Backsplash Bang – Bookcase to Wine Cabinet

I have been wanting a wine rack for my house for a while now, and just haven’t been able to find one that I like. So when I got my Funature in the mail, I of course imagined a wine cabinet. I laid out all the pieces and looked at what could be done with the bookcase. I tested to see if the shelves would be deep enough for a wine bottle and they were.

With a leftover Art Nouveau backsplash panel and some scrap wood, my bookcase went from ho-hum to hooray! See how…

As I was putting the bookcase together, I started drafting my specific plans. I was going to leave the door off and use it differently. The height of the case needed increased so I decided to add legs and a tray to the top for making and carrying drinks to your guests. The tray needed to have an inset on the bottom so that it would sit securely on the cabinet. Can I do this for $25? I searched the garage and basement. I had paint, glue and plenty of scrap wood. I will need legs and a wine glass holder.



I got to work. I added an extra piece of wood to the bottom of the cabinet. A little piece of trim finished this off perfectly so you couldn’t see the wood at the bottom. Then I screwed in the metal pieces that hold the legs. I tested it to make sure it was stable. The legs were a great addition, and super easy to do. The legs I bought fit my budget, but I was imagining chunkier feet. Those were about $7-8 a piece – that was out of my range. I ended up really liking the ones I got though.


Next, I worked on the tray for the top of the wine cabinet. You can tell from the pictures this is REALLY scrap wood. I would have liked a slightly smaller height for the tray, but this was the wood I had sitting around.

After the tray was all nailed together (just made a rectangle and used a trim brad pneumatic nail gun to put it together), I used a jigsaw and a drill bit to cut out the handles. I sanded it up a bit to smooth out any rough edges. At this point, I had made my final decision to paint the wine cabinet black. I went ahead and finished off the tray by painting it and adding the backsplash panel to the bottom and a little strip on the front.




To add the panels, I measured the inside of the tray and used a t-square and a utility knife to cut the panel. I scored the panel six times with the utility knife for each cut. Then turned it over and bent it to break. It worked great. I also planned to use some of the panel for the back of the cabinet so I went ahead and measured and cut that piece too. I used Liquid Nails to apply the panels in both cases (for the back of the cabinet you need to apply pressure by laying it on its back for an hour until the glue dries).



Time to make the space for the wine itself. I used a W shape – this holds 5 bottles. It is also very hard to paint. If you decide to use this shape, paint the boards before installing them. This too was put together using a nail gun. Lastly, time to paint. I used a black primer and then a glossy black paint as the second layer. When it was dry I added the backsplash panel I had cut earlier and the wine glass holder. The only piece left was the leftover door. I didn’t want to cover my glasses – so I made the door so it was permanently open.

The Final Reveal – Bang! My Wine Cabinet

Look #1 – Lounging in your library with a good book.

Look #2 – Entertaining Friends or Family (you can use a dry erase marker to make a personal note on the tray).

I had a good time making my wine cabinet and I am pretty happy with how it turned out. Now to decide whether I want to use it for look #1 or #2. Where do you think it looks best?