Antiques with a twist
Quirky flea-market finds become interesting decorating opportunities when you put your imagination to work. Repurpose antiques, collectibles and architectural salvage to make a one-of-a-kind statement. Kick-start your creativity by asking a few questions about your find: Can it work as a container? Would it work as art? Where could it fit in your home? Check out our ideas on how to use some treasures we found, from kitchen items to toys:
1. A tin bread box (left) makes a unique vase or plant pot (just line it so it doesn't rust--and punch a drain hole), or it can organize your recipes inside.
2. A rusty stove becomes an indoor-outdoor plant holder with potted geraniums in the burner holes.
New life for old building parts
3. A curly building corbel (left) becomes a plate display piece.
4. An ornate fireplace mantel makes an unusual headboard.
5. A paneled door can become a blackboard, bulletin board or mirror with the proper insert in the top opening. Just lean it against the wall!
Hot ideas for grates and vents
6. A metal heating grate serves up garden style as a side table when placed on top of an urn (left).
7. Barn vents hold magazines, newspapers or mail in their slats.
Handy tools
8. Small toolboxes hold spice jars (left), or large ones control desk clutter.
9. An office's rotating rubber-stamp holder takes a turn as a bracelet-holder.
A different kind of light
10. Distinctive ceiling light fixtures turned upside down work as candleholders (left).
Farmers' finds
11. An apple-picker's pouch hangs around to gather magazines (left).
12. A pitchfork attached to the wall pitches in as an easy coatrack.
13. A rake head becomes a hanger for small garden tools.
Book helpers
14. Wood pulleys pair up as clever bookends (left).
From the workshop to the home
15. Vintage wooden molds make stylish dressertop organizers (left).
16. A wood carpenter's level is the beginning of a small photo ledge.
Creative uses for old toys
Leave the expensive toys to collectors; the ones that still work cost hundreds. Instead, think how broken-down toys can serve as conversation-starters.
17. Tin dump trucks can be home base for the remote control (left).
18. Game pieces such as dominoes, poker chips or checkers give small magnets a playful personality when you glue them together.
19. Vintage dollhouses make interesting bookcases.
Light the way
20. A meat grinder cleverly holds a candle for an entertaining tabletop (left). At an outdoor party, try attaching the grinders along a buffet-table edge.
21. Deep-fryer baskets with pillar candles inside make great luminarias.
Doorknob decor
22. Glass, marble or metal doorknobs make fun clothes or curtain hooks (left). Another idea for doorknobs: Turn them into a picture holder. Attach two or three to a wall and prop a picture frame between the knobs and the wall.
Display and organize
23. Mason jars (left), milk bottles and other glass containers take a charming turn as vases -- or places to corral paper clips, rubber bands, pens or pencils.
24. Victorian toast-holders organize mail.
25. Old ice-cube trays hold small jewelry pieces.
Sporting display
26. Retro tennis rackets work as sporty wall photo frames with snapshots tucked in the strings (left). You can also remove the strings and fill the opening with one large photo.
What is it?
It takes longer to figure out uses for some pieces. But every piece of junk has potential.
27. The old automobile grille Carol Schalla is holding over her head (left) could become a personalized crown cornice with draped fabric over a bed for a girl named Melissa....
Dealer redos
Many antiques dealers display or remake their finds in inventive ways to entice you to buy. You're sure to find chicken coops, game boards, windows, wagons and more stacked as different-size bases and tops for tables.
Dealers are always willing to help you imagine the possibilities if you're doubtful. Let your creativity run wild. Who would have thought that a claw-foot tub could have been made into a sofa (left)?
(A version of this story appeared in Midwest Living® May/June 2006.)
go to mirror/glass store to find brackets
7/5/2011 12:33:06 PM Report AbuseI'm not a carpenter but I put 2x4 vertical on the studs of the wall and screwed them in (with mollies) then screwed in the head board and the bed frame at the bottom.
7/5/2011 12:29:56 PM Report Abuse