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| Antique door knob |
With spring soon upon us,
many use this season to clean up basements, garages, attics and any other
spaces that need organizing. Instead of
throwing some of your forgotten attic treasures, junkyard finds or discount
store overstock in the trash, hold on to them.
Yes, I said, hold on to them.
Many of these items can be
re-purposed into stylish décor that can spruce up your existing home, condo or
apartment. How many times have you
found precious items with a design that you love, but don’t know what to do
with it or how to incorporate into your current home style?
For years, I have been
fascinated by discarded industrial or commercial fixtures and the endless
possibilities for their new purpose.
Perhaps it is my frugalness from my college days, but I have always
tried to find innovative ways to transform traditional items into something
else.
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| $15 Close-out vase found at Homegoods |
I had found a black and stainless
steel payphone stand (quite old school) and turned it into a bedroom valet
stand complete with compartments for watches and jewelry, a rack for suits
slacks and other clothing. The hardest
part was figuring out how to get it home from the flea market since I only
owned a bicycle.
Fast forward to now, and I am
still refurbishing trinkets and oddball pieces of furniture. My most recent project involved turning a
contemporary mosaic glass vase into a hanging lamp fixture. As you can see, it serves this space well as
an affordable yet interesting lighting option.
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| Enclosed are some architectural artifacts |
Other projects I have done in
recent past have been converting a vintage pulley wheel into a coffee table
where I simply had the glass cut to fit what is now the base of this vintage
piece of furniture. By placing a plywood base underneath the wheel I was able to create a shadow box to showcase additional artifacts. The industrial casters allow the table to be moved with just a push of a knee. Other fun ideas
include salvaging antique door knobs (easily findable at antique stores) and
drilling them onto finished wood that can serve as coat hooks, drawer pulls or
depending upon the size as a great way to hang jewelry.
Do you have something in your attic, basement or
garage waiting to be re-purposed?
Please comment and share your
ideas, photos or successes.
© Architecturally Speaking 2012
This is a very good and informative blog with good ideas for recycling unused items. We love the lamp and the table from the pulley wheel is quite unique. M.L.
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ReplyDeleteIndustrial casters & stainless steel casters