By Yanic Simard, Houzz
One thing I love to do at the beginning of a new year is clean out the old and bring in the new. One way to do this without being wasteful or spending money is to make things you already have new to you. Move furniture around, give it a new paint job, or give it an entirely new function. Take a look at what these clever Houzz members have switched up, then look at your own belongings with fresh eyes.
Related: How to Successfuly Shop for Secondhand Furniture
decordemon, original photo on Houzz
1. Gidget happily perches atop this clever retro dog bed (this is a miracle because she’s a very picky girl with a penchant for freshly reupholstered mid-century sofas). It was a super-stylin’ suitcase in a former life.
Dreamy Whites, original photo on Houzz
2. These weathered doors have been transformed into a beautiful and architectural headboard. If you only have one door, hang it horizontally at headboard height.
Cozy Little House, original photo on Houzz
3. An antique sewing table is now a useful and conversation-inspiring kitchen island.
4. That drafty old window you replaced can serve as an eye-catching grid of frames.
5. We’ve seen wooden ladders all over the house, hanging from chains to become patinaed potracks and transformed into towel racks when propped against a wall. Old paint splatters add to their appeal.
Thomas Wold, original photo on Houzz
6. Thomas Wold has some sort of higher calling when it comes to repurposing; his work is some of the most clever, cool, original and functional I’ve seen to date. This secretary desk is an assemblage of discarded shelves, boxes and cabinets.
ROMABIO / Interior & Exterior Mineral Based Paints, original photo on Houzz
7. This is one of my all-time favorite repurposing projects. Those fabulous rusty and crusty oversized pendant lights were propane tanks in a former life.
Related: Not a DIYer? Update Your Pendant Lighting Here
8. Vintage tools become interesting folk-art pieces when displayed in new ways.
Kenny Craft, CNU LEED AP, original photo on Houzz
9. A former ski lift cable has a new life as a clever railing in Colorado. It’s fun to recognize a familiar object like this in an unexpected place.
10. Don’t tell Gidget, but someone else has swiped a potential vintage suitcase dog bed and transformed it into a quirky bedside table.
