Fitting all of our stuff into our apartment in Newport and keeping our tiny living space organized is quite a challenge, but a fun one. We’re trying to keep costs low by making the most out of things we already have or picking up unique things on the cheap at garage sales.
I really love the idea of “upcycling” stuff and giving new uses to old things rather than letting them become waste. Upcycling 1) saves money 2) is green 3) adds more character and stories to living spaces and 4) serves as a fun way to spend time with friends/family. Luckily, there are tons of great blogs and Pinterest boards out there to draw inspiration from.
The most immediate need in our small space was the need for more storage. My bf had a bunch of old wineboxes laying around after the move, so we decided to take a cue from Pinterest and turn them into shelves like these from a pair & a spare:
To create this we used the following tools & supplies:
- A stud finder
- A level
- A power drill
- Screws
- Round brackets
- Corner brackets
- Sander (optional)
First we went to the hardware store to pick up the screws & brackets. I was really surprised by how cheap they were. We spent <$10 on them.
Some of the wine boxes were slightly different sizes or were designed differently. We looked at them and decided which ones would be best and how we wanted to mount them on the wall. One of the wine boxes we thought would look great vertically as a little liquor cabinet. The only problem was that it had a few paint splatters on it, so we had to sand them off first:
Then we used the stud finder to find the studs in wall and marked the areas with a pencil. We used a level to get an idea of how the boxes should line up evenly with the stud. Then it was time to put in the screws and brackets, starting with the round brackets first and the corner brackets second.
Then it was time to start arranging all of our random stuff in them. Can you guess what those giant round things are? Here’s a hint: They are bones of some kind. Post in the comments and I’ll let you know if you’re right.
We took the remaining wineboxes and turned them into a small bookshelf to store a portion of our crazy collection of books. The place is still a work in progress but I’m really liking how this little area is turning out so far.
