Upcycle Old Furniture Into Something New

How to Add Upcycling Into Your Home Decor

Got an old dresser gathering dust in your attic? Or maybe you inherited your mother’s Mason jar collection but not her love of canning? Instead of trashing it, try upcycling hand-me-downs into something new. There are a million options for turning one person’s trash into another person’s treasure. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Vintage Dressers — Transform an old wooden dresser into a charming bathroom vanity, a television stand for your guest room or a storage bench for the front entryway. All it takes is a little bit of paint and some DIY know-how!
Window Shutters — Give old wooden window shutters new life as a room divider, shabby chic sideboard, succulent planter, wall-mounted magazine holder or a cottage-inspired armoire.
Posts and Railings — Turn those architectural elements into functional furniture. Used wood stairway posts are useful as legs on a children’s desk. Just add a wooden top and a fresh coat of bright paint, and you have a colorful place for the kids to study.
Old Doors and Windows — Repurpose old doors and windows into beautiful furniture pieces with a touch of history. Turn doors into kitchen tables, nightstands, room dividers, headboards and coffee tables. Repurpose windows into picture frames or a chalkboard calendar.
Mason Jars — Convert Mason jars into fun, functional home accessories. From wall-mounted bathroom storage to patio lanterns, here are a few DIY projects you can tackle over the weekend.
If you need some help with your upcycling, Houston has many resources for beginners who want to tackle repurposing projects. Houston Makerspace, located in an EADO warehouse, offers classes and memberships where you can master a variety of skills from woodworking to ceramics to metalsmithing.  Texas Art Asylum, also in EADO,  is a craft warehouse meets thrift shop where they host a schedule of classes geared toward creative re-use. Check their website for the 2016 schedule. Adkins Architectural Antiques in Midtown maintains a wood shop on their premises to assist in renovation projects that go beyond DIY.