A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I was working on a list of 101 ways you can turn old junk into something useful again. I never made it all the way to 101, but I thought I'd share the ideas I was able to gather by flipping through books and magazines and asking friends.

Here's the complete list along with an introduction I wrote for a Down To Earth flier that was produced for last weekend's Goodwill Donation Drive at Huckleberry's Natural Market. Please feel free to add more suggestions in the comments section below.

Oftentimes, when people want to spruce up their homes, they head to a trendy décor store to buy new pillows, furniture, linens, dinnerware and other, well, stuff!

While it’s fun to bring home new goods now and then, many interior designers will tell you that the best way to improve an interior space is to reduce the clutter that’s already there. Besides, not everyone can afford to completely redecorate every time their tastes change.

Whether you’re concerned about overconsumption for environmental reasons or you’re just looking to save some money, consider giving new life to old objects the next time you want a new look at home. Repurposing something that already exists saves one more item from reaching the landfills. It’s also a way to add personality to your space, since the treasures you find at garage sales or thrift stores likely won’t be popping up in your friends’ homes, too.

But who says you need to shop at all? You probably already have some objects around the house that, if looked at in fresh ways, could reinvigorate your décor.

Consider these ideas for decorating on a dime—or for no cost at all:

-Reupholster the seats of your dining room chairs with wool sweaters purchased at thrift stores. No need to “felt” the sweaters, if you even know what that means. Just cut them to the desired size, wrap them around the seat cushion, staple into place, then return the seat cushion to the chair.
-Fill a large glass jar—even an empty spaghetti-sauce jar will do—with bars of soap and place it in a bathroom. Choose soaps that are the same or similar colors for a unified look.
-Come to think of it, filling a glass jar with almost any collection can add a nice accent to a table or kitchen counter. Consider spools of vintage thread, buttons, ribbon, seashells, or colorful candy.
-During wintertime, hang a pair of vintage ice skates on your front door or lean an old sled beside it.
-Frame meaningful objects as art, such as tickets to a concert from a first date or the menu of the restaurant where your spouse proposed.
-Start a collection and display the items together in groups or by color. For example, if you collect cookbooks, group together the white ones, the blue ones, etc. Collections of tartan canisters, breadboxes and other tin ware seems to be gaining popularity. A grouping of vintage lunchboxes makes a fun statement in a kitchen.
-Use a vintage milk churn, either painted or left in its original state, to hold umbrellas in a foyer or mudroom. (See photo above.)
-Save empty spice jars and give them to a child for his or her play kitchen.
-Cover a wall with the pages of a favorite old book. Apply a layer of wallpaper paste first, then lay down the pages. After that dries, cover the pages with a layer of Mod Podge. For an example of how this looks, check out the foyer of Chaps restaurant in the Latah Creek Plaza shopping center.
-Use a portion of an old ladder or decorative iron fencing as a pot rack. Just lay it horizontally and add the necessary hardware to suspend it from the ceiling with chains.
-Sew slipcovers for empty coffee cans, then use the cans as catchalls for keys, pens or electronics cords.
-Old metal locker baskets can be used for many things, including easy transport of plates, silverware, napkins and condiments from the kitchen to a backyard barbecue. Add chains, hooks, moss and flowers and they can become hanging flower baskets.
-Make a wind chime from secondhand silverware.
-Terra cotta trays, which normally catch the water under pots, make great chargers underneath a place setting for a summertime dinner in the garden.
-Make a cupcake stand by stacking two cake stands on top of one another. Don’t have cake stand? Glue a wide-bottomed vase or candlestick to the bottom of a regular plate with epoxy to create one.
-For a bedside “table,” lean a small ladder against the wall next to your bed and drape magazines over the rungs.
-Set the table for a garden party with small pots containing herbs and a tag or popsicle stick with the guests name written on it. Pots are a dime a dozen (perhaps not literally, but close) at garage sales and thrift shops.
-Mount a wooden board to a wall with screws and attach clothespins to it with either a hot-glue gun or wood glue. Use the clothespins to hang photos or children’s artwork. A rustic scrap of lumber works fine, but if you like a more refined look consider covering the board with fabric. Brush the fabric with liquid starch (available in the laundry aisle) to adhere it to the wood. The starch hardens the fabric as it dries.
-Let a found object inspire the theme for a party. Stumble upon a vintage Bingo game card, for example? Scan it into your computer and use it to make invitations. Then, host some silly Bingo fun with friends and family.
-Whenever possible, buy food in bulk and store it in glass jars with tight-fitting lids. This works great for oatmeal, pancake mix, baking ingredients, cornmeal, rice and more. But be sure to label each container. No one wants to eat cookies made with salt instead of sugar!
-To decorate a young girl’s room in a simple and sweet way, hang a row of pegs and display pretty little dresses—perhaps some once worn by mom or grandma?—on them. And instead of conventional pegs, consider using glass door knobs. The effect is more charming--and green--than a Hannah Montana poster.
-Bring the outdoors in. Everyone knows fresh-cut flowers add life to a space, but don’t overlook nature’s other treasures, like twigs, branches from a cherry tree, or stalks of wheat.
-Collect pinecones, then apply white acrylic paint to them, as if it were snow. If you wish, sprinkle the paint with fine glitter when it’s still wet. Display the faux-snow pinecones on a mantle or tabletop during wintertime.
-Give a single wooden shutter new life by covering the back with fabric or plywood, hanging it on a wall, and using it to sort mail in the slots. Attach hooks toward the bottom to hold keys or a dog leash.
-During parties, use a vintage claw-foot tub or metal utility sink as a cooler by filling it with crushed ice and canned or bottled beverages.
-Cut a damaged quilt into smaller pieces, discarding the blemishes, and use the rest to make pillow covers, skirts, upholstery for chairs, or other items.
-Baby clothes, especially sweet little wool sweaters, make charming attire for classic-looking teddy bears when a child has outgrown them.
-Replacing the windows on your house? Use the old ones to build a cold frame or greenhouse for growing vegetables.
-Erect a mailbox on a post in your garden and store your most commonly used items, such as gloves and a small shovel, inside.
-Frame the pages of vintage children’s books and display them as art in a baby’s nursery.
-Mount an old dollhouse—the kind that’s open on one side—on a wall and use it for storage either in a child’s room or as a playful piece in a laundry room or kitchen.

-Can’t afford original art? Find a vintage fabric you like and stretch it over an art canvas. Staple it to the back, and hang it as you would hang a painting.
-Cut off the top corner of an empty cereal box at an angle, cover the box with contact paper or fabric, and then use it to hold magazines.
-Remove the hardware from an old door, lay the door flat, attach legs to it, then flip it over and use it as either a dining or coffee table. If you’d like a smooth, easy-to-clean surface, have a glasscutter make a piece of glass to cover the door exactly.
-For more ideas on repurposing old doors, check out re-nest.com's post about “new takes on old doors.”
-Starting with an old headboard as the back support, build a bench for your foyer.
-Use old skis or skateboards to build a bench or chair.
-Cut a favorite coffee mug in half from top to bottom and glue it to the tiles on a bathroom wall to hold toothbrushes.


Books and blogs that inspire:
-Country Living’s 500 Quick and Easy Decorating Projects & Ideas, by Dominique DeVito (2007)
-Found Style: Vintage Ideas for Modern Living, by David and Amy Butler (2003)
-Salvage Style: 45 Home & Garden Projects Using Reclaimed Architectural Details, by Joe Rhatigan with Dana Irwin
-Sage Going on Green
-Re-Nest.com
-Daily Danny
-The Farm Chicks
-Martha Stewart

 

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