Wine enthusiasts seek ways to put a cork in it

DEAR KATIE: I, like you, have lots of wine corks as we enjoy a bottle or two with dinner. I have no idea why we don’t throw them away either, but we don’t. You can quickly get overtaken by them. Plus now we’re saving the foil tops, good grief.

One thing we started to do to make them more interesting is to write on each cork the date and reason or event why we opened the bottle of wine. When vacationing, we write on the cork the name of the wine, varietal, date and one or two words to describe it. When having a party, have your guests sign, date and add a special message on a cork. Then replace the old ones in your bowls with these. They’re a lot more fun to have out and share your good times with others. Then when you have enough, which I’m sure won’t be long, place your favorites in a see-through-glass picture frame; the type that doesn’t have a cardboard back. Attach them with glue dots; this way you can see both the front and back.

Make a cork board with corks from your favorite wineries. Place it in your wine room, kitchen, dining room or wherever you enjoy your wine. Look for interesting push pins of grapes, wine glasses, wine bottles or cork screws. Put another in your bedroom to use as your jewelry holder. Use long upholstery tacks to hang your bracelets and necklaces from and just push your earrings and pins into the corks.

Cover the top of a side, coffee or console table with them and place a piece of glass over the corks to get an even flat surface. This is an excellent way to transform a yard sale or thrift store find. If you have a display table — a table with a glass top and drawer — display wine labels, cork stoppers, postcards and photographs from your wine tastings and vacations.

To use some of them in a more functional way, cut your duplicates in fourths or halves and place them on the bottom of any pots, jars or accessories that have rough bottoms. It will keep them from scratching your counters and furniture.

If you’re adventurous, you can cover one accent wall or install the corks as the backsplash in your kitchen or bar, but do not put them behind your stove because they are flammable and get very messy. Place a straight row around the outside and then place two horizontal and two vertical to creative a basket weave pattern. Not up to covering a wall? Cover a canvas that will cover the wall. Paint the canvas black and hot glue to your heart’s content. This makes for a great conversation piece.

Depending how far you want to go with your corks and wine theme, here are a couple of more out-of-the-box ideas.

Cover a headboard, the back of your kitchen pot shelves, a folding screen, the ceiling in your wine area, frame your bathroom mirror or cover the front of your breakfast bar, island or bar.

Replace your existing wood baseboard with corks. Place square-top molding at the floor — for the corks to sit on — then place vertical rows of corks that you have cut in half (this way they will lay flat against the wall) and top off it with a piece of rounded molding. You might not want to do your whole house, but it would be fun in your bar, kitchen, family room, dining room or guest bath.

Another unique way I saw corks used was to create an actual artwork image. You can try this by using a poster as a guide and glue the corks directly onto the poster, changing the direction with each color change in the poster. What would really be interesting is to have posters of the different wine varietals and use the corks that match that varietal. Frame the poster and you have a custom piece of cork art. I think that’s one idea I’m going try.

Then there are always trivets, wreaths, frames, picture matting, covering a wooden box, flower pot, coasters and Christmas ornaments.

Or, better yet, send them to artist Steven Leslie (www.oneofacork.com) and have him make you an amazing cork vase. They are true pieces of art.

Now if you have about 160,000 corks stored away, there’s a man who built a boat from the corks he had been saving for 30 years. He sailed around Portugal in his cork boat.

Gail Mayhugh, owner of GMJ Interiors, is a professional interior designer and author of a book on the subject. Questions may be sent by e-mail to: gail@gmjinteriors.com. Or, mail to: 7380 S. Eastern Ave., No. 124-272, Las Vegas, NV 89123. Her Web address is: www.GMJinteriors.com.