Happy second Wednesday of the new year!
Let’s put a spin on ‘out with the old’ in terms of not necessarily getting rid of something, but in repurposing something that isn’t working and making it not only useful but also making it work in a new way – even if that’s just how it makes a space look and feel.
Wickeds, what’s something you could repurpose in your home – or your life?
Edith/Maddie: My small guest room needs sprucing up. It’s a pale yellow with white trim. At the end are white shelves (filled mostly with cloth and sewing supplies) and a small closet with doors. But the desk and dresser are old, varnished natural wood, and they look shabby. After the weather warms up, I plan to take them outside and apply primer and a coat of light paint. It’ll brighten the whole room!
Julie: I’m doing this is a few ways this year. I am inheriting things from my folks, so I am purging other things and using their things as decorative pieces. I found a sweater I started ten years ago and never finished. I ripped it out and and going to knit something new. I’m using an old couch from the family room at my parents, and put new cushion covers and throws on it. Reusing and repurposing.
Sherry: I love repurposing things! A Victorian breakfast tray becomes a little end table. A vintage pastry cutter flipped upside down becomes a postcard holder. I really need to clean out our laundry/everything-I-don’t-use-often-or-ever/food pantry back into a laundry/storeroom.
Barb: My desk in Maine was my parents’ dining table at their home in Key West. I love it. The credenza (not visible in the photo) holds office supplies.
Jessie: I love seeing these photos and examples! I have been picking away at repurposing my studio space and shifting it over to embrace more knitting and painting than sewing and kid arts and craft supplies. It feels great to make this change as my family and my own interests grow and shift.
Readers, what could you repurpose in your life that would change everything?
We have a south-facing area off the kitchen that served as the dining room when the kids were younger. We’re currently moving things around to make that area a little “sun room” complete with a comfortable chair for enjoying the rays.
I love those small aha moments. A recent small one was a coffee maker with broken (and hard to replace) carafe. I realized that removing the spring-loaded stopper on the filter basket would let me use a shorter carafe. It’s back in service, delicious coffee. I do have to wait for the brewing to finish before pouring a cup, but that’s might be “a feature, not a bug.”
Storyteller Susanna Holstein has a side business rescuing and refinishing old pieces for her booth at an antique market and her eBay customers. Her library background means she often researches the background of pieces, like glassware, to determine its real worth. 😉
Not a new idea: 49 years ago, we took two orange crates, turned them on their sides to use as storage, then put a sheet of plywood and two single mattresses and sheets on top. Add a couple of bolsters. When an additional bed is needed, toss the bolsters, pull back the cover and: instant overnight visitor bed. In the meantime it makes a wonderful daybed in the downstairs family room. An old steam engine marker light makes a great nightlight and an interesting addition to a funky room.
My dining room table (which was rarely used) became my work area when we were sent home from the office two years ago. And it’s where I am still working.
I love the idea of the pastry cutter for postcards. My whole house needs repurposing and redoing to hold all of my collectibles and books. I want to put everything in a cube and have someone come in and redo it all and finish the basement. But too much money would be involved. Oh well!
I recently found some scrap wood in my neighborhood. I’ve been painting porch signs on them and giving them away on my buy nothing group. I also have a bookcase that I was gifted that I want to paint.