One of our favorite clients, Bette, called us and wanted us to redesign her master bedroom. She was nervous—her furniture was old, mismatched, just stuff she liked that she'd picked up at thrift shops and yard sales. Could we help?
We assured her that most of us have mismatched furniture—things we’ve gathered over the years and maybe that don’t have much value, but we love those special things.
I have repurposed a couple of old pieces in my bedroom. My dresser is a beautiful buffet that used to be a dining room piece. It’s mahogany and I first bought it to serve as storage in my office when I was working in a Victorian-style house. I refinished it when I brought it home and have used it for storage in my home office, as a buffet in my dining room to hold placemats, napkins, candle holders and china, and now I use it as a dresser.
The nightstand beside my bed is an old treadle sewing machine—the first piece I refinished back when I was 22. In the 70’s this was a popular thing to have—filled with ferns or other plants. It is still pretty, a little wobbly, but holds a lamp and goes with the rest of the room.
I recently added a headboard. I wish I’d taken a picture of it before I worked on it so you could see the improvement. Painted white, chipped and plain, it was the pearl I found at an antique street fair in September for $25. It is not a great piece of furniture, but I stripped it, stained it, added scroll-work I bought at Lowe’s and painted the edges with a brass patina paint. It looks great! For less than $50 and a few days’ work in my garage this winter, I’m pretty pleased with it.
So, take a look at what you have that you could move around in your house and repurpose. Would painting or adding new drawer pulls help update it? You’d be surprised how you can add new life and beauty to a room. Maybe when times are better you can go out and buy that $2,000 piece of furniture. But for now, reusing or repurposing is environmentally friendly and easy on the budget.
We assured her that most of us have mismatched furniture—things we’ve gathered over the years and maybe that don’t have much value, but we love those special things.
I have repurposed a couple of old pieces in my bedroom. My dresser is a beautiful buffet that used to be a dining room piece. It’s mahogany and I first bought it to serve as storage in my office when I was working in a Victorian-style house. I refinished it when I brought it home and have used it for storage in my home office, as a buffet in my dining room to hold placemats, napkins, candle holders and china, and now I use it as a dresser.
The nightstand beside my bed is an old treadle sewing machine—the first piece I refinished back when I was 22. In the 70’s this was a popular thing to have—filled with ferns or other plants. It is still pretty, a little wobbly, but holds a lamp and goes with the rest of the room.
I recently added a headboard. I wish I’d taken a picture of it before I worked on it so you could see the improvement. Painted white, chipped and plain, it was the pearl I found at an antique street fair in September for $25. It is not a great piece of furniture, but I stripped it, stained it, added scroll-work I bought at Lowe’s and painted the edges with a brass patina paint. It looks great! For less than $50 and a few days’ work in my garage this winter, I’m pretty pleased with it.
So, take a look at what you have that you could move around in your house and repurpose. Would painting or adding new drawer pulls help update it? You’d be surprised how you can add new life and beauty to a room. Maybe when times are better you can go out and buy that $2,000 piece of furniture. But for now, reusing or repurposing is environmentally friendly and easy on the budget.
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