DIY Riddling Rack

I just love it when one of my projects actually turns out the way I intended. I've been looking for a wall mounted wine rack to hang in the dining room for a while. I wanted something sort of rustic to coordinate with our furniture, but everything I found was more contemporary-looking. I finally came across the perfect thing...an antique riddling rack.



Unfortunately, every one that I found for sale was at least $600. Also, most were very large panels that were supposed to lean against a wall rather than hang on a wall. So, I decided to make my own. Jon had his doubts that my little project would turn out right, but he humored me and did the sawing for me anyway. Here is the finished product.





No, it's not an antique, nor is quite the statement piece that a real one would be. I didn't have the time or tools needed to make something very authentic-looking. But the total cost was about $25 as opposed to $600, and it's the perfect size for our dining room. I have to get some wine bottles to display now...that's actually a bottle of sparkling grape juice in the pics.

I couldn't find plans/instructions for making this anywhere, so I had to wing it. I purchased a precut aspen board from Lowe's. I marked where I wanted the holes, then I attached 1x4's (cut to length by Jon) to the back of the board where the line of holes would be (to provide more stability for the bottle necks). I used a 1 1/4 inch drill bit to drill holes at an angle (so the bottles won't fall out)...don't ask what degree angles, I free-handed it. Then I stained it and used a heavy-duty mounting hardware for hanging.

What do you guys think?