Thrifty Thrusday - Mug Shelf

As nice as our kitchen is, the layout is not as work friendly as I'd like.  We have plans to reconfigure  it - someday.  Until someday arrives, I decided I needed a way of keeping my family out from under foot while they prepare mugs of coffee, cocoa, or hot tea.  Our winters are long and we drink a lot of warm beverages.  What I wanted was a mug rack, but I don't like those silly little mug trees that only hold 4-6 mugs.  I needed something that would tuck out of the way and service 6, 9, or 13 people in one neat, organized, central location.  I also didn't want a monstrosity that would take up all my counter space.  An idea popped into my head (why doesn't my blog toolbar have an "idea" icon symbol?).

 

 While cleaning out one of our barns last summer, we found this old wooden shoe cobbler's box.  I cleaned it up and stashed it down in the basement storeroom. 

 

I turned the box on its side and used some scrap fabric pieces as "shelf liner".

All that was left to do was place our mugs on the shelves.

 

My new mug shelf holds all our mugs and is only 5" deep, leaving plenty of counter space.  It's rustic look is a great addition in our kitchen.  Best of all it was FREE!  What sorts of crafty re-purposing projects have you been working on?