9 Salvaged Cast-Offs Reinvented as Storage
Storage, storage, storage. We all crave more and can NEVER have too much (especially when you can create it for free)
Anne Ellard
15 January 2015
Houzz Australia Contributor. Kitchen designer at Kitchens by Kathie in Brisbane, Australia. I strongly believe that above all else, the most important thing when designing a kitchen is creating something that the client loves!
Houzz Australia Contributor. Kitchen designer at Kitchens by Kathie in Brisbane,... More
Just when you thought you had everything organised, you discover something else in your home that needs a designated storage space. What if I told you that you could create more storage in your home by using salvaged pieces and spending very little money! Whether you live in a tiny space that lacks in storage space, or just want to organise your home, this guide has lots of clever ideas and DIY projects to help you manage the clutter.
There are probably lots of items lying around your home right now – or sitting in your garage waiting for the next kerb side collection day – that you can reuse and repurpose to create some extra storage. All of the ideas below involve spending very little, or even no money at all! All your need is an open mind, a bit of creative thinking, and a few basic tools. Then sit back and wait for the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from visitors to your home who won’t believe you achieved it all using salvaged items.
There are probably lots of items lying around your home right now – or sitting in your garage waiting for the next kerb side collection day – that you can reuse and repurpose to create some extra storage. All of the ideas below involve spending very little, or even no money at all! All your need is an open mind, a bit of creative thinking, and a few basic tools. Then sit back and wait for the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from visitors to your home who won’t believe you achieved it all using salvaged items.
1. An old door
If you or a family member have recently renovated, then chances are there are lots of things lying around that you can repurpose and use to create some funky storage in your home.
This rustic hallway bench seat is made from an old door that was cut up into different pieces and reassembled into a piece of furniture. The seat serves a second purpose as a place to store shoes neatly. Add some wicker baskets to the shelves for hats and scarves during colder months, so they are easy to grab as you run out the door. Leave the timber finish as it is for a rustic finish or paint it for a more clean look. Add a cushion or two on top and your done!
Read more: Nifty Thrifting: 19 Inventive Repurposing Ideas
If you or a family member have recently renovated, then chances are there are lots of things lying around that you can repurpose and use to create some funky storage in your home.
This rustic hallway bench seat is made from an old door that was cut up into different pieces and reassembled into a piece of furniture. The seat serves a second purpose as a place to store shoes neatly. Add some wicker baskets to the shelves for hats and scarves during colder months, so they are easy to grab as you run out the door. Leave the timber finish as it is for a rustic finish or paint it for a more clean look. Add a cushion or two on top and your done!
Read more: Nifty Thrifting: 19 Inventive Repurposing Ideas
2. Vintage suitcases
Old suitcases have a romantic feel about them and are reminiscent of the travels they have been on all around the world! Not only do they look pretty, but they can be reused in your home in lots of clever ways.
These old suitcases serve two purposes: they have been stacked to create a unique beside table, but could also be used to store out-of-season clothing if you have limited wardrobe space, or could store paperwork that you don’t need to access very often but need to keep for future reference.
Old suitcases have a romantic feel about them and are reminiscent of the travels they have been on all around the world! Not only do they look pretty, but they can be reused in your home in lots of clever ways.
These old suitcases serve two purposes: they have been stacked to create a unique beside table, but could also be used to store out-of-season clothing if you have limited wardrobe space, or could store paperwork that you don’t need to access very often but need to keep for future reference.
3. Last decade’s locker
Old pieces of furniture that you thought had served their purpose and were destined for the tip can be repurposed in lots of clever ways that can also add a designer element to your home.
Take a fresh look at items you thought were useless. This old set of metal lockers look great and can be used to store just about anything. Use them in the laundry or hallway as a stylish linen cupboard, or remove the shelves inside and use them to store your vacuum cleaner, sweeping brush and mop.
Reuse old furniture such as chests of drawers and wardrobes as storage in your garage. Drawers are a great place to store bits and pieces like tools, while a wardrobe could be used to store garden tools like spade and rakes.
Old pieces of furniture that you thought had served their purpose and were destined for the tip can be repurposed in lots of clever ways that can also add a designer element to your home.
Take a fresh look at items you thought were useless. This old set of metal lockers look great and can be used to store just about anything. Use them in the laundry or hallway as a stylish linen cupboard, or remove the shelves inside and use them to store your vacuum cleaner, sweeping brush and mop.
Reuse old furniture such as chests of drawers and wardrobes as storage in your garage. Drawers are a great place to store bits and pieces like tools, while a wardrobe could be used to store garden tools like spade and rakes.
4. Empty crates
Having somewhere nice to rest your cup of tea or glass of wine, and maybe even put your feet up on at the end of a long day, is very important. Even better is when that item is a piece of furniture that you made yourself, and can also be used to store all your magazines, books and the TV remotes, leaving the top clutter-free.
A coffee table like this can be made by simply screwing some old empty crates together. Use some pieces of another crate, or timber cut to size to make small legs for the coffee table to sit on. Or if you have some old caster legs you’ve been meaning to throw out, screw them to the bottom to make it mobile.
Having somewhere nice to rest your cup of tea or glass of wine, and maybe even put your feet up on at the end of a long day, is very important. Even better is when that item is a piece of furniture that you made yourself, and can also be used to store all your magazines, books and the TV remotes, leaving the top clutter-free.
A coffee table like this can be made by simply screwing some old empty crates together. Use some pieces of another crate, or timber cut to size to make small legs for the coffee table to sit on. Or if you have some old caster legs you’ve been meaning to throw out, screw them to the bottom to make it mobile.
Here’s another great idea. Dig out those half-used paint tins and give the crates a couple of coats of paint. Line the inside bottoms of the crates with some leftover wrapping paper or wallpaper, stack them on their sides, one on top of the other, and screw them together to create a unique display or bookshelf. This is a great idea for a children’s bedroom or play room. Paint the crates in a mix of bright colours and use old children’s magazines to line the bottoms of the crates to create a bookshelf the kids will love. Better still, get them involved in the creative process.
5. Unused glass jars
Most of us are guilty of throwing out-of-date food from the pantry into the bin, mainly because we forget it was there due to the chaotic mess in the pantry. Half-used packets can be hard to keep track of when you can’t clearly see what you have in stock.
The next time you’re making dinner and use sauces from a jar, wash the jars out instead of throwing them in the recycling. Stick a label on the front and use the jars to store food instead of leaving it in open packets. Not only will the jars keep the food fresh for longer, particularly if the jars happen to be airtight, but they will help you to create a much more organised pantry, and hopefully help you to avoid wasting food in the future.
Use big jars to store flour, rice, pasta and cereals and use smaller jars to store nuts, dried fruit, sugar and other dry ingredients that you use for cooking and baking. Not only will you be saving money by not buying storage jars, but you will save money by not wasting food.
Read more: Get Crafty: Add Class With Old Glass
Most of us are guilty of throwing out-of-date food from the pantry into the bin, mainly because we forget it was there due to the chaotic mess in the pantry. Half-used packets can be hard to keep track of when you can’t clearly see what you have in stock.
The next time you’re making dinner and use sauces from a jar, wash the jars out instead of throwing them in the recycling. Stick a label on the front and use the jars to store food instead of leaving it in open packets. Not only will the jars keep the food fresh for longer, particularly if the jars happen to be airtight, but they will help you to create a much more organised pantry, and hopefully help you to avoid wasting food in the future.
Use big jars to store flour, rice, pasta and cereals and use smaller jars to store nuts, dried fruit, sugar and other dry ingredients that you use for cooking and baking. Not only will you be saving money by not buying storage jars, but you will save money by not wasting food.
Read more: Get Crafty: Add Class With Old Glass
6. Leftover ladders
Have a rummage through your garage or a friend’s garage to see what treasures you can uncover. Or the next time it’s kerb side collection day, take a drive around. You will be very surprised what you can find – after all, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure!
These two old timber ladders were probably destined for the tip after being replaced with modern metal ladders. Who would have thought that a ladder could be repurposed as a book or display shelf! The addition of some old pieces of timber that sit across the rungs of the ladders create shelves that can be moved up or down in height, depending on what you display on them.
Have a rummage through your garage or a friend’s garage to see what treasures you can uncover. Or the next time it’s kerb side collection day, take a drive around. You will be very surprised what you can find – after all, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure!
These two old timber ladders were probably destined for the tip after being replaced with modern metal ladders. Who would have thought that a ladder could be repurposed as a book or display shelf! The addition of some old pieces of timber that sit across the rungs of the ladders create shelves that can be moved up or down in height, depending on what you display on them.
Have enough shelving but really need a new desk? Cut the ladders down to a suitable height, (around 750mm high is a suitable desk height) similar to this pretty white desk. You can screw an old desk top or a piece of timber on top and there you have it … a new desk that has a very designer look.
7. Tired chest of drawers
An old or unused piece of furniture such as a chest of drawers can be easily transformed into the island that you have always craved for your kitchen!
Paint the piece of furniture the same colour as your kitchen cabinets, or a complimentary or contrasting colour. This will instantly give it a new look. Tie it in further with your existing kitchen cabinets by putting matching handles on it.
If you have a small kitchen and a permanent island in the middle of the room would take up too much space, make the island movable. If the chest of drawers has legs, remove them, and replace them with caster wheels, preferably ones that have a break on at least one wheel, so you can stop the island from moving too easily.
An old or unused piece of furniture such as a chest of drawers can be easily transformed into the island that you have always craved for your kitchen!
Paint the piece of furniture the same colour as your kitchen cabinets, or a complimentary or contrasting colour. This will instantly give it a new look. Tie it in further with your existing kitchen cabinets by putting matching handles on it.
If you have a small kitchen and a permanent island in the middle of the room would take up too much space, make the island movable. If the chest of drawers has legs, remove them, and replace them with caster wheels, preferably ones that have a break on at least one wheel, so you can stop the island from moving too easily.
8. Or an old cabinet
Your home is your oyster, and the materials don’t have to be built brand new. The owners of this homespun home found an antique buffet cabinet at a market and employed a carpenter to turn it into a vanity, with the help of their prized pastel enamel sink.
Step inside this home built entirely with salvaged finds
Your home is your oyster, and the materials don’t have to be built brand new. The owners of this homespun home found an antique buffet cabinet at a market and employed a carpenter to turn it into a vanity, with the help of their prized pastel enamel sink.
Step inside this home built entirely with salvaged finds
9. Leftover decking timber
Have you recently completed a new deck at your place and have some leftover timber that you have no idea what to do with? Get your tools back out of the shed and set to work making a bench seat to go on your deck or in the garden. But you don’t want to make any old bench seat. Create some storage by making the bench seat like an empty rectangular box and, instead of screwing a fixed top on, add hinging to the top so that it can open like a lid. Use the space inside to store garden tools, kids toys or outdoor cushions.
Have you recently completed a new deck at your place and have some leftover timber that you have no idea what to do with? Get your tools back out of the shed and set to work making a bench seat to go on your deck or in the garden. But you don’t want to make any old bench seat. Create some storage by making the bench seat like an empty rectangular box and, instead of screwing a fixed top on, add hinging to the top so that it can open like a lid. Use the space inside to store garden tools, kids toys or outdoor cushions.
If you want to get more creative, have a look through all the half-used paint tins in the shed and use a suitable paint to paint the bench seat so it stands out against your timber deck.
10. Old boxes
Boxes are a great way to store smaller items and paperwork. If you are the sentimental type and like to hold onto anniversary and birthday cards, then you will want to store them somewhere that you can take them out every now and again to look through.
The next time you are taking the recycling out, have a look through to see what you can salvage from the pile. You could cover old shoe boxes with pretty wrapping paper to create great looking storage boxes that don’t cost a cent. Add labels to the front so you know what is in each box – or use pictures for an extra creative touch.
This is also a great way to store seasonal items of clothes such as hats and scarves in the winter. Pop them in a pretty box with a label on the front and store the box on the top shelf of your wardrobe, freeing up drawer space for your summer bikinis.
SHOW US
What salvaged finds have you reinvented at home? Show and tell in the Comments section.
MORE UPCYCLING IDEAS
10 Clever Ways to Reinvent Wooden Pallets
Zero Tolerance: 21 Ways to Waste Less at Home
10 Upcycling Projects to Turn Your Trash Into Treasure
Boxes are a great way to store smaller items and paperwork. If you are the sentimental type and like to hold onto anniversary and birthday cards, then you will want to store them somewhere that you can take them out every now and again to look through.
The next time you are taking the recycling out, have a look through to see what you can salvage from the pile. You could cover old shoe boxes with pretty wrapping paper to create great looking storage boxes that don’t cost a cent. Add labels to the front so you know what is in each box – or use pictures for an extra creative touch.
This is also a great way to store seasonal items of clothes such as hats and scarves in the winter. Pop them in a pretty box with a label on the front and store the box on the top shelf of your wardrobe, freeing up drawer space for your summer bikinis.
SHOW US
What salvaged finds have you reinvented at home? Show and tell in the Comments section.
MORE UPCYCLING IDEAS
10 Clever Ways to Reinvent Wooden Pallets
Zero Tolerance: 21 Ways to Waste Less at Home
10 Upcycling Projects to Turn Your Trash Into Treasure
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#7 chest into a kitchen island is brilliant
Some absolutely brilliant ideas here. We've got quite a few pallets from the tiles etc for the reno I've thought would be good to make into something. The poor builder is knackered though so I'm not game to ask. Might just keep them. Don't know about 2 or 3 though. Those old suitcases are not cheap to buy at second hand/ salvage places & as for the blue locker, sorry that just does not look attractive or stylish to me at all unless it was in a very industrial styled New York loft or space.