made funky wall art with empty wine bottles. They’re basically trash recycling. How’s that for thrifty nesting?

I’m one of those weirdoes who shops based on packaging or scent. In this case, I picked bottles of wine that had the coolest, most fun labels in the store. Chug-chug and it’s done… no, we didn’t chug the wine. It was actually very good and I’d like to buy more of this label. Anyway, I picked some wine labels that appeal to me as little pieces of art. Since my taste in art is a little modern, tongue-in-cheek, and food related, these labels AND bottles were perfect for my décor. Next time you’re in your grocery store or wine shop, take a look at the labels. I bet you’ll find a few that appeal to your taste in art.

By the way, if you’re more interested in a beautiful wine label and don’t want the bottle, redwinebuzz.com has a great tutorial on how to remove wine bottle labels.

Back to this thrifty nesting project:

• Each bottle of wine was $7. If you have friends who drink wine with cool labels, ask them for their bottles. Heck – visit a restaurant that is proud of their wine list and ask if you can pick through their empty bottles. I am not kidding. It’s trash. Just tell them why you want the bottles.
• The shelf is a $2 Goodwill find. I gave it two coats of green craft paint and two coats of gloss Mod Podge for some shine.
• Hang the shelf and arrange your bottles on it. I suggest it would look best with 3 and 5 bottles. No more, no less.

Total project cost, including the wine that we drank with dinner: $30. If you get your bottles for free, then total cost $2.

In this case, I feel that I hung it just a little bit too high on the wall. I need to lower it about 6 inches. The rule of thumb when hanging pictures or art is to place the center of the picture at eye level. Figure out where the nail would go, then lower the nail another 1 to 3 inches. Trust me. Most people hang pictures too high. When you hang it just below eye level, it makes the space and art more intimate and sophisticated. And it gives your art the impression that it cost more than you spent. It’s all psychology, but I urge you to try it and see how lower pictures makes you feel. 

If you try this, please take a picture and share it with me – I’d love to see how it turned out!