Part of it is seeing something that you like, thinking you don't have a place or a use for it at that moment, then trying to come up with ways to fit it in anyway. That might lead you to cut the legs off a too high table. Or hang a beautiful textile that's intended for another use. Or to paint the bright gold frame with the nice profile. For example, you might see a pair of candlesticks that you absolutely love but decide you'll never use them on your table - in an aha! moment you decide to turn them into lamps. Once you re-purpose something, your eye becomes accustomed to seeing possibilities in other things. Take a walk through a thrift store and just look at things - look for shapes you like, colors that can be changed, slipcovers that can hide ugly fabric.

The more you do, the more you see.

I think I have the "knack" and since I'm always working with a small (or non existent) budget, good darn thing too. Most of my house is trash to treasure, hand me downs, treasures from family basements, attics or garages, yard sale or flea markets and (dare I admit) curbside finds. I was blessed with a super handy workworker stepdad and my father's artistic advice. Usually I can look at something and know what I want to do with it and how it will look. They help me get it there.

I also have a shed for storage that houses all the treasures I find that I dont have immediate time, place or plan for. Have furnished one daughter's first place on a dime and a ton of elbow grease.

I love doing it! One of my recent projects (so much fun) was to create a throne for a theatrical young girls bedroom. Attached is the before photo

Here is a link that might be useful:

The throne after. I made a huge red velvet cushion for it.

Here is a link that might be useful:

If you see something you like the form of but the rest is such a mess you have no idea how you could get it to work...well you are already half way there because you like the shape or design. If you are new at revamping stick with buying for the shape, form or design because you love it, really love it. The rest will come, it may not come right away but it will come. How will you know if your idea on the revamp is right? You will know because you will feel "in the zone". I have no way of describing "the zone" but it would be similar to channeling in a sprit you knows what the heck they are doing. Sometimes when you are done you have no way of explaining how you accomplished a look; it sometimes just happens by accident while you are messing around except it just feels so right.

I found this kitchen table in a local antique store. DH cut off the bottom of each leg, then removed a center section and put the bottoms back on (more interesting that way, and not chopped off look). It's been our den coffee table since 1984.

I purchased this TV lamp (had a bulb behind the dog) and had made into a lamp for DS guest room.

That room has another lamp made from a brass blow torch.

In the great room, I have a large lamp made from a candlestick I found locally. Love this lamp too.

Here's a shutter I had made into a door that hides the DISH receivers and DVD storage, etc. Had same guys make me sliding doors to go over the TV (over FP, in link below).

Here's a vintage wooden grape harvesting basket from Belgium. I use it for an end table, next to the great room sofa.

Here is a link that might be useful: my home

"Seriously, are there certain things I should be looking for or checklist I should use when determining if this would be a good buy or not?"

Does the shape please you? Is it sturdy built? Solid Wood, etc? Seriously I dont bother with less than solid wood, no particle board etc. The amount of time and effort you have in a piece may be significant and it isnt worth it for something less than solid.

If its not in good repair - are the repairs easy and doable? Do you need it? Have a place or idea for it? A place to store it?

I look for chairs, tables and smaller accessories. The more complicated a piece is, the more time it might take to restore and reinvent it. For ex elaborate carving takes time to clean , paint, strip, etc.

There are great resources and ideas online. If you get something cheap enough and just dig in. You learn from your mistakes too. I'm currently teaching myself how to rewire lamps. Bought two at Goodwill for really cheap. If it works, wonderful. If not, only out pennies and my time.

I can sum it up in four words:
Think outside the box.
I do this for a living. Here's a few of my projects:
Clickable thumbnails:
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Much of what repurposing is, is what our grandparents would have called making do or do without. It's taking what you have and using it in ways that normally you wouldn't think of.
Sometimes it's a small thing like using a quilt for a table cloth for a dinner.
Other times it's on a larger scale. Like taking an old cabinet, putting a coat of paint on it and using it for storage in a bedroom rather than in the kitchen where you might have originally had it. Instead of storing cans it now stores games for the kids.
I think everybody has the ability to do it, it's a matter of making a deliberate choice in doing it that way vs going out and buying something already done to fit your purpose.

sistersunnie--I needed your help last month for my daughter's princess party. My DH wanted a throne for her. Thanks for the tips too!

Alison--I love the candlestick to lamp. That door is absolutely amazing.

Justgot2bme--WOW!!! You are talented. Storage is what I need, that storage cabinet is great. I always see things in the lighter wood but my house is in the dark wood.

Everyone has given me great ideas and pointers. It has gotten the juices flowing. I just found a tall bookshelf online. I know it's not real wood, but I thought I could put it on it's side, paint it, get storage baskets or install doors, to use it for my kids toys. What do you think, is that a start?

I'm going to a furniture consignment store tomorrow to attempt to put these things into action. I'll let you know how it goes.

Sistersunnie, rewiring lamps is a breeze! Just follow the directions on the new cord, and take your time. Remember, ribbed=silver. I've become a bit of a lamp junkie lately, and have rewired about a dozen or so in the last year. I find that the vintage lamps available at the thrifts and on ebay are much better quality and so much more interesting than what's in stores. I found a new pair today that I'm pretty excited about. I'll post pics later.

Yes, agree completely about the furniture. Don't bother with particleboard or laminates, but a good solid piece of furniture can be redone into something special.

I'm not very good at repurposing things, but I'm very good at bringing old and tattered things back to life. I just love to fix things!

Today's find:

Detail of the porcelain

The bases also have a grapevine motif.

They're filthy dirty, and need to be rewired and new shades, and I'm pretty sure they're going to need fancy finials, but for $8...how could I say no?

Here's a furniture redo. I found one of these nightstands at a junk shop, and about 6 months later, found it's mate at another junk shop across town. What are the chances? Anyway, it had about 8 layers of badly done chipping paint and ugly hardware.

After stripping, sanding, a leg repair, painting, and new (old) hardware:

Franksmom---Those lamps are great!! I would have never imagined that nightstand would come out so beautifully.

I hope I can find some deals tomorrow.

Ummm...about those lamps...I bought them thinking I could use them in the living room. The lamps in there are OK, but a little short. The new lamps are 25" tall, not including a harp or shade...holy cow...I just tried one of my larger shades on one, and it's ***HUGE***

Any suggestions on how to minimize that height? Will they look lame with a shorter shade?

On that thread about "confidence" I do believe I mentioned my struggles with proportion and scale, and BAM, there ya go!

Thanks, legacybuilder.

Pretty lamps!

I also bought this Saunders computer cabinet:

and had DH help me and turn it into this:

(Ignore the cords. That was when we first moved in. I've gone to laptop, but use it as an end table in sunroom. Has all-in-one inside and no cords outside - I so hate cords!)

I am in AWE at what you all have done!!!!
Amazing, simply amazing works...thank you all so much for sharing!

I am going to have to ditto SisterSunnie's first post.
Goodwill, Yard Sales, Hand-Me-Downs, Curb Finds and the last 5 years we've added Ebay and Craigs List to our haunts.....except for the electronics, most of our home is filled with 'pre-loved' things.
Took on three extra kids (not by blood but by love) early in our marriage and from that point on, it was
"Budget what? who? Where?"

Over the years, I've found that having the lack of a budget sort of forces the creative gene to come forward.

A couple of quick examples:

Almost five summers ago we used an old, metal basketball hoop and made a hanging pot rack for the pans and bbq'ing utensils we use out back at the Grill.
It worked so well and a couple family members were so impressed, they brought us old basketball hoops .....they wanted one too.

Turns out one of those family members moved last summer and repainted their hoop/hanging pot rack and are using it indoors, to the right of their stove.
You'd never know it was a basketball hoop in a previous life.

Then there is the old microwave cart we had in a closet.
When we got the bigger microwave it hung over the sides of the little stand. Stored wrapping paper, tape, ribbon.
Enter master bathroom redo, due to a major leak that included mold and mildew.

The previous owners made a little tiny shoebox bathroom in the master out of the closet. 7' x 3.5'.
Searched high and low for a little tiny vanity....couldn't be deep because then you couldn't turn around in the bathroom without your butt going into the door knob. Nope, couldn't find a thing. At least nothing that we could afford.

One day I was pulling out wrapping paper for a wedding shower I didn't want to go to when it hit me.
Turn the microwave cart upside down, Flip the drawer glides around (4 screws total), add some hard plastic bun-type feet to the, now bottom, of the cart, paint the whole thing and ta-da.....the perfect little tiny vanity. But the feet made it ADA which I love.

This pic the countertop isn't tiled yet and the ORB knobs aren't on but you get the idea.

As was stated in an above post; "Think out of the box!"
But I must add one caution: Trash to Treasure...the hunt, then watching your treasure come to life, can become very addictive! *smile*

I believe in the old adage 'ingenuity is the mother of invention', but also creativity is in the minds' eye(my *own* adage).

I'm seeing simple tree branches used in decorating stores as a new 'trend', but i've been using them for at least 3 years. Same goes for the bird/birdcage 'craze'.

I painted a piece of thrift store furniture black long before I ever saw it at PB and did the rubbed edges also~~who knew??

When I moved out of my condo, I removed the little-used trash compacter and made a built-in wine rack. It was the hit of the kitchen!

Recently I found a vintage chair in an alley behind a house one Sunday when I was with my son~he couldn't believe I was making him stop to pick it up! It was a French style dining chair and the cushion was filled with springs and horse hair and in very good condition. It looked as thought it had been thrown against a wall, top and bottom completely separately. I brought it home, drilled holes in the appropriate places and used wood pegs to put the top and bottom back together with the help of a little wood glue and wood filler. I recovered the cushion, added a pretty tasseled trim, and sold two weeks later in my antique space for $95.

IMO, you really need to open your eyes AND your mind to allow the creativity in, and sometimes it's not immediately, so give it time. I'm also a believer of miracles. ;o)

No, but I wish I did. When I see the neat things people make out of junk, I slap my head because I either would never have thought of something, or I just got rid of whatever they used to make the neat thing. Usually the latter.

Franksmom, I would take a lamp to a lamp place or shade place and try different sized harps AND shades. There is nothing worse than a pair of lamps with the wrong shades on them.

Also, most lamps, as I am sure you have experienced, come in pieces - could you remove the lower porcelain section, or would that make them too short? Do remember that part of the reason they may look so tall now is that you are used to seeing shorter lamps.

Well... I had never done any "trash to treasure" at all. I live in a rural area so I have to take my own garbage to a "transfer center" which is a nice way of saying dump!

Short story alert!

One day I go to the dump and sitting there was this wood, very cool looking dresser. Didn't know where I would put it and I didn't want to lift it by myself. So I left it.

Later that afternoon my garage doors were installed so I made another trip to the dump to take some of the packaging. The dresser was still sitting there so I wandered over to it and opened the drawers and looked at it more closely. Decided again to leave it.

Kept thinking of the dresser!

An hour later my daughter and I were heading out to dinner and I decided to swing by the dump. If it was gone then it was gone. If it was sitting there it was meant to be mine.

So here she is!

Terrible cell phone pictures but it is really beautiful in person. It is a soft leaf green. I did some distressing around the edges, added some cute pulls from pbkids, and put a cute stencil on the lower 2 drawers. There was a lot of work involved, wasn't just a slap a coat of paint and call it done project. The top had some sort of peeling laminate and took atleast 3 hours of peeling scraping, chipping, and sanding to get down to the wood. But when I did. wow!

Allison - you have some really good looking transformations there too!

I think I have a knack for that. I often see things I would like to try refinishing or painting, but we have no basement and no garage, so it is hard to do those kind of projects in the driveway when it is snowing. LOL

I did do one, some summers ago. I had a wooden plant stand, about 4 feet wide, painted white. You know, the wooden ones that are sort of like a console, with space in the top set in for the plant pots to go. Has two slatted wooden shelves underneath.

I painted it black, flipped it upside down so that the planter box area become a decorative bottom, put the shelves on the bottom of the shelf braces. Then I bought a piece of wood to make a new top, stained it to kind of (LOL) match the kitchen wood, and mounted it on what used to be the bottom of the legs with "L" brackets. Our kitchen table and chairs are mostly painted black, with a stained wood top on the table and wood trim on the backs of the chairs. It serves as a console sideboard in the kitchen.

I'm getting there. Mainly I think from all the blogs I read that do this. We don't have that many thing in our house that have been "changed" from one purpose to another but more that the looks have been changed. We do have a vanity in a bathroom that was a gentleman's chest and a end table in our sunroom that is a section of an old vanity (vanity had a drawer and shelf section on each side with the "vanity" area in between. This piece I bought, we did not make. Over the last few years I have gotten into a few painted/distressed pieces also. I do use alot of older items as decorative pieces instead of their intended use. Allison - clock faces are one of them! I've just recently fallen in love with those.

It's a fun habit, er hobby!

tina

I love this subject and I love all the projects shown above, very nice!

My whole house is decorated with trash to treasure. *LOL* Here's some of the more glaring ones, but basically most of my decor is from auctions, thrift, consignment, craigslist and yes a few things are out and out 'garbage picked'. :O

Lighting fixtures bought at auction:

Repainted, cleaned up and hung :

Old antique pine church pew :

Stripped, waterloxed and made into hall bench :

Before picture of three vintage medicine cabinets ( old pic of room, this is the blue room now )

Repainted, made a top and used as a buffet :

Chairs before :

Chairs after and that coffee table is a dime a dozen, center pedastal oak table, cut down and painted black :

That old hoosier is our pantry :

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My daughter's beds before :

Beds after :
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From old dresser :

To my daughter's bathroom vanity, the lights above it are old pressed glass plug in lamps, cleaned up and hardwired in. I made the shades.

Lamps as I'm getting them ready to go :

Their art table I found on the road side waiting garbage pick up, painted it and paired it with some colorful old school chairs :

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Cute chairs, zipdee!

Tina, I've got several clock faces, but that's the only one with blue on it. That photo is older, and I've acquired another antique wooden Saint statue since then and have an orchid there too - looks pretty barren in the picture!

I've purchased several old, wooden boxes over the years and repurposed them around the house:

Here is a link that might be useful: repurposed vintage wooden boxes

ZIPDEE!!!! WOW!!! All of those projects are just amazing!! You have a very lovely home, and it all looks really, really nice! Great finds!!

I got a free old floor lamp off CL. It had a regular socket on top which I replaced with a fruit bowl. The clay base is inverted, then I painted it. The wingback chair was a set of 2, free off CL. I slip covered it to go with the oriental rug in this room. I'm looking for a couple of flour sacks to make new lumbar pillows for the chairs. :0)

Les' post made me remember another topsy-turvy idea I did in my space at the antique mall. I needed a potrack to hang the copper pieces on. I had a black metal plant stand in the garage which I hung from 3 chains, and used 'S' hooks for the pots/utensils. I actually had an offer to sell the plant stand w/o the copper, but decided not to...maybe eventually. ;o)

zipdee--AMAZING!! I love the girls room and bathroom. You have a beautiful home.

All the ideas are fabulous. It's really helping me think about pieces differently. Instead of looking at it only for it's original intended purpose, I'm trying to see how it could be used another way. Keep them coming.

I see paint is a great friend too. I've always been scared of paint; that it would chip and devalue the look. Looks like I need to take the plunge. Is there anything you do specifically to prevent the chipping on painted items that would take a lot of wear and tear (I have two DD)?

Yep, I have the knack, and I even have a pretty good sized space to store projects, what I lack is time. Working full time puts a severe time constraint on project work, but when I retire, rescuing, rehabbing and reinventing "stuff" (spoken broadly) is going to occupy my time. I only hope I can still hold a paintbrush and scraper by the time I finally get to retire.

sandyponder

Zipdee - you so have the eye!! Amazing work on your finds and your home looks beautiful!

Thanks so much for the encouraging comments Franksmom, Legacybuilder and Inspiredisable! Our house is a work in progress, but it's slowly starting to come together.

Allison, I love your vintage wooden boxes and they fit in so nicely with your decor! I see them at auctions a lot and ponder their uses. Right now I have a wooden tool chest that was used to house cotton mill tools, I just need to find a home in our house for it.

Are you freaking kidding me?!!! This is outrageous. How do you all do that? Amazing...I am in awe! I can never do that. Am too afraid to mess up and not handy at all!

How do you make a lamp out of candle sticks? Thanks!

Do I have the knack? In a word, no.

I have accumulated a few things with ideas of changing them into treasures but I don't really know where to begin. Two things that are waiting for me to convert are the legs from a neighbor's kitchen table & the old chandelier from my DR.

I've quoted this before and I'll do it again because it really sums it up for me:
I'm the visionary, you come up with the nuts and bolts - Bart Simpson

I can see the potential in these items but I need someone else to get it from my thought into reality. Or maybe just more confidence to give it a go myself. What's the harm? The stuff was trash before, it can be trash again if my vision doesn't pan out.

Thanks, Zipdee. I have one in the laundry room with one side divided into three sections - just large enough for old mason jars. The open/other side I have four dish towels stored for color. Another one, with wooden handle, I use for a magazine holder and have hardcover books in it.

How do you make a lamp out of candle sticks? Thanks!

I have an awesome locally owned (mother/daughter) lamp store and the daughter makes lamps from things I take in. She has a loooong drill bit for the wooden candlesticks. As long as they are not too thin/small (can break, crack) she can drill them. The candlestick cost me less than $10 to drill and buy parts. The shade, way more! lol

She also made the TV (dog) lamp into a table lamp. Could have done it myself, but it was less than $15 for parts. Again, shade way more. But I like nice shades.

The brass blow torch lamp I bought from her, already made.

Most of our interior fixtures are by Hubbardton Forge. But they came with plain candle sleeves. I bought a ton (over 20) of the resin, dripping wax covers for fixtures all over the house. She cut them all (at no charge). They make such a huge difference... probably no one notices but me! lol

I took in a tall candlestick lamp and she replaced the plain sleeve with a resin one and "tinted" it with stain. Looks like an old drippy candle now.

Zipdee - I remember seeing your kid's bedroom renovation a while back and it's absolutely amazing! Seeing other glimpses of your home was great fun too.

Rescuing old treasures and giving them new life is one of my favorite things to do. This sideboard was my most recent project.

Here is a link that might be useful: My

lullabelle--The sideboard looks wonderful. You have a great blog too. What colors did you use in the room off the kitchen? I'm trying to find a yellow for my entryway. I like how that room popped w/ the white trim. I want to do the yellow and white in my entryway.

Oh, my favorite topic and I love the projects pictured here -- nice work all of you!

Legacybuilder, for me it's either I have something and want to re-purpose it, or I want something and can't afford it so I fake it.

Sistersunnie, I would hardly recognize that 'throne' -- you did a great transformation.

Alison, all of your projects are just yummy and you have such wonderful taste. I remember when you did that door. I love what you did with that computer desk - totally unrecognizable.

Justgotabeme, I clicked on each of your pics and I marvel at your creativity. I never would have looked at a door and seen a corner cabinet - very clever.

Franksmom, great lamp find. That little table came out so nice, the finish looks perfect.

Amity, from microwave cart to vanity, who'd a thunk it? Good going, and it looks great. I hope you'll post more pics when it's finished.

Inspiredisabel, nice job on the little dresser. Free is my favorite price too. lol

Les, that sounds great. I was just thinking about you last night. You've helped so many of us and I was wishing to see pictures of your house and the things you've done. Could we talk you into starting a thread on that with pix?

Zipdee, what to say? I love all of your projects. I have saved so many pictures of your work you wouldn't believe it. You are so clever. That turquoise dresser/pillows and the polka dots are SO cute. Did you sew the duvets at the foot of the beds? Did you paint the lampshades, or find the right fabric to cover them? Just wow.

Nicole, wow on that lamp, it looks great. Your slip cover fits like a glove and is so pretty. Good sewing.

I tend not to take before pictures (I'll try to be better in the future).

This little bookshelf was a thrift store find many years ago. It was painted white and green and in my kid's room. I needed something for this spot and found this in the lawnmower shed. Sanded, primed, painted black, and bought the black baskets for it. The lion head handles were salvaged from the guest bath in my old house. They were rusted, so I wire brushed, primed and painted them. Sorry this pic isn't great:

This was an old thrift store find, pretty dinged up and scratched, and the base was rusty. I fixed it up:

The lampshade I made from a wire frame and a pile of fabric:

I made this part of the beaded ringe myself (there are 3 of these on the lamp):

When I found these two pieces in the deep dark basement of an antique store among things they had not fixed up yet, they were covered in the ugliest fabric imaginable and were FILTHY. They must have come out of someone's barn. I stripped them down and reupholstered them in this (which you see worn out in these pics):

The sofa cushiones were covered w a flannel sheet and old crocheted afghan because the dogs had chewed off the piping.

Here they are redone. I found the mohair velvet cheap on eBay (it normally goes in the hundreds per yard). This time I had them professionally redone because both pieces had serious structural breaks/problems that needed things like 7' clamps I didn't have.

I got this piece through the Little Nickel years ago. It was covered in something that fought with the tones in the wood. I redid it in this:

Last year it also needed structural help so went in for a pro reupholstery job because it clashed with my "new" sofa, and I picked this:

There is more around here, but that's enough for now.

legacybuilder2 - I used Ellen Kennon's Camelhair in most rooms on my first level. Depending upon the light in each particular room, I used either full strength or half strength. Were you asking about the room with the fireplace and built-in cabinets? That one is half strength. The trim is called Moonmist and is by McCormick. It's a creamy white.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Blog