Whether you’re decorating on a budget, looking for a fun crafting project, working to declutter your home or all of the above, upcycling offers countless smart and sustainable ways to add uniqueness to your space. Upcycling - the practice of transforming old, used, or unwanted items into stylish new ones - is nothing new, with practices like turning old clothes into patchwork quilts and broken dishes into decorative mosaics dating back millennia. In the 21st century, thanks to an abundance of ideas on the Internet (and plenty of potential materials in our attics, basements, garages and crawlspaces) it’s enjoying a renaissance.
Fortunately for anyone interested in trying their hand at upcycling, it couldn’t be easier. With so many possibilities to revitalize everything from old clothes and furniture to outdated electronics, the only limit is your imagination. Read on for some of our favourite ideas for upcycled home decor.
Clothing
If you’re anything like the average Canadian, you probably have a ready supply of clothes that you no longer wear. Fortunately, damaged or stained items that can’t be donated can live on in new ways with a little bit of ingenuity. For old t-shirts, sweatshirts, and flannels, consider cutting and stitching them into a pet bed, using fabric scraps or old pillows as stuffing. Many kinds of fabrics (think jeans, t-shirts or even bedsheets) can also be repurposed into decorative rag rugs. Simply cut them into strips, braid them and stitch them together with sturdy string into a coil shape. Stained or moth-eaten sweaters, meanwhile, can also be repurposed into a variety of accessories and decor items, from mittens and slippers to cushion covers and throws.
Furniture
These days, just about everyone has had a “they don’t make ‘em like they used to” experience, and furniture is a common culprit. While the quality of antique wooden furniture is first-rate, the style of some of these pieces might feel a bit outdated for a modern space. The most straightforward way to refresh an old piece of wooden furniture is by re-staining or repainting it. The process can be messy and time-consuming, but it’s often as simple as stripping off the paint or stain with a chemical stripper and sandpaper, then applying your choice of new finish.
If you want to go a step further, other DIY tweaks can transform an outdated piece into something totally new. Some examples of this include swapping out old drawer pulls for stylish modern ones, or replacing the legs on a table or dresser with casters to turn it into a bar cart. If you have a barrister’s bookcase or china hutch to work with, consider repainting the exterior in white or pastel and lining the inside with graphic wallpaper to create a colourful display cabinet. If you’re artistically inclined, adding illustrated elements like flowers or geometric shapes to the front of an old dresser can provide a unique finishing touch.
Luggage
Old suitcases are cumbersome compared to their modern counterparts, but their vintage looks make them ideal candidates to be upcycled into home decor. If you have several pieces that work well together, consider turning them into a distinctive end table or night table by stacking them (making sure to connect them with glue or bolts to avoid toppling). To take things a step further, you can make legs out of wood offcuts (or use the legs from your dresser-turned-bar cart) and affix them to the bottom using screws. If you just have one suitcase to work with, consider separating it into two halves, attaching wooden shelves to the inside with screws, and using it as a wall-mounted bookcase.
Old TV’s
If you’ve been hanging on to an old cathode ray tube television (those big, boxy, heavy ones from the days before flatscreens) there are a few fun ways to re-integrate it into your decor. The trickiest part is removing all of the obsolete techy guts from the inside, which requires a bit of know-how and some tools. If you’re up to the challenge and can take extra care to remove anything sharp or pointy, the TV frame can live again as a pet bed (line the inside with wallpaper and place an old pillow on the bottom). You can also turn it into a unique fish tank by adding a square or rectangular aquarium snugly inside.
Jeremy Freed is a freelance writer and editor based in Toronto. His writing about fashion, travel, food and design appears in Sharp, Harry and re:Porter magazines, among many others.