9 Upcycling Ideas to Decorate Your Space on a Budget
Decorating your house doesn’t have to cost a ton of money. Now that upcycling — or the process of transforming waste materials into new products — is a trend, there are plenty of ways to decorate for a fraction of the cost of buying something new.
With that in mind, we’ve brought you 10 upcycling ideas to try. Use these projects to give you inspiration going forward. With a little hard work and a dash of creativity, you should be able to create treasured pieces that will have a place of honor in your home for years to come.
1. Turn an old trunk into a coffee table
With the right ornamentation, an old trunk can be the centerpiece of any living room. For this project, you can either refinish a wooden trunk or look for a leather-covered trunk that is still in decent shape. From there, you can buy metal legs or wheels that can be attached to the bottom of the trunk to bring it to the right height.
2. Decorate an old bookcase with wallpaper
When your old bookcase needs a facelift, look no further than wallpaper for your fix. You can use leftover wallpaper scraps from a previous project or buy it new. Either way, all you need to do is outfit the shelves with the wallpaper to give it a fun and funky design. If needed, you can also paint the bookcase to match.
3. Replace your bathroom vanity with a dresser
If you have an old dresser lying around, consider turning it into a vintage vanity for your bathroom. In this case, you’ll want to choose a solid wood dresser to make sure that it can support the weight of the sink.
Once you have a sink that’s the appropriate size, you simply need to drill an appropriately-sized hole into the top of the dresser and back of the drawers. Then, install the plumbing. If you’re not handy, you may want to ask a friend or family member to help with the plumbing installation.
4. Make wooden crates into flower boxes
It’s no surprise that wooden crates make the cutest flower boxes. To prepare the box, you’ll first need to treat the wood by applying a wood sealer to the inside of the box. If the wood isn’t porous enough, you’ll also need to drill small holes in the bottom of the box to allow the water to flow through. However, after that’s done, all you need to do place the box wherever you would like it to go.
5. Create a shelving unit from an old ladder
If you’re in the market for a shelving unit that’s outside the box and totally on-trend, consider making one out of a ladder. All you need to do is cut wooden boards to measure the width of each of the steps of the ladder. Then, screw them in place. Once you’re done, all you have to do is seal the ladder and the shelves with sealing wax. From there, you can paint the shelves and ladder however you wish.
6. Transform a few mason jars into a light fixture
Mason jar lights have been a hit in rustic restaurants for a while, but you can make your own for a fraction of the cost. The first thing to do is to grab some old some mason jars, a pendant light hanging kit, and some matching light bulbs. Then, drill an appropriately-sized hole in the top of the mason jar, thread the light fixture through, and hang it up.
7. Reconstruct a few yardsticks into a coat rack
Especially when kids are involved, turning a few yardsticks into a coat rack can be a fun and interesting project. For this, the hardest part is gluing a couple old yardsticks to a piece of plywood and cutting them to size. After that, all you have to do is attach a couple of coat hooks to the piece and you’re good to go.
8. Convert shutters into a headboard
When you’re into the farmhouse look, old shutters can easily be made into a vintage headboard. To do this, cut each shutter in half so that you have four equal pieces. Then, screw each of them to a piece of plywood that’s been cut to size. From there, it’s only a matter of securing the piece of plywood to the wall and moving the bed back into place.
9. Build a clock out of an old bicycle tire
Believe it or not, an unused bicycle tire can easily be turned into an unconventional take on a clock. Start by buying a clock hands and motor kit. The majority of this task adds up to following the directions on the kit to attach the hands and motor to the wheel. However, you can also paint the wheel if you’d like to give it a different look.