Update a Table
Incorporating retro accents into your home is as easy as pulling in one focal piece. This refurbished table blends old and new with fresh white paint and a granite top. Two added shelves create optimal storage potential.
Craft a Console
Create storage space along a short wall by making a slender, low-rise console from an old-fashioned Shaker-style bench -- or two. Display collectibles, books , and more on the top and tuck baskets below for bonus storage. Just refresh the benches with a new coat of paint.
Corral Collectibles
Display collectibles in old apothecary and candy jars around your house. These jars are also perfect for storing bathroom essentials such as cotton swabs, cotton balls, bath salts, and more.
Crafty Coffee Table
Construct a character-rich coffee table out of wooden crates topped with an old barn door. Place the wooden crates on their sides for open magazine, book, and photo album storage below.
Flea Market Find
It's unlikely you have an old chicken feeder in your possession, but this weathered and unusual piece is a multitalented find in flea markets. These feeders can hold everything from flower vases to dishware to DVDs and CDs.
Make a Shelf from Molding
Turn salvaged decorative molding into a shelf and bring display space and architectural character to a room. Even a small piece can make a big statement when positioned at eye level.
Savvy Mail Stop
Put old mailboxes to work in your entryway, organizing mail and homework while creating a charming wall display. Allow kids to personalize their mailboxes with paint and other embellishments.
Boost Bath Storage
Put a birdbath to work as a tub-side table, holding bath soaps, salts, and hand towels. Made of heavy vinyl, this copper-look birdbath is impervious to moisture, so it's safe to splash around.
Organize the Mail
Breathe new life into an old porch railing by transforming it into an instant mail organizer. Whether you hang it from the wall or position it on a table or desk, the slats keep letters, postcards, and bills neat and within easy reach.
Dresser Do-Over
Furniture-look vanities are all the rage in bathroom design . Before you drop an antique dresser into your neighborhood's garage sale, consider converting it into a bathroom vanity . Give the new vanity a friendly facade by removing the bottom drawers and inserting labeled baskets instead.
Stack Baskets for Vertical Storage
If you don't have a linen closet and your storage space is lacking, store linens and more in stacked wicker picnic baskets. Store your often-used linens in smaller baskets at the top so they're easy to find and get to.
Construct a Shelf from Shutters
Create an entryway shelf plus coat rack by repurposing a pair of old shutters and wooden brackets. If you don't have extra brackets sitting around your home, you can find them at an architectural salvage shop. Simply sand, prime, and paint the shutters and brackets, then attach them with screws while they're positioned at a 90-degree angle. Attach coat hooks along the bottom.
Make It Efficient
With ample shelf space, this vintage freestanding pantry already scored high in the storage department. Adding cool baskets and attaching corkboard, blackboard, and metal sheets to the inside doors makes this piece an ultimate storage solution.
Bring the Outside In
The teal shelves used in this kitchen may have once housed farm equipment, but now they look chic alongside a stainless-steel refrigerator. The trick is choosing the right paint color and updating any worn hardware such as the wire screens shown here.
Savvy Serving Pieces
Old enamelware serving pieces -- placed on a wall near an entryway or in a home office -- can conveniently accommodate notes and coins. An enamel plate can function as a one-of-a-kind magnetic board for lists and reminders while a ladle catches spare change.
Hanging Storage
Keep magazines, books , and more close at hand by stashing them in an old bucket. Clean out the bucket, polish it off with a fresh coat of paint, and hang it from a plant hook by the bedside, in a cozy reading corner, or in the bathroom .
Think Outside the Box
Made for showing off cupcakes or fruit, this tiered wire rack is a premium antique find. Modernize the look (and add storage space) by using the piece to house clear juice glasses.
Corral Remotes & More
Keep track of the elusive remote control as well as DVDs and CDs by converting an old wire dish drainer into a coffee-table catchall.
Special Feeding Station
Turn antique kids' chairs into food-and-water stations that stand at just the right height for your four-legged friends. Simply cut bowl-size holes in the chair seats, lining the edges with rubber weather strips to prevent slipping.
Store More with Cubbies
Repurposed in the kitchen , this classic bookshelf unit creates open storage nooks perfect for housing (and showing off) dishes.
Desk Redo
Turn a child's writing desk into a darling dressing table for the master bathroom . Give it a fresh coat of white paint and update the hardware to give it a more mature, feminine look. Its small scale takes up little floor space yet adds a grooming and storage station for your bathroom.
Add Flair with Vintage Crates
This vintage banana crate adds a splash of personality to this otherwise neutral room. Raising the crates to waist level makes the storage space more accessible.
Mount a Cupboard
Make the most of your wall space and give an old cupboard a modern update by mounting it and placing coordinating vases on its upper shelf.
One-of-a-Kind Rack
Use an old boat anchor as a handy towel holder. Hang it up in a bathroom , poolside, or near an outdoor shower. The anchor could also be used as a clever coat rack near an entry.
Chill Bottles with Charm
No need to buy an expensive wine bucket for entertaining. Repurpose an old galvanized pail for a charming wine and beverage bucket. Just make sure the bucket is free of leaks. Suspend the pail from a birdcage hanger with a heavy, stable base for added appeal.
Add Fireside Storage
Turn an old metal wastebasket into a fireside log holder. This particular wastebasket is see-through, allowing the natural colors and textures of the wood to stand out.
Popular Slideshows
Check out these quick and easy DIY projects you ca...
Try these easy ways to say goodbye to old electron...
Everyday household items can be used in more ways ...
Connect with Us
