Using new design ideas in your home will help you create an aesthetic that is all your own, but you don’t have to go out and dump your bank account into new items. You can make some great updates to your home using recycled or salvaged pieces for very cheap. This article explores five design ideas anyone can do for a dime by incorporating recycled materials that will make your home look amazing.
1. Change your front door. Your front door is a the calling card for your home. Elizabeth Arden centered her cosmetics empire on the red door, and an iconic door design will change the way people perceive your home and family.
Glass front doors add more than color to the front of your home, and you can choose glass that is beautifully crafted. Stained glass doors will use several colors, or a plate glass door will reflect light in a rainbow of colors. There are modern frosted doors that obscure what is behind the door, and you can cover the door with a storm door for your own protection.
If you can’t afford a brand new door, you can find great doors from a salvage yard for cheap. All it needs is a coat of bright paint to restore it to its original, beautiful self.
2. Install rustic hardware. Chunky barndoor hardware makes each door in your home look as if it came from a country estate (especially if you live on a country estate), and similar fixtures on your cabinets make your kitchen look like it came from a small cottage. You can use rustic hardware on every door in the house, and rustic hardware on your windows helps bring the design aesthetic together.
Rustic hardware in your home can include plumbing fixtures in every room, or you can install country door knobs that help you promote the cottage feeling. You can transform your home into a place where your guests are taken to another century, and your family will feel more relaxed in a country-style surrounding.
Such pieces can be found at flea markets, or other secondhand stores. Pieces found here are even more unique as they will have a special history. I’ve had luck finding pieces from the early 1900s that are particularly rare.
3. Use tiles in the kitchen and bathroom. Tiling in your kitchen and bathroom can help you create patterns and pictures that you choose. Creating a unique pattern in the kitchen or bathroom that carried through to other rooms in the house will create flow and uniformity. Tile and grout cleaning can be easier than most people think, so don’t let the upkeep deter you.
Create your monogram on the wall of your kitchen, or create a mural in the bathroom. Start tiling on the floor, and extend the tile onto each wall. If you’re looking for a more rustic feel for your house you can find tile pieces that replicate old farm house designs. You can purchase tiles that have special images printed on each stone. Display your love of birds, lighthouses or seaside landscapes with your tiles, or consider commissioning an artist to paint the tiles for you.
4. Transform your deck. You can turn an ordinary deck into a beautiful design feature with a few alterations. Add an arbor to your deck to create more cover from the sun. Grow vines, grapes or tomatoes on your arbor, or put a roof over part of the deck to protect the family. You can build in your grill, or you build in extra seating for your family. The deck is a room that your family can use in the spring or summer, and you just might start using the deck as much as any other room in the house, and it’s a great place for hosting parties. You can find leftover wood from lumberyards for pieces that might be unusable for finer projects. But with a bit of stain and sanding these pieces will come back to life.
5. Finish your garage. The garage is a place where you can create storage or work space easily. Storage cabinets can be built along each wall, and you can move everything that clutters the house to the garage. Seal the floors with primer. Work items can be pulled out from the wall when the cars are gone, and you can turn the garage into a work room. Hanging hooks in the ceiling helps store toys and bikes, and you can install shelves on the wall for all your books (I think of my garage as a drive-in library).
Photo of door byMarius Buzac/Pexels; Photo of bathroom byEd Merrltt/Flickr; Photo of deck byFlberon/Flickr
David Glenn has lived his entire life in the beautiful state of Utah. He was fortunate enough to be successful in the residential construction market and was able to retire a few years back. He has been a contributor to Vivint and SmartHome USA.Click hereto read all his posts on MOTHER EARTH NEWS.
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