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Turn Your Corks Into Home Décor

Are the wine corks piling up in your house? Learn how to recycle or reuse these versatile, sustainable stoppers

Vanessa Brunner

Staff Writer, Houzz.com

Staff Writer, Houzz.com More »

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Despite the trend of screw caps, boxed wine, and plastic corks in the wine industry, cork is still the dominate material of choice when it comes to sealing up our beloved wine. Although you might think that using natural cork in this manner is a waste of materials, the fact is that the cork industry is a renewable industry; cork can be reused in everything from flooring tiles, to building insulation, to soil conditioner, to sports equipment. If you're like me, you've been accumulating a collection of corks for quite some time now, and have no idea what to do with it. Don't just toss them in the trash — read on to learn how to keep this durable material out of our landfills.

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The important thing to know about natural cork is that harvesting it does not require cutting down a tree. Natural cork is derived from the bark of cork trees using a special axe which does not harm the tree in any way. The bark is harvested every 9 to 12 years, and the cork trees will still live to be hundreds of years old. Recycling and reusing cork lessens the pressure to harvest before the trees are fully ready, as well as keeping materials out of landfills.

Photo by ShadyH on Flickr.com

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by Regina L. Pace

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Use It. Create a kitchen backsplash! Cork is a durable but flexible material that has dozens of uses. Designer Regina Pace used it in this kitchen backsplash.

This kitchen was built on a budget, so Pace wanted to make sure it looked nice while still keeping it affordable. She spiced up the look of the space by combining affordable box cabinetry with 1" x 2" split-face travertine tile mixed in with corks.

Cut in half, the corks were exactly the right size to create a unique pattern on this kitchen backsplash.

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This Houzz user did something similar without tile. Using a combination of about 650 collected and purchased corks, she cut them in half and adhered them to the flat side of the wall using double-stick foam tape.

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Create instant art. Make trivets (like this one from The Wooden Bee), bulletin boards, coasters, or wall art out of corks. Since cork is so durable, you really don't need to do anything to protect them. But, if you really wanted to, you can apply a spray-on polyurethane to the corks before putting them in their frame.

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by Monica Ewing

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Make a bathmat. Monica from The Crafty Nest put together this chic bathmat using 175 collected wine corks, a hot glue gun, and a non-adhesive shelf liner. Read her post for more details.

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Other household uses for wine corks:

Slice a small wedge lengthwise out of a cork and put it into a vinegar or olive oil bottle that pours too quickly. It will become an instant pour spout.

Clean high-carbon knives with a dash of cleanser and a cork to avoid scratching the knives.

Store knifes in drawers by cutting slits into the top of a cork, and storing the knives blade down.

Slice small discs off of the cork and put them on the bottom of furniture that can scratch the floor. You can also put them on cupboard doors to prevent them from slamming loudly.

Use corks as garden mulch. Grind up corks with a food processor and add the mixture to your garden bed. The cork retains a lot of moisture. You can also put this mixture in the bottom of flower pots.

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by Pour Toujours

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Frame corks from bottles opened for memorable occasions, or maybe just put a few corks from your favorite bottles in a frame. Here, this user framed corks from champagne bottles they opened when each of their children was born.

Cut a small slit in a cork and level out the bottom to make a place-card holder for dinner parties, or use as a business card holder.

Put one next to your sewing kit for a quick pin holder.

Corks make great stamps for crafts! Simply carve out the design of your choice with an X-acto knife.

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Lose It: Unfortunately, you can't just toss your used corks into your recycling bin. However, there are numerous organizations devoted to reusing cork and keeping it out of the waste stream.

ReCORK is a natural wine cork recycling program that collects millions of used corks from individuals, retail organizations, hotels, winery tasting rooms, bottling lines, and more. Mail your used corks into their facility, where they'll be processed into everything from sports goods to shoe soles.

TerraCycle's Cork Brigade upcycles used corks into numerous products available at major retailers. Sign up at TerraCycle.net and mail your corks in. If you collect 200 or more corks, they'll pay for your shipping costs as well.

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Green manufacturing company Yemm & Hart accepts natural corks that are mailed into their processing facility. The Missouri-based company is converting them into wine cork tiles for construction and design purposes.

Jelinek Cork Group reuses the corks and turns them into just about everything, including flooring, ceilings, dartboards and fishing rod handles. Check out their locations here to mail corks to a facility that's nearest to you.

How do you re-use your corks? Tell us! Share a photo in the comment section below.

More Use It or Lose Its:
How to Get Rid of a Mattress
What to Do With Leftover Building Materials
How to Get Rid of Old Light Bulbs

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Comments

newmouse says:

Whole Foods has drop boxes in the stores for recycling cork.

6 months ago · Like

pamelajb says:

I am thinking I could furnish my whole house...

6 months ago · Like

aimzwinn says:

I made a cork-board out of approx. 75 wine corks. I get compliments on it all the time..guests think I bought it overseas, but I just remind them how much wine is consumed in our home.

6 months ago · Like

AlexisAnne says:

Something as simple as a bowl of corks w/ a candle in the middle makes a great centerpiece.
I found a great tutorial on how to make it and then some winery related photos to complete the look
http://cleansmartsimple.blogspot.com/2011/09/in-my-endless-internet-research-aka.html

6 months ago · Like

Rebecca Ford says:

I'd like to know more about where to GET corks. We hold a wine tasting event and auction for our major non-profit fundraiser in the spring and this article has given me some wonderful ideas for some auction items we could make!

6 months ago · Like

rebru says:

GARDEN PARTY
**********************
love the idea of using them for garden mulch
new meaning to the term 'garden party'!

6 months ago · Like

suzyp1960 says:

Fortunately for me my sisters and mother really like wine. I have a ton of them and really like some of the ideas I have seen here. I have included a picture of a mirror/message board I made using the corks my family has given me.

6 months ago · Like

Leah McGrew says:

I have had a shed remodeled into a craft space. The doors have an inset between the 2x4s and I'm filling the space with corks to make a place to pin up notes and stuff.

6 months ago · Like

Shanna Maxted says:

Corks glued to 3 metal plates that can be hung on any wall.

6 months ago · Like

hockeymom says:

I made a backsplash in my dry bar area. I dated the corks as I drank them so I could remeber fun events. It was simple to do. I used a light weight board, cut it to shape the area and hot glued corks in a pattern. The board allows me to remove it when I grow tired of it. I dont drink tons of wine so I purchased cork off of craigs list.. I get lots of fun comments on it when guest come..

6 months ago · Like

Sonja Hilliard, DVM says:

Rebecca you can find large collections of corks inexpensively on ebay and craigslist...my back splash is the second back splash photo and that's where I obtained most of my corks (the rest I consumed and collected over time.) Also, small specialty wine stores and vineyards sometimes save and give away or sell their collected corks as well. And don't forget to save and reuse the corks from your wine tasting event.

6 months ago · Like

Betsy Hall says:

I put a collection of wine corks under the glass of an ottoman tray! everyone loves it, and it was so easy to do and yet still not permanent so I can change it out again later.

6 months ago · Like

Erica Wernery says:

I have used corks to make cork boards by attaching used corks to salvaged kitchen cabinet doors. Also have made a cork wreath!

6 months ago · Like

myhouse21 says:

I attached corks to the inside of my wine cellar raised panel door. I used construction adhesive and a finish nailer. The corks are attached horizontally to the rails and vertically to the stiles. I have them going all different directions on the six panels and included champagne corks here and there. It also insulates the door very well.

6 months ago · Like

Blue Velvet Chair says:

I recently posted a collection of cork projects -
http://bluevelvetchair.blogspot.com/2011/11/22-inspiring-diy-cork-projects.html

Michael @ Blue Velvet Chair

6 months ago · Like

marianne crawford says:

All good ideas, I especially like the kitchen cabinet door one. I have a client with a spice cabinet that would rattle when the door was open or shut - we came up with the idea of vertical-sliced corks, glued behind the bottles. Corks are also good fire-starters for fireplaces.

6 months ago · Like

beec123 says:

Does anyone have a good method for cutting corks? I always get big chunks falling out and never a very smooth cut.

4 months ago · Like ·

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