Vintage Magazine Rack Upcycle

A magazine rack helps you get organized in more ways than one.

If you’ve ever passed over a vintage magazine rack at a thrift store thinking it is just old stuff, think again. These little racks are some of the most versatile organizers you can find. They can hold much more than magazines and are perfect for craft supplies, mail, kitchen tools, throws, office folders, pet toys, and more. In this post, I’ll show you how I transformed a simple vintage rack into a fresh makeover that adds style and function to my space.

Yes, that magazine holder that you have isn’t just for your favorite monthly issues. These little guys are readily available at thrift stores, usually at a good deal. This great vintage magazine rack was a steal at only $6. 

Keep reading, I have more variations of this project below.

What items can you store/organize?

Home Organization and Decor

• By your favorite chair, with your yarn and tools for knitting and crocheting.
• If you like to sew, place it in your sewing room as a go-to for the items you reach for most often.
• Living room organization where it can hold magazines, remotes, a warm throw, and more.
• How about in your craft room, where you can store painting and craft supplies.
• Kitchen storage, including cookie sheets, pans, and rolling pins.
• Vinyl Record Storage, perfect for LPs
• Shoe Organizer: Entryway or closet.
• Umbrella Stand
• Mail Sorter by the front door.
• In the bathroom, for toilet paper rolls and towels.
• Guest room (guest bathroom) for towels, washcloths, etc.
• Pet Toy Bin
  

For Books, Media, and Office

• Folders (think stencils, bills, mail, and kids’ school work)
• In the office, you can use the folder option.
• Laptop or Tablet storage
• Coloring Books and Crayons
• Board Games and Puzzles

Craft and DIY Usage

• Gift Wrap Station
• Stencil or Decoupage Paper
• Paint and Brush Caddy
• Portable DIY Tote

What is the best thing about using a vintage magazine rack for getting organized?

First, it can be oh-so-cute when you customize it in any color or style that makes you happy and matches your home decor. But my favorite reason for using this small workhorse is its portability! With a built-in handle, it’s like a mini filing cabinet; you can just grab and go!

Wooden Magazine Holder

Have you ever seen one like this? I did a Google search and couldn’t find anything. I believe it may be homemade. Personally, I was pretty happy that it didn’t have spindles. Oh, and by the way, I’ve had this in my craft stash for years!

Supplies for this Makeover

Begin With a Good Cleaning

The first thing you should do when working on a thrift store project is to inspect it and clean it. There were a few things that I needed to take care of before I began this little makeover. There were some loose nails and a couple of odd nails added to the inside. All these supplies can be found in my Amazon Store.

Visit the My Repurposed Life Amazon Store to shop my favorite items.

 This surface prep is one of my favorite products for grimy projects. It appears that a lot of this grime may be nicotine.

After applying the surface prep, you may need to use a little scrubby to really clean up the project.

Lastly, you will need to wipe away all the grime. Generally, I use a rag, but I wanted to show you how well this surface prep works. You can find it in my Amazon Store.

Use Sandpaper as Needed

There were a few blemishes I needed to address, so I used 220-grit sandpaper. I did this outside, of course.

Time for Black Base Coat

I knew I wanted a sort of farmhouse look to the vintage magazine rack, so I started with a base coat of black paint. Because there were so many flat surfaces, it was a pretty quick job using the small foam roller.

The foam roller comes with a tray, but the roller lasts a lot longer than the tray does, so a styrofoam plate works great as a backup.

Black Vintage Magazine Rack

Although I do like it being black, I think I’ll love it after I put a white topcoat on it. Another roller and paper plate…

The entire black magazine holder will now get the white topcoat, inside and out.

Impatient Crafter uses a fan to Dry Project

I love my battery-operated Ryobi fan. It’s so portable and easy to use, helping this impatient crafter dry paint! I painted my regular 1.5 coats of white paint over the black paint. That means one full coat for coverage, and a very light coat where needed.

Distress With Emery Board

After the first coat of white, I used a damp rag to distress the edges before the paint set up. Because it was late when I did the second light coat, and the paint was set up the next day, I used an emery board to distress the areas that received too much coverage. I often distress projects this way when I paint and repurpose them.

Chalk Couture Transfer Directions

Chalking a transfer is so quick and easy. I used the hem guard to get the transfer centered on the project. After applying the transfer, I started spreading the chalk paste. As soon as I was finished spreading the chalk paste, I began carefully removing the transfer. In my opinion, this is so much easier than stenciling.

Visit my Chalk Couture Store for supplies, and check out my Chalk Couture Projects.

Tomorrow is Full of Possibilities

I absolutely LOVE how this project turned out!! Now, what can you use it for? As I listed at the beginning of this tutorial, you can use this for anything and everything! The words are only on one side; the opposite side is blank. I never know what someone will want, so I like giving them choices. However, this little gal won’t even make it to the booth; it’s already spoken for.

Portable Office or Bill Paying Station

The old vintage magazine rack is now perfect for a bill-paying station. As I mentioned above, once you put folders in this magazine holder, the possibilities are endless.

1. Mail
2. Bills
3. School papers
4. Chalk Couture transfers
5. Stencils
6. Business Papers

Wooden Tote for Guest Room or Guest Bathroom

Look how cute it is for a guest room, or guest bath! I love this sentiment, don’t you? It is done digitally to show you that you can decorate this type of project however YOU love.

Of course, you COULD actually use this as a magazine rack. Have you ever seen my shutter magazine holder?

This vintage magazine rack makeover is one of those projects that reminds us why thrifted finds are worth rescuing. With just a bit of cleaning, paint, and imagination, you can turn a dusty rack into a beautiful and functional piece for almost any room. I hope you found a new way to use one of these little gems and feel inspired to give your own finds a fresh life. Let me know what you would use yours for.

Fun & Easy Projects

What would you use the vintage magazine rack for? In which room?

gail