As was discussed on fulltimin's rebuild thread, DW and I decided to do some minor updates to the inside of our rig. First on the agenda was to replace some mirrors with a cork backsplash made from wine corks from bottles we have consumed.This is the original view of the area we are updating.and

We pried the mirrors off of the walls, then marked the edges where we wanted the corks to end with some blue painter's tape.thenWe taped some paper down to the countertop to prevent getting hot glue on the surface.

We started gluing corks that we had previously cut in half lengthwise to the wall. We started at the outer edge with full corks so that any cuts would be in the corner where they are least visible.We tried to avoid having corks from the same type of wine close to each other. We also tried to use corks of similar diameters in each row so that they remained relatively straight.It took us 3 days to glue up the 520 cork halves required to cover the space.It took 19 corks across the back and 7 corks on the side to complete a row. There are 20 rows of corks. Since the wall finish is light, any areas which would be exposed between corks (since they ae not perfectly rectangular) were colored black with a Sharpie.

Here is the final product. We feel that it is a big improvement as neither DW or I liked all the mirrors on the walls.BeforeAfterWhen I stated that it took 3 days, I did not mean that we worked on this continuously for 3 days. We took lots of breaks for other activities. I did not keep track of the total number of hours, but I would estimate that it was about 15 hours total from start to finish, not counting the time spent cutting corks in half.Next up.....Replacing the mirrors in the kitchen backsplash with Smart Tiles.

Very nice but my wine comes in a box! lol

Good job. Back in the 60s we wallpapered one wall with boone's farm labels. The fun part was emptying the bottles, was it the same for you?

Wine cork backsplash | Good Sam Community

haydoracin
Explorer
Jan 15, 2019
Neat. Back in the 70s I made a suspended ceiling in my game room of empty Pabst Blue Ribbon beer cans. Later sold the house to a non-drinker. He liked the ceiling but planned to replace it with soda cans.
DarkSkySeeker
Explorer
Jan 15, 2019
Very nice effect - I have started my collection of corks just now. :-)
STBRetired
Explorer
Jan 16, 2019
DutchmenSport wrote:
So, did you drink all that wine from all those bottles, or did you recruit help! ;)

Look nice. Interesting idea. Each cork is a "memory!"

Yes we drank all that wine. We frequently have wine with dinner, especially when we have guests. Most corks are "memories", some I have no recollection of at all.:B
BarneyS
Explorer III
Jan 16, 2019
Wonder if we can call you a "Wino" ? :B:W
Looks good! Wish I had kept all of mine.
Barney
DarkSkySeeker
Explorer
Jan 16, 2019
STBRetired wrote:

It took us 3 days to glue up the 520 cork halves

For a while, my brother was making cork boards pretty much the same way. He cut the corks in half as you did. Gives you twice as many items to attach and the flat surface is easier to deal with.
Piddlers
Explorer
Jan 17, 2019
Love it!!!!!! Looks great and very unique. Truly a great use of the corks and it could also double as a note board with a few push pins maybe to hold a recipe or whatever.

Thanks for sharing.
dewey02
Explorer II
Jan 17, 2019
STBRetired wrote:

It took us 3 days to glue up the 520 cork halves

Just hope you didn't drink all that wine in 3 days!!!
jmckelvy
Explorer
Jan 18, 2019
Surprised you were sober enough to do the job.;)

Looks good.
trail-explorer
Explorer
Jan 26, 2019
Mirrors were a popular thing in the 90s. Not so much any more.

Wine corks look much better.

Smart Tiles in the kitchen area will look way batter than the mirrors
STBRetired
Explorer
Jan 26, 2019
Newmar had a real thing for mirrors. Every wall surface that wasn't covered by cabinets or windows had a mirror on it. I guess it was supposed to fool the eye into thinking there was more space than there really is.

Here are a couple pics of the SmartTiles on the wall in the kitchenette

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