How to Use an Old Wine Rack for Other Things

A wine rack is much-needed storage space if you enjoy a daily indulgence or frequently invite adults friends over for beverages. If your latest bottle of half-opened wine hasn't been touched in more months than you can remember, it may be time to turn that wine rack into something far more useful for your home.

Place a wine rack in a guest bathroom or in a hallway near the guest bath for instant access to rolled bath towels, hand towels and washcloths. Even the master bath benefits from this simple storage solution when closets are stuffed full. Store bottled shampoos and conditioners on a wine rack within reach of the tub or shower if the rack is made from materials that hold up well to moisture, such as coated metal. A clear-coat sealer suitable for wood or metal helps protect the rack, regardless.

If you enjoy any sort of crafts or hands-on creation, there's always more stuff to buy and a need for more storage space to put that stuff. Turn a wine rack into the ultimate craft storage unit, no matter what your favorite material is. Place balls or skeins of yarn into the rack for a colorful, easy-access display, or roll up bolts or scraps of fabric so you can easily tell one pattern or color from the next. Store bottles of craft paints on their sides inside of clear acrylic containers in the wine rack, placing paintbrushes in another compartment. If you work with contact paper, vinyl or wallpaper, rolls of those -- or short scraps of gift wrap -- stash neatly inside the spaces in a wine rack.

Add a much-needed, easy-to-find storage solution to your garage or workshop area with a wall-mounted wine rack. Fill the wine-rack openings with spray painted empty cans or old jars to help keep small items from falling to the floor. Use the space to store electrical and painter's tapes in separate compartments as well as pliers, wire cutters and half-full bottles of glue. Use one entire rack for hardware if you have a hard time keeping nuts and bolts organized. Paint and label jar lids with various sizes and styles of nuts, bolts, screws and nails for immediate access to the item you need. Keep a roll of shop towels in the wine rack for handy access during messy projects. A separate wine rack just for small garden implements, gloves and empty plant pots also helps wrangle your gardening goods between seasons.

A wine rack looks right at home in a kitchen, so there's no reason not to give it a new use within the same room. Fill the spaces of the rack with narrow, clear canisters containing pasta, rice, flour, coffee, tea and sugar for an alternative to kitchen canisters taking up counter space.