Prices based on Habitat for Humanity ReStores.
1. Reuse cabinet doors: Separated cabinet doors can be reused as side-table tops. Bodies can be turned into shelving, or even the base of a desk for a home office.
To Buy: $10 to $20
2. Tile projects: Leftover tiles make great coasters, as well as eye-catching additions to patios and garden walkways. Broken, mismatched tiles in a color scheme make for an inexpensive mosaic floor.
To Buy: 10¢-$1 per tile
3. Pallet projects: The DIY applications for shipping pallets go on and on—transform them into coffee tables, planters or even bed frames. Some companies will let you take shipping pallets off their hands for free.
To Buy: free to $5
4. Door do-over: Doors can be quickly and easily upcycled. Turned sideways, they make great bases for coat hooks, or home command centers when painted with chalkboard paint. Add legs to a distressed antique door and you have an instant shabby chic coffee table.
To Buy: $10 for interior doors, $20 to $80 for exterior doors
5. Upcycle shutters: Shutters can be repurposed into cute, handy storage solutions. They can be used to hang jewelry, propped against a wall and used to display pictures, or turned into unique side tables.
To Buy: $5 to $30 depending on size, condition and material
Kirstin Gentry shares a tutorial on making a shipping pallet reading nook on kojodesigns. Gail Wilson shares how to make a reclaimed door message center on My Repurposed Life. On her site Beyond the Picket Fence, Becky Lamb shows how she turned a pair of window shutters into a kitchen island.
