Smart Storage Solutions: Perfect for Upcycling Secondhand Finds
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By upcycling furniture, you can transform found or salvage pieces into harder working implements of storage. And create a win-win situation. Or “beauty from ashes.”
A more organized life is a simpler, more peaceful life.
RELATED: Easy Steps to an Organized Life in 31 Days or Less.
From Better Homes and Gardens, here are some clever storage strategies that will make your furniture work twice as hard. And give you a fun project to DIY.
Furniture Finesse
“A Craigslist cabinet can be given new life with a quick sanding. Keep your wood furniture bare for a rustic look, or paint with a high-gloss finish for a bold statement. Replace glass doors with chicken wire and add vintage pulls for flea market flair.”
A Command Center
“With some new paint and hardware and a few modifications, a dining room buffet now serves up entryway organization. If you don’t have a piece to repurpose, scope out thrift stores and garage sales. Look for a piece that is sturdy and has a combination of shelves, drawers, cubbies, and cabinets. Keep your family’s comings and goings organized with a command center fashioned from an old buffet. Keep the center console open, and utilize a wine rack to sort bills, magazines, and mail supplies.”
READ MORE: Command Center Organizing
Craft Happy
“With paint and a few modifications, this old dresser works wonders in a hobby space. A new top overhangs 12 inches on one side to accommodate seating. Small drawers and boxes replace the top drawers to allow sewing supplies to be easily taken elsewhere. And a new base in place of the original feet adds a charming silhouette and raises the height. The curvaceous base was cut from medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and painted white to match the furniture casing.”
Desk Transformation
“You’d never guess that this clever desk started as a dresser.”
Shoe Station
“Reimagine a cabinet or chest of drawers as a storage and display spot for shoes, purses, and jewelry. Remove the doors and reinstall interior shelves lower to make way for store-bought or custom shoe racks made from dowels. Highlight the drawer fronts with a splashy paint color and new hardware. Add hooks to the outside of the storage furniture piece for quick-grab access.”
READ MORE: Closet Organization
Custom Island
“If you can’t find an island to fit your exact needs, assemble your own! We added false backs to two kitchen carts, then painted them teal. We secured two wine racks and two shoe cubbies together and painted them to match. After sandwiching the cubby units between the two carts with the open sides facing out, we added rubber casters and a MDF top with a 1-inch overhang and sleek faux-concrete finish.”
A Dresser Island
“Scour thrift shops for a vintage wood dresser that can be repurposed as a kitchen island. Look for one that’s about 36 inches tall, or add casters to make it a comfortable height. To achieve a two-tone look, mask the wood top using painters tape and kraft paper before sanding, priming, then painting the dresser body and drawers with two coats of semigloss paint. Replace the bottom drawer with baskets.”
Handy Gift Hub
“A bookcase outfitted with dowel rods makes a handy and attractive gift-wrapping and crafts supplies station. Cut 3/4-inch-diameter dowel rods 1/8 inch shorter than the width of the cabinet interior, and support them from the side panels with shoulder hooks to keep wrapping paper and ribbon ready for dispensing and refilling.”
Furry Friends Cabinet
“Pets come with plenty of gear. Keep it organized with a dedicated armoire outfitted as a pet station. Stash treats in airtight glass jars with screw-top lids. Attach trays to drawer glides and place large bins of food on them for easy access that pulls right out. Coat plywood panels with magnetic primer, then cover with chalkboard paint and glue them to the armoire doors to help keep track of pet-related playdates and appointments. Attach magnetic hooks to corral leashes.”
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