15 Cool Ways to Repurpose Old Furniture

If you raid your grandparents’ garage or scour through flea markets full of old furniture and antiques that are seen in every corner of India, you might get your hands on some really good furniture pieces. They might not look all dandy, but they have withstood the ravages of time. So, you can simply give them a facelift to use them in your modern home with flair. Need ideas? Here are some handy tips to repurpose old furniture, so that you end up with a classy piece that is unique, stylish and so very eco-friendly!

1. Here’s what You Can do with an Old Wooden Cabinet

If you have an old-style cabinet with shelves on top and drawers beneath, you can easily convert it into two separate pieces of furniture! Remove the top portion and fix it against the wall as a wall shelf. Consider adding doors if it doesn’t already have them. With a fresh coat of paint, the bottom can become a lovely console table or even a dressing table. With some additional help, you could even convert it into the base for your bathroom sink.

2. Old Wooden Cupboard has Potential

Remember those plain old wooden cupboards in bedrooms that had big mirrors in front and no other defining features? Here is what you can do with them. Firstly, replace the mirrored doors with glass panelled doors. Now give it a funky new touch of paint – something like a distressed mint green or even millennial pink. Use it to display your best ceramics or even use it as a display case for trophies. You can browse through the Woodsala catalogue for some great ideas on using the distressed look in furniture.

3. Repurpose Home Furniture for Outdoor Use

If you have an old rocking chair that you have fond memories of, but can’t use it in the house anymore, convert it into a safe and solid garden swing. This will take more setting up than a wooden plank on a rope, but think of how unique and inviting it can look! Be sure to give it a great makeover with a fresh coat of paint in a bright and cheery colour like red, yellow or green.

Read - Tried and Tested Ways to Remove Paint From Wood Furniture

4. Don’t Throw out the Crib

Once your baby has graduated to their own bed, you don’t necessarily have to push that crib into a dusty corner or use it to dump stuff. Remove the railing on one side and you have yourself a quirky new bookcase or shelf. Use it in the living room for books or planters or trophies. Put a sheet of glass on top to convert it into a fun study table.

5. Make a Brand-New Drinks Trolley

Do you have one of those old computer tables with wheels and a pull-out tray for the keyboard? You can make yourself a stylish drinks trolley with it! With some reinforcement, the keyboard tray can serve as a snack holder too.

6. Get an Eye-Catching Coffee Table

One of the most popular repurpose ideas for old furniture involves doors. Old homes had beautiful wooden doors with intricate carvings and beautiful metal embellishments. Converting one of those doors into a coffee table is a great way to honour our heritage and makes for a fantastic piece of furniture for your home! Woodsala has some great pieces made of refurbished old doors.

7. Get a Unique Headboard for Your Bed

Old cabinet doors, window shutters or even front doors can turn into artistic headboards. You can be sure no one else has one like it!

8. Old Furniture Repurposed to Make Cute Garden accents

Old side tables with drawers can be set up in your garden to create a cute visual attraction. Remove the drawers and add sturdy potholders. Painting it white will create a feeling of daintiness and will be great for small flowering plants that bloom in profusion like morning glories.

9. Set of Old Chairs Turns into a Wooden Bench

You don’t need a background in furniture design to get creative with your sturdy old furniture. A set of three chairs for instance – matched or even unmatched – can become a great wooden bench. The only requirement is that they are the same height. Give them a bright coat of colour, line them up together and fasten a wooden plank across their seats, holding them all together. Now put a pretty floral set of cushions and you have a new addition for your living room or garden.

10. Boring Cabinet with Drawers can Serve as a Kitchen Island

Everyone has one of those boring old cabinets in light wood with steel handles. Move this to your kitchen; paint it in bright colours that stand out and add a new tabletop that is wider than the cabinet. It will become a great new kitchen island with handy storage!

Read - How to Repair Wooden Doors On Your Own? Here Are Some Expert Hacks

11. Don’t Throw out Your Old Metal Headboard

There was a time when everyone was getting beds with metal headboards. Though they are not in style anymore, you can use it to make a stylish garden bench. You will need a wooden frame and seat and the headboard becomes the backrest for the bench, leaving you with a unique and stylish piece of garden furniture.

12. There’s More you Can Do with a Chair Than Sit

If you are left with a chair or two that you don’t know what to do with anymore, here are two ways to repurpose them. Cut a hole in the wooden seat large enough to hold a drinks bucket and you have a quirky drinks table. Or cut a hole that is large enough to hold a pot and you have a unique potholder for your balcony or garden.

13. Another Idea with Chairs

If your old dining chair had a beautifully carved backrest, don’t just let it go to waste. Remove the backrest and mount it on a wall with hangers for your scarves or stoles. You could even use it for your handbags or belts. The rest of the chair can be given a fresh leather cushion and converted into a stool.

14. Window Room Partition

It’s not just your wooden furniture that you can convert into something new and funky. Repurposed windows from old homes can be painted to fit the décor of your new home and used as a room divider. Fit the panels with mirrors to make it even more attractive.

15. Reuse a Battered old Armchair

Statement chairs have been a rage in the world of living room décor for a while now. Make your own with an old and battered armchair. All it needs is a bright new coat of paint and fresh upholstery in a cheery and contemporary design.

Old furniture repurposed for present times is currently very popular with millennials and post-millennials. It is in tune with the motivation to return to a more sustainable lifestyle. Upcycled furniture is a great way to put the ‘reduce, re-use, recycle’ mantra to work.

So, spending some time and effort to repurpose wooden furniture will leave you with something you will cherish for life. It will help restore family heirlooms or great-looking antiques to usefulness, and what is more, it can do wonders for the planet too. 

Read Also - A Handy Guide to Outdoor Furniture Care