Wine Tasting Library

Too much time cooped up in a one-bedroom condo will lead most people to extremes. For me, it has forced me into extreme cleaning mode. I am slightly (ok, maybe more than slightly) OCD. Clutter and dirty things make me really, really nervous. So I clean. And I compulsively straighten. And it's exhausting. I wish I could turn that part of my brain off sometimes. Like during my vacation, or this week while I should be just relaxing and hanging out with the snow. It's ok if I leave some dishes by the sink or if the magazines aren't in a single pile.

If I run out of things to straighten, I start to imagine up other things to do. That's where the whole home improvement list comes into play. Like with the painting project I mentioned yesterday, home decor magazines give me great inspiration (Read: I hate them. Why can't I just LOOK at the pictures without feeling the intense need to PLAN?). Take this one, a few pages from the Gallery Wall blue walls:

A Wine Tasting Library. How ingenious. For the winos out there, this could be an easy swank way to improve a blank wall while serving as extra storage in tight places like the dining room.

IKEA Wine Holder, $9.99

Budget tip: Instead of the $10/one hook racks from Pottery Barn, you can use two $10 holders from IKEA that hold 4 bottles each, and put them vertically on the wall. Then add chalkboard paint ($16.99 for a quart -- split and share with friends for smaller projects!) on one side to make a smaller-scale version. For winos like me, this actually works in our favor, because seriously, who keeps that many bottles of wine on hand without drinking them? :)

Since I have lovely wine racks both in the dining room and above the fridge, this creative plan isn't for me right now. But you better believe it would be otherwise. How fabulous!