How to repurpose common items for your home: 5 free resources
In such an age of excess, the environmentally conscious among us can get a little nervous when it comes to outfitting a new home with all-new furniture and decorations to match. That’s why it’s such good news that there are so many resources online that champion creative reuse projects, showing us ingenious ways to transform one thing into another.
Sure, entering into a DIY project can mean setting oneself up for failure. (To wit: see comic geniuses Katy+Katie, the YouTube purveyors of, well, Pinterest fails, basically. Every few months, they take some internet advice and apply it to real life, usually with tragicomic, i.e. classic, results.) But it can also mean making something cool out of something unexpected, creating a conversation piece, learning something new, and maybe even reducing your impact along the way.
So here, the Moveline team has put together a handful of recommendations for instruction on repurposing common items into awesome home goods and furnishings.
July 30, 2014 • 5 min read
Instructables
Perhaps the single greatest resource online for big, bold DIY projects (and little ones, too), Instructables gives step-by-step guidance on everything from cool papercraft decor to a pinball machine desk. They’re viewed as such experts in the field of creative reuse that they’ve partnered with the likes of Radio Shack and Home Depot. So, you could easily call this your singular one-stop-shop for ideas and how-tos when it comes to sprucing up your space.
BoredPanda
Few folks are bigger experts at killing time (and, obviously, boredom) than the ones behind BoredPanda.com. So it makes sense that they’d have rounded up some of the coolest, most inventive upcycling projects in existence and shared them on the web. Take a gander here at everything from a shelving system made of folding chairs to a lamp made of plastic spoons.
Apartment Therapy
Ever a treasure trove of ideas for inspired small-space and apartment living, Apartment Therapy occasionally does roundups of all its articles covering a particular topic, like this one linking to 49 posts on creative reuse projects. Lots of inspiration can be found in the site’s green living section as well.
Brit.co
For super-simple decorative elements, there’s no better place to go than Brit.co. This UT Austin alumna and former Google employee is setting herself up to be the next Martha Stewart, only with easily accessible materials and a far funkier, millennial-friendly aesthetic this time around. A gold-dipped lightbulb chandelier, copper-piped side table or pimped-out ribbon hammock? All can be yours with a few raw materials and a little elbow grease.
Sure, we mentioned Pinterest fails above, but life is meant to be lived, right? DIY furniture projects aren’t for the weak of spirit, so do a little research around your object of choice and combine tips from different sites if you have to, but know that a little ingenuity and perseverance can go a long way. You might even get a sweet coffee table out of the deal.
And when it comes to pulling together some cash for those finishing touches, like paint, glue and hardware? If you’re moving into a new space, Moveline can’t help you make furniture for it, but we can help you save money by comparing movers on your behalf, helping you select the right one and guaranteeing your price with zero surprises at the other end of the move. You might be on your own when it comes to building that bookshelf made of pipes, but you’re not alone in moving from one home to another. So, let us help. It’s why we’re here.