Urban Nest

While you will not find me picnicking in the wretched heat and humidity of Richmond this week, I do have the easiest little project for your next outdoor gathering.

You’ve seen these, right?

{images: Crate & Barrel}

Well, I stumbled on these “sign stakes” at the hardware store yesterday for $0.97 each. With a steady grip and a pair of pliers, I turned my sign stake into a wine stake in less than a minute!

You can see in the middle image, how the stake on the right has two wire loops on the same plane; on the left, the top loop has been pulled upward to create an open loop on which to rest the bowl of a wine glass.

What’s great about these hardware store stakes?

1. They are only $0.97 each. Can’t beat that.
2. They are unfinished steel, which means you could spray paint them any color you want in about 30 seconds — no sanding, no priming. Or let them rust a bit in the elements for a more rustic look.
3. The second loop, halfway down, serves as a great little handle to push the stake into the ground without bending a bit!
4. These are several inches longer than the standard picnic glass stake you would find at Crate & Barrel or another retailer, which means you could access your wine just as easily from a lawn chair or hammock as if you were sitting on the ground!

As for that picnic, don’t be constrained to the lawn — wine glass stakes work just as well in potted plants or raised beds surrounding a brick patio, a high-rise terrace, or around the pool.

NOTE: if you plan to use real glasses (not picnic plastic), then you will want to cut your stakes a little lower to the ground. The weight of heavier glass can cause the stake to arc at an uneasy angle. A good pair of wire snippers will do this in no time flat.