Oh, kewl! I LOVE this post! LOL

Let's see: Okay, I'm using a "blond" and black end table as a table for my printer. My son's "Bozo" mug (he's 36 now - son, not Bozo!) is a pencil holder on my computer desk. My DH's grandfather's wooden checkerboard hangs on the computer room wall. Six motorcyle helmets are hung as "decoration" on the wall in here, also. Also have an old weathered piece of white board with the word "Sun" painted on it in red that hangs over our tanning bed.

Guess that's it in the computer room where I'm sitting! LOL

I'll get back to ya later on the other rooms in our house.

Next?

Well, two things I can think of. A small wooden child's chair as a plant stand and a mirror from an old dresser used as just a mirror in my living room.
Sheree

I have a vintage potty chair that now holds a pot of faux roses, an old metal breadbox stores my telephone books in the kitchen, a antique milk crate with legs became a side table when I added a piece of glass to the top, a dresser scarf is now a valance with the help of curtain clips and lastly a old copper boiler on top of my entertainment center has become my cat's favorite resting/hiding spot (cat's idea, not mine).

Good thread Patti! I have one of those wooden ladders used as a quilt rack too!

I have alot of antique floor grates and ceiling ones that I use for table tops, or to hang on the wall as art, and have one grate on top of an old sewing singer iron stand. In the basement I have a bifold shuttered door standing in the corner with a ficus tree in front of it. On the table is an old fan and a lamp. Years ago I brought in an old screen door and put it in the living room and my family thought I was nuts, except my brother. He knows :"Cool" when he sees it.........trrrrrrrrrp

Let's see:

Blue gingham-checked tablecloths draped across rods as curtains in the kitchen
Sheets as curtains in the bedrooms--well, in most rooms
Hand-towels as curtains in the bathroom
Cowboy boots as bookends, lampbases, and flowervases
Pitchers to hold kitchen utensils, cut flowers
Babyfood jars holding small items such as nuts, bolts, screws
Food take-out trays holding winter-sown seeds
Fishing tacklebox holding sewing stuff
A vegetable-crisper drawer from a refrigerator as a dog dish (big dog, sharp teeth, eats plastic)
Half-sheet cakepan as dog dish (many puppies, short legs, sharp teeth, eat plastic)
Saddle blanket as rug

Ray

Okay, I'll describe what's in another room now: LOL

In the main bathroom I have a black wooden tv cabinet that I use for storage of towels, tissue, etc. I also have a small wooden "Tithing/Collection" box in there that my DGD uses as a stepstool to reach the sink. I bought it at a sale. It had been taken from a church that had stopped having services. We briefly thought about asking people to drop in money in order to use the "facilities", but decided that would probably be rude!! LOL

I have an old tredle sewing machine in the living room that is being used as a lamp table. An old black "oil heater" that has a plant on it. A floor model radio, No insides in it that stores my old magazines I haven't been able to give up yet.

Several old metal stools of different colors and rust that are plant stands or can be used for seating if needed. Also one very old high chair minus the tray that I keep a plant sitting on just to keep the grandkids from sitting on it.

One big Pickle jar with tin lid and handle with a couple sets of white Christmas lights in it that doubles as a "mood" lamp. Also an old kerosene lamp hanging with the lights in it too. I love them when lit...almost like candle light. Porcelain "thunder mugs" holding vineing plants

patti

Pattico, my dahlink! Do ya think we're sisterinthehood?? LOL

hi,heck I don,t think I could type all of them.
Hey ray are you sure we are not related.
cloud sheets made into curtains in d.d. room
11 frig drawers that hold wood shop stuff
d.w.,s sewing table table is all oak crating
all the work benchs in shop crate ends and tops .
file cabinets are the best power tool storage there is ,I use two for this.
am working on turning a shelved head board into a library wall.
A metal fully adjustable ironing board for a sawhorse /outfeed table in my shop. or will use it for spray painting stuff because it has a mesh top.
computer table...d.d,s old dresser with the feet removedand the side off a entertainment center placed on top and painted one color , kinda average but it works .
revolving neck tie holder that holds hanging kitchen junk.
neck tie holder that and clothes pins hold fabric pcs.
my mother made a blanket from lg. towels that came from a hotel but it is king sized and double sided so it is heavy and does,nt get used much.
dresser for plant stand and mag storage.
a 4 x 6 stack of small lockers going in sewing room for storage ,they were found behind a nudie bar club by a friend and had female names on them . I am painting and cleaning them.
my old house had 2 floor to cieling stacks of metal milk crates for kitchen storage , had to leave them there, it looked pretty good.
future.. old flooring from grandmas house for a top for kichen island.
still not done but my stove back splash is tin cieling
with a new was oval wash tub for and exhaust hood.
1/2 my kitchen is barn wood taken from a barn I tore down when I bought the house.
my kitchen knobs are silverware and enamel ware utensils.
I have 100,s of board ft. of lumber that was everything and from every where .
future..solid oak new door WILL be a table .
take the legs off my daughters high chair and hang it on the wall for a plant stand I really wanted to make a phone center like this but can,t find room.
hmmmm. sure there is more . wished I had one of those treadle sewing machine tables for an end table. Rick
do what you can ... where you are ...with what you have

Okay I will play!!!

Kitchen: Old computer table that is now used for extra
counter space, holding microwave, coffeemaker and
toaster.
Vintage Tin collection stored in a 'curbfind'
glass china cabinet (circa 1930-40)
Vintage bread box (tin) holds all the storage bags
aluminum foil etc.
Recycled jars and cans for 'odds and ends'!!

Living Room: Base from an aquarium stand turned into a
'plant stand'.

My entire home except for two recliner chairs (gifts for me and DH) and the TV is recycled furniture!!! Second generation 'junker'....TS, GS etc are my favorite places
to shop....and 'the curb' is the best cause it's FREE!!

Old crock used on top of a kitchen cabinet to hold ivy

Tom's Peant display stand holds phone books and notepads on the kitchen bar

three pieces of luggage sit against a livingroom wall and hold magazines, crayons and markers and books for the grandkids

have used three red and white enameled table leaves on a wall in the kitchen to display glassware and dishes (Hey! I may have to get those out and start using them again!)

It's almost like being called, isn't it? I can hear the music from "Close Encounters" playing now. :)

Rick, we must be brothers. I used old silverware bent to make handles on a bureau.

More things:

Visiting baby sleeping in laundry basket
School lockers, painted and used for storage in children's bedroom
Coffee cans, pickle jars, olive oil bottles as containers for flowers
Fruit basket as trash can
Costume jewelry necklaces used as tiebacks for curtains
Dog chain as clothesline (hang clothes on hangers; the links keep them from all sliding together)

And of course, old underwear used as cleaning rags.

Ray

Can't speak for everyone here, but I come from
a generation that did not waste the way some
people do now.

When Ray mentioned 'cleaning' rags...this was
what you did with old teeshirts....socks got
mended...clothes handed down etc.

What did our parents say? "waste not, want not"

Maybe we recyle now because we always have!!

Linda

I have a side of a baby crib hanging on the wall in my kitchen to hold cooking spoons, strainers,ladles ect.
I used the headboard of the same crib to paint a sign which come spring will hang outside my home with the name of our prorety on it.
I use part of an old ladder t hang dish towels on in the kitchen.
I have an old desk that I converted into a microwave holder and bowl shelf. I use the drawers to store silverware and peelers that aren't made to hang.
I have a high schol biology table doing duty as an kitchen island in my kitchen.
I've a hospital bed that I've converted into a sofa of sorts that sits on my enclosed back porch.
An old radio stand that had been stripped out of its parts acts as a video stand for the VCR and some tapes.
I've a singer sewing maching base that I use for my answering machine and phone stand.
A file cabinet holds my large collection of sewing patterns.
An old counter top from another kitchen is the work surface in my sewing room. It sits on top of two two drawer file cabinets.
Two two drawer file cabinets and a door have been made into a buffet table in the dining room....a cloth cover hides the parts.
I'm sure there's more....I find many things which I don't need to change the function of just the look of.

I have a wooden fish tank(10Gal)base in the bathroom to hold toilet tissue.

Karen

Oooh! Wish I had ROOM for an old lab table/island in my kitchen! How neat!

I'm the type of person who doesn't envy people driving Jags or BMWs, etc. Now, people who have room for (and use!) old card catalogues and lab tables in their house - that's a different story! LOL

Sometimes it's not changing the function of something but just changing it's basic look.
I have several pieces of furniture I've picked up at garage sales, thrift stores and the curb which got new life just with a fresh coat of paint and a little decorative painting and a quick change of drawer pulls or knobs.
There's some it was just a matter of combining the right base with the right top and then painting the whole thing to tie it together.
It's not always required we change the function of something to find it useful.
Flexiblity I think is key. Being able to see what's there and then go beyond that to achieve something that's new and excites you.

Now this is my kind of thread ;^)
Kitchen: old crock for utensils, hymn book rack for telephone books, toy kitchen stove for cookbook rack

DR all manner of old containers for flower arrangements, etc.. Old wooden workbench for sideboard...complete with wooden vise. Another wooden clamp made into a lamp, on the sideboard. Old baskets for serving bread and other sundries, old trunk for storing tablecloths. Old silver pieces for storing spoons etc..

LR CD case for displaying pitcher collection pieces, wooden card catalog for storing music, old toys for display, rolling pin rack for storing flutes and other whistle type instruments, old baskets for storing small instruments and tools for instruments. Old sewing machine for display and USE!!! Old wooden tack cabinet for storage of brass candleholders. Old wooden stools for end tables and plant stands. Mail sorter from the old Crawford, Texas post office, to hold more of the pitcher collection. Crock butter churn for umbrella stand, old dry sink for storage and display, washstand top for coffee table..there's more, but I'll bet you are bored!!

Hmmm. Where to start?

Humidor to stash dressertop miscellaneous
Old wooden medicine cabinet for seed catalogs in greenhouse
Antique Oak hotel room key box with slots where I keep my seeds for trading in alphabetical order
Saddle rack for hanging quilt
Of course, the classic mug-becomes-pencil/pen/marker holder

That's all I can think of right now. Thanks to all for some great ideas--good thread!

Hi all. I'm new here and have enjoyed reading this thread. I love recycling, and my favorite thing is a torchier lamp that didn't work. It's now in use as a small occasional table. I shortened the pole and marlbeized it. The picture does not show the details well. It sits by my reading chair, and is just big enough to hold the book or magazine I am reading, and a glass or cup. The "coaster" on the table top is a tiny little tin pie pan that belonged to my mother.
While you're looking, feel free to browse around the rest of my house, and help yourself to a cup of coffee!

Here is a link that might be useful: My favortie recycled thing

This is also my kind of thread...waste not want not!!! Old pinic basket to hold pictures,huge crock with old quilt in it and glass top for table,crock made into lamp,wooden carpenters tool box with ivy,a childs toy dresser with drawers that holds grandbabies toys,soap,etc.,old chamber pot that holds magazines,old metal stands for funeral flowers holds my plants in livingroom,old cabinet for entertainment center,sewing machine as bedside table,old canning jars with candy,cough drops and doggie treats,old drawer used for my pencils,paper etc.beside the phone,old box with dividers to hold phone books,old water pitcher to hold flowers. I also love old baskets...have lots that I store things in. Old is in around my house...many of my tresures are family things. Nora

I have an old metal breadbox in my kitchen that I use to keep my taco seasoning, and other food packets "rodent free" since living on a farm in a very old house we get an occassional uninvited rodent guest.
I have an antique wooden nail keg that's my umbrella stand.
An antique phongraph console is my tv stand. An old wood 7-up case that held 24 glass bottles is a shadowbox. A couch table got it's legs cut down to become a coffee table.
Much to my dogs delight, 5 quart ice cream pail covers become frisbees and are much gentler on her mouth than the "real things". I stitch together upholstery fabric samples into floor pillows. I have one large leaky window in my dining room that has a heavy rag rug for a curtain since it keeps the cold out.

My favorite is really obvious - an old diaper pin I stick through the hand towel to keep the kids from throwing it on the floor every time they wash their hands. So simple!

Old spice jars lining my window sills rooting plants (too cheap to buy them (plants and jars).)
Jars of every sort to store rice, beans, sugar, etc.
Sheets with those cool clip-on rings as curtains all over the house - give a prize to the one who invented those!
Vinyl table cloth on floor in my daughter's art area.
Blanket/quilt the movers left behind (they didn't want to come and fetch it) used as dog bed.
Two terra cotta pots with a door on them as a table.
A pottery chip/dip dish set on a log as a bird bath.
Shoe boxes covered with pretty wrapping paper for art supplies.
Ditto for photos.
A wooden toddler bed used as a window seat - I covered the mattress with an old velvet drape - looks pretty elegant!
Old coffee table painted and used as a bench in my entry way. Old cookie sheets underneath used as boot trays.
Clothesline and clothespins running down the hallway holding my daughter's paintings.
Book shelf turned on its side and used as window seat/toy storage.
Video display rack from Walgreen's they were throwing away, got plastic bins, and now a place for the rest of the toys that rolls away.
An old rolling metal typing table, painted cute and used as a tea table.
File cabinets used as night stands.
My dining table is an old conference table. Weighs a ton but takes a beating and looks great.
that's all I can think of for now....
Best wishes to all my fellow inventors! Amy

We don't have this, but some years ago, in England, there was a craze for using an old chamber pot - as a soup tureen.........

This is just a little thing...but I love it...An old grinder (the type you screw on a table edge to use it) screwed on a window sill or the edge of a shelf with a small floral arrangment in the 'bowl' of the grinder and a small bow on the crank handle.

patti

ooooooo, old forks with paper woven between the prongs, stuck in the dirt for naming herbs. It beats gluing paper to drinking straws or popcical sticks!