I absolutely love decorating and seeing how other people decorate their homes. Isn’t it fun at night sometimes while out for a walk, or while driving to just peak into windows and see the different kinds of architecture and decorating styles? I mean from a distance of course, not in a creepy way like climbing in people’s bushes. One of the many reasons I love living in New England is for all the different styles of older homes and all the wonderful antiques that can be found.
Being able to save old items and give them new life brings me such joy. I love how old industrial pieces like this antique cobbler’s rack can be repurposed in so many different ways. What’s old is new again! Even if your style is more modern furniture and decorations, adding one fantastic unique older piece just makes a room.
We decided to repurpose this old rack into a wine rack and I love it! Is there a term for more than love? If there is, that is how I feel about this piece. It is such a wonderful conversation piece, and it makes me smile every time I walk by it. The best way to be happy at home is to surround yourself with whatever makes you smile. Just not too many dogs, I learned the hard way with that one. Oy!
As an antique dealer, I have come across a few of these antique cobbler’s shoe racks over the years and have always sold them. Except for one other small unique rack that I actually use as a display piece in my shop. This rack is just gorgeous however, and I personally have never seen one like this. They usually have either flat shelves or round spindles for holding the shoes. Although I love them all, I love this one even more.
The last shoe rack I purchased I sold to a wine sommelier in New York (seen below). Yes, I had to look that word up when I first heard it, and it means wine steward in case you weren’t sure either. I am not really sure what a wine steward does, but he was planning on using my rack for wine. That rack had spindles as seen and I had staged it with wine and glasses to show how they can be repurposed.
Imagine if you told the factory workers back in the day that these shoe racks were going to be highly sought after some day? I’m sure they would have laughed. And then stored them all in their basements when they were to be thrown out. Or down cellar (cellah) as we like to say in the Boston area.
I purchased it with the intent to sell, like the others I have purchased. My husband who usually tries to talk me out of keeping any of my inventory, tried to convince me to keep that rack but I just wasn’t in love with it and couldn’t really find a spot for it.
When I purchased this rack out of a barn in Maine, he was once again pushing to keep it. I resisted but I pushed it around my kitchen in my house in Maine anyway just to appease him, but doubtful once again that we had a spot for it. Well we didn’t have the perfect spot, but I am so glad we found one because I just love it! Have I mentioned that yet? It holds so many bottles and glasses, much more than I had on there when I took the pictures.
I also got a little out of control over the last year collecting these vintage glasses with sailboats on them and now thankfully I have a place for them. And a place where people can see them instead of in a cabinet. Although the cabinet is an old repurposed music cabinet that I turned into a bar, which is also pretty cool.
So if you like the look of this wine rack and think you might want one yourself, just keep your eyes open. They aren’t easy to find, but they are out there waiting for your repurposing touch!
