Upcycling is taking any old item and giving it a new use either as it is or with a little modification. For instance, something like an old suitcase can be used for decorative storage. Or, an old kitchen funnel can be made into a stylish pendant light. Of all the DIY projects, upcycling is the most affordable and offers so many unique options. You will never look at vintage, trash or junk items in the same way again!
Probably the most popular place to find items to upcycle are at flea markets. People seem to already know that the old things they are selling having definite design potential. They also know which items are the most popular, for use in DIY, and may price them higher based on that. Other places to look are garage or estate sales. It can be harder to find specific items but when you do they are typically priced lower than even flea markets. To get the most affordability, definitely check around your own home. Go search those storage boxes and garage items and look for their potential. Pretty much anything that you no longer have a use for can be upcycled into something new.
The following posts will provide you with plenty of inspiration for upcycling what you have.
Architectural salvage items include materials that have come from an old home structure. Things like old windows, doors, door knobs, pillars, and shutters are all good examples of architectural salvage. All of these things can be made into new items like furniture, chalkboards, coat racks, or headboards. There are many specific architectural salvage stores but you can also find these items and flea markets and antique stores.
Shopping flea markets will give you so many possibilities. Look for old kitchen gadgets, cans, furniture parts, old suitcases and plenty of other vintage items.
Old furniture with good bones is great to find at thrift stores. The prices are normally fantastic and the furnishings have lots of potential. Besides general makeovers, you can also upcycle a piece of furniture for a completely new use. Examples are a dresser turned into a tv stand or bar cart.
Creative examples of ways to repurpose a wide variety of items. Besides old items like suitcases or old cutting boards, these ideas include ways to repurpose trash items like cans from the pantry.
What happens when an old ladder is no longer safe to use? You definitely do not throw it out. There are so many cool ways to decorate with old ladders and use them for other purposes like a pot rack. Whether you have an old step ladder or a long wooden or metal ladder, there are lots of creative ways to incorporate them into your decor.
I don't know what it is about vintage metal toolboxes but I can't seem to get enough of them. So far I've collected quite a few and I'm always looking for more. When I get too many, I usually just sell them. It's pretty much a revolving door of different toolboxes around here but there
Making something new out of something that is old is a popular way to be frugal. There are several different terms to describe this process which can make it confusing to know what the differences are. You've probably heard the phrases recycle, repurpose and upcycle used interchangeably but they are not all exactly the same
I remember, once upon a time, that I had so many glass vases that I didn't know what to do with them. In fact, I wrote a post about what to do with glass vases to give them a new life. Apparently, my husband use to bring me flowers a lot that included the vase.
As I received yet another gift of coffee mugs, I determined that I definitely need to find other uses for all these stylish mugs. My kitchen cupboards are already bursting at the seams with mugs that I don't even use. This is after cleaning out the cupboard of mugs not too long ago! This time,
If you are into canning, chances are that you have a few old lids lying around. Since you can't reuse them for future canning, you may have found yourself saving them to cover mason jars for other purposes like jar gifts. They work out perfectly for homemade granola or cookie mix gifts. In fact, there
Have you ever noticed how appealing tattered and worn suitcases or other vintage cases look? That is why they make such great home decor accents. I found so many things to do with old suitcases that can be incorporated into your home decor. Check out these creative ideas to add some rustic appeal to your
What do you do when you have an old salvaged door, kitchen chairs you no longer need, and a blah patio space? I decided to use those items to spice up our patio just a bit. The patio before was basically just a space to store our grill. Since we normally use the upper deck
One old crate plus one rusty old sign equals a unique planter box for fun rustic decor. Who would have thought that you could make a decorative item out of such things? Although it is pretty popular to use a crate as a planter box, it's not popular to incorporate a rusty old sign. That
A while back I was given a vintage medicine cabinet door from my husband's grandparents old home. It didn't include the cabinet. I just had the door. Since the door was mirrored and the wood frame was old, I made a plan to upcycle it. I could use a mirror on one of our cabin
You may have heard the phrase that one person's trash is another person's treasure. It amazes me how often that is true! Even though not everything comes from an actual trash can, thrift store items are basically the same thing. The items that are donated to thrift stores are because they are unwanted and discarded.
I love shopping flea markets and I usually go for the junk! For some reason, rusted and old pieces of unique items inspire me in decorating. Maybe it’s the unexpected that I find to be so intriguing! I do know that I get such a sense of enjoyment from seeing an old seemingly useless piece of junk used
See how you can repurpose drawers creatively to use in your home in functional and stylish new ways.