If you’re willing to perform a few easy clean-ups and fix-ups, refurbishing, a charity shop or garage sale find can make your decorating budget go a lot further.
Make a Table
If you have a solid foundation piece, it isn’t hard to make a table out of it. Wood, glass and acrylic tabletops can be attached to unique bases to create cool effects. You can even find inexpensive, quirky candidates for the price of a set of table legs.
How about a glass-topped table on a stone birdbath base? You might also consider using a discarded wooden cable spool as a table base or even use a wooden door as a tabletop.
Prefab tops and turned table legs are available at most home improvement and some craft stores. They’re easy to install and pretty cheap considering the cost of tables these days.
Reuse Sheets
Sheets are a useful all-purpose fabric resource. After they’re done in the bedroom, you can cut them up for curtains, tablecloths, placemats, napkins, couch covers and even rag rugs.
Sheets have the advantage of being large and tightly woven, which makes them sturdy and versatile. As budget décor materials go, they’re a winner. One hundred per cent cotton sheets work best, and if the thread count is under 200, multiple layers will be easier to sew together.
Reuse pillows
Use old pillows to make a secret bed! Secret Projects are craft items including homewares, pillows and clothing made by women in India who face social and economic challenges. The money they earn through the making and selling them enables them to pay for their child’s education, food, medicine and other essentials. The women are affiliated to a charity who provide a safe space in which they come together to receive training, support, and materials to produce their crafts. The secret bed is perfect for children having friends over to sleep or just to relax on. It folds up to not take up space and also make a comfy chair. Just slide in some old pillows and you are sorted.
Craft a Lamp from a Kit
You can make a lamp out of almost anything that you can drill two holes into or wrap an electrical cord around. That includes glass, ceramic, wood and even metal. All it takes is a lamp kit and a drill with a bit that can cut through the object in question.
Turn a special wine bottle, candle holder or even a vase into a lamp. Once you start looking around, you’ll come up with lots of bargain lamp ideas that’ll work for you.
Start a Collection
Take advantage of the nostalgic appeal of old things by creating an attractive visual collection. Old pop bottles in a wicker basket, mismatched spoons mounted on a wooden base or old thimbles enclosed in a shadow box can look dynamic and cost very little. All you need is a group of similar objects and some time to play with the presentation.
Recycle Frames
Picture frames are one accessory item that can be reclaimed in lots of ways. There are also so many of them around that they’re one of the best designer bargains out there.
Put a painted plywood backing behind a frame and you’ll have a tray for the top of an ottoman or vanity. Add some legs and you have a serviceable table. You can also install a cheap mirror on an elaborate old frame for an expensive look that can add style to an entry or hallway.
A cheap print will look better in a vintage frame, and an eclectic collection of vintage framed art will add lustre to your walls on the cheap. Add a backing covered with velvet and mount your collection in a frame. Those ticket stubs or matchbooks may look silly by themselves, but once they’re enclosed in a unifying frame, they’ll look downright impressive.
When you use your imagination, anything’s possible.
Giveaway
The lovely people over at Secret Projects are offering one person the chance to win a Secret Bed in the design of their choice, subject to availability. For your chance to enter, use the app below. Good luck!
92 Comments on Ways to repurpose old items – giveaway
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An extra bed is alwasy required when the grandchildren come to stay
oh this is brilliant!
This would come in very handy for sleepovers
Brilliant giveaway
WOULD COME IN VERY USEFULL
Ideal for our cosy Saturday film nights!
This would be a practical, convenient solution for temporary lodgers
Wow. This would be amazing. Our boys would love it.
Our boys would love this. Thank you for the opportunity
some great tips thanks!
my youngest Finlay would love this X
Fantastic prize, my children would love this xx
My kids have friends/cousins stay the night a lot. We go through air mattresses so fast. They always seem to get a leak and patches do NOT work. I love the idea of a big pillow to sleep on. It would save me a small fortune!
Wow amazing prize .gery exciting!! Good luck to everyone entering. X
Cool giveaway love it, not sure actually want you win. A very secret giveaway
Wow great giveaway
This would be great for my grandson when he comes for his sleepovers
Suprised I haven’t heard of them before, not kean on the blow up beds
Very handy for when my grandchild comes to stay
Perfect for when my grandaughter comes to stay
Great giveaway – yes please x
Clever ideas, thanks for the inspiration.
very interesting.and practical prize
some great ideas there, and a lovely prize thank you
This would be ideal for when our grandchildren come over
This would be amazing for when kids visit grandad house x
My son would love one of these – he always needs to lie down everywhere as he has low muscle tone! Perfect
this would be so much better for my grandchildren to sit on when we have story time and we can use it as a nice chair when they have a friend over
Looks lovely.
This would be amazing for my teeny tiny house for my 8 year old! Its her birthday coming up so what a treat x
Perfect for sleepovers! I think my son would love it.
great prize
looks comfy
looks very comfortable
Looks really comfortable, great rize
Lovely for my grandchildren.
A great idea
love this!!
Recycling, crafting, etc were popular in the past. Repurposing makes sense, again something that has been done in the past. Sometimes through necessity due to low and limited income / finances, as well as limited space within the home. Overcrowding was an issue within homes in the past. This likely eased when authorities became aware of the risks in regards to spread of infections within households and communities that had overcrowding.
That looks great, Arlo my great grandson, would love it
My kids would be thrilled!
I think this secret bed is a brilliant idea! A great way to recycle old pillows too and perfect for lazy rainy days in.
This would come in very handy for sleepovers, when we are allowed them again!
This would be perfect for my young nephew. Thanks for the great competition and prize.
My grandaughter would love this when she comes over
Love watching with little sister
This is really such an infinitely appropriate idea.
Very handy when my nephews want to stay
very handy indeed
Sounds great!
Brilliant idea! Great for sleepovers!!
Perfect for my grandchildren, thank you
Would be good for my grandson 🙂
I love this and it would come in so handy for my grandchildren.
It’s amazing x
Fantastic giveaway indeed a wee winkie would definately sleep on this bed so bright and colourful an adventure for them
Thanks for an interesting post and some good tips and ideas, I’d much prefer to upcycle/repurpose items than throw them away
Wow. This is fab. My niece would totally love this
These are brilliant – super cosy! My nephew would love it and great for sleepovers too. Love the bright colours.
it sounds so comfy!
very handy for when we get out of local lockdown
Perfect for sleepovers !
Perfect for my grandchildren to use!
This would be fab for so many reasons – sleepovers, Deb building etc x
This would be great for my grandson. Fingers crossed.
Such a fab idea, perfect for my daughter.
I have just swapped an old quilted bedspread for a new one and have been wondering what to do with the old one. Your post has given me a few ideas. Thanks.
My son would love this, looks super comfortable
Brilliant ideas!
Fabulous Idea perfect for when my grandson comes . Love it
This looks fab for when our grandchildren stop over
Looks fab both of my children would be delighted to get this
Looks great! Thank you for the chance to win 😀
Brillant!! So useful!
Fantastic for sleepovers 🙂
Just bought new cushions, was reluctant to put the old ones in landfill!
love this
I love this, I try to find a new use for everything that is heading for the bin
I love this, we always repurpose items and bedding if we are able to
This looks cool and bright
Great idea will come in handy for those unexpected teenage gusts
This would be brilliant for sleep overs xx
Wow this would be perfect for my son Noah
My grand daughter would love this for sleep overs
I love the white star design; my grandson would love this.
I need a secret hammock above eye level so I can get some peace and quiet from my son and dog!!
This is a great idea for when wecan finally have sleepovers again
I love the look of the secret beds. A clever idea and great styles.
Our 10 year old has severe learning difficulties, when we move house he will finally have a safe bedroom of his own and will move into his own bed, (has shared with me till now!), this would make for a brilliant addition for occasions when one of us will be needed to be in there with him, when not used as a bed it’s bright and cheerful enought to be incorporated into every day play for him.
My daughters would love it 🙂
The perfect thing for sleepovers. Great prize
Amszing, would love to #win