Bacchus Goes Eco with Recycled Wine Bottles

Recycled wine bottle decor at Javier's Cantina Crystal Cove, Newport Beach.

Photo: Javier's Cantina

related articles

The following is a guest post by Shireen Qudosi of Air & Water, Inc.

As the saying has it, "one man's trash is another's treasure." Yet with a little bit of creative thought, you can turn your trash into your treasure. That's exactly what has inspired a new wave of sustainability that goes beyond practicality and into decadence.

It's the idea of modular living and organic decor. Even non-greenies are getting interested now that being green has brought with it a new level of stylish eccentricity.

And what comes more easily in this economy than empty wine bottles? With the preference being on sourcing cheap entertaining ideas, most people now see staying at home with a good meal and great wine as a viable alternative to spending money on restaurants and clubs.

If your home is the newest place to be seen, then ice maker machines are indispensable for cocktails, while compact wine refrigerators are an inexpensive alternative to costly built-in wine cellars.

There are a number of ways to reuse wine bottles. Among the more common ideas are reusing them as water pitchers, votive vases and flower bed liners. However, there are dozens of other smart options that are rarely explored, as this innovative torch suggests.

Rewined Recycled Glassware
Get uniquely hued wine bottle glassware made from orphaned bottles left behind at local restaurants and bars.

Water Feeders
On a very hot day or when you're away, fill the bottles of water and stick them into the pot or soil near your plant. The water will slowly percolate from the bottle and into the soil.

Wine Bottle Chandeliers
In addition to the popular row lighting and pendant lighting, Pottery Barn put together an interesting chandelier with wine bottles strung around it. Even though four dozen other people will likely have the same statement piece, at least you know it's a sustainable element in your home. Plus it catches the light beautifully during the day, especially at sunset.

Wine Bottle Cheese Boards
What could be quainter than using a cheese board made out of a wine bottle at your next cocktail party? Apparently that's exactly what Vineyard Designs thought when they started offering their custom recycled wine glass boards.

Wine Bottle Building Blocks
Rather than just one element, your entire home or venue can serve as a creatively designed showcase, a testimony to your creativity and commitment to sustainability.

Wine bottles can be used to create an interesting mosaic-styled wall piece. A gorgeous example of these displays is Canada's Bottle Houses on Prince Edward Island. PEI is known for its lush landscapes and pastoral living, which makes the wine bottle homes stand out that much more, offering a mixture of ingenious modern design paired with an idyllic setting.

This theme of bottle wall art has been running strong from coast to coast. Javier's Cantina, an upscale restaurant in Newport Beach, California, features bottle-inspired wall art as a key feature in their eclectic setting.

Using wine bottles as building blocks shows creativity and ingenuity that can be carried to stylishly eccentric levels when used in restaurants. Morimoto Japanese Restaurant in New York has an entire wall created out of bottles. The result is a dazzling spectacle that has the potential to launch a restaurant. An alternative design is found at the Boa Steakhouse in Hollywood, where rows of bottles are lined along a clear wall.

Wine bottles go beyond just building blocks and have also become integral parts of a building's thermal dynamics, providing a unit that's not only appealing to the eye, but also meets our duty to our environment. But if you're not a wine drinker, you can ask local pubs and restaurants for their bottles, who I'm sure will be more than happy to give you their rubbish to turn into your own treasures. The same ideas can also be achieved with beer, liquor, Pellegrino or other glass water bottles.

Wine Ideas brought to you by Air & Water, Inc., written by Shireen Qudosi

The Daily Green's Community News section is a forum for our audience to get the word out about issues that matter to them, enlist support, get help and advice, celebrate successes or share humor. Submissions to The Daily Green are subject to our Privacy and Terms of Use policies.

Also by Shireen Qudosi: 7 Easy Ways to Entertain for Less
Secrets for Naturally Gorgeous Skin

Friend us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter

COMMENTS ()