Turn Dollar Tree Cooling Racks Into Pretty Birdcage Inspired Farmhouse Decor

You've searched all the usual suspects: eBay, Etsy, even your local thrift stores, but you simply can't seem to find the perfect piece that blends whimsy, romantic charm, and the warmth of farmhouse decor. The good news? All you need is a few cooling racks and pizza pans from the Dollar Tree to DIY a birdcage-inspired decor.

On her YouTube channel, The Magnolia Housewife builds a birdcage decor by bending four Cooking Concepts Metal Cooling Racks around a Cooking Concepts Tin Pizza Pan, ties them together with Floral Garden Colored Floral Wire, then uses hot glue to add a second pizza pan on top. She drills a hole in the side of the birdcage for a doorway, then cuts a door from a fifth cooling rack and attaches it to create a sliding door. It's a great, affordable project that comes in under $20 and is perfect for while away an afternoon.

The secret of this project, however, lies in choosing the right paint color. The best farmhouse color palette decor has a collection of hues, including shades from mauve to slate blue. However, to create farmhouse decor that never goes out of style, lean towards the neutral side of the palette (think greige, off-white, even gray).

The first step in creating a birdcage-inspired farmhouse decor is to paint all your materials with a metal-friendly spray paint, like Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch 2X Ultra Cover Paint + Primer. Once everything is dry, place one pizza tin face up on your workspace. Set a cooling rack on its short side, then use your hands to mold it to the shape of the pan. Repeat with the other three racks until they are shaped to the pan. Tie the bent cooling racks together with the floral wire, one at the top and one at the bottom. Then, using a hot glue gun, glue the second pizza pan to the top of your faux birdcage.

You can stop here, but if you want to add a door, grab a fifth cooling rack and a pair of pliers. The most important part is deciding where to cut the doorway in the cage. The middle two rows on these racks are sized differently from the rows on the outside edges. Meaning, if you want to position the doorway on the middle rack, cut the door itself from the same location on the spare rack.

Once you've decided on the location and width, use pliers or wire cutters to cut the door from the spare rack. Make your cuts at the very edge of the row, keeping the horizontal wire intact and slightly longer than the door. Cut your doorway into the birdcage frame, then sand down the edges to prevent any sharp edges. Now, curl the extended wires on the door back to create hinges, then hook the door over the opening.

Once you've built your birdcage, the fun part begins: decorating. Take cues from your own home to help you decide how to style your birdcage-inspired piece and enhance your home with a farmhouse aesthetic. Love books? Stack some novels inside your birdcage. Or if you want to add a little greenery to your space, place a few plants in the cage for a stylish, unique greenhouse. Or, take a page from The Magnolia Housewife's book (ahem, video), and style with fake greenery and lighting. She drapes a fake garland around flameless candles for a look that transitions through the seasons.

For a more seasonal look, replace the flowers with ones in season. For example, try lavender for spring, sunflowers for summer, or mini pumpkins or gourds for autumn. We suggest using flameless candles, such as Homemory Flameless Votive Candles with Timer, or thin twinkle lights, such as BOSSERN Fairy Lights Battery Operated with Timer, instead of lit candles as an extra safety precaution.