The possibilities of repurposing a piece of furniture are plenty, and almost every thing can be repurposed into something chic when it comes of age. Old drawers especially can be converted into gorgeous pieces once done with their existing life.
Listed below are a few ideas for upcycling old drawers to give them a new look. And purpose. Upcycling will not only help you do your bit for the planet, but save money otherwise spent on expensive furniture.
1. Wall shelves – Old drawers can be given a new look by hanging them on the wall as shelves. All you need to do is spruce up the look of your drawer by painting it and covering up the insides with either wrapping paper, cloth or wallpaper. Use these shelves as display or utility racks. Vintage drawers particularly make great display shelves for family pictures, and you could even create one for your bath area.
2. Under-bed storage: Use them in their original form and for their original purpose – to store. Simply attach wheels to the bottom of old drawers and use them for under bed linen, kids toys and other such storage.
5. Jewelry organiser: Keeping your jewelry in one place and in order (without them entangling) can be a task. Your old drawer up cycled into a Jewelry organizer, can cow to the rescue. Customise the number of hooks you need for hanging neckpieces and place little refurbished skincare cream containers or old bowls for keeping smaller items at the bottom.
6. Dollhouse: This one’s for the little girls who love their dolls. Save your fortune for other things, and upcycle an old drawer to create this beautiful doll house! For a more detailed DIY instruction on fabrication, click here. You could do with a carpenter for this one.
7. Headboard: This one needs a few old drawers and a carpenter J. Create your own unique headboard with abundant storage space or look up Pinterest for design inspiration. Use your creativity thereafter for a unique composition that compliments your bed. Make sure to paint it in a colour matching/ contrasting your bed.
8. Bedside table : You could use a single drawer for this one. Spruce up the drawer’s look to amp up the overall feel of any room. Give it legs and it’s all set to make for a pretty table.
9. Sandwich station: The coolest thing you could do with your drawer is convert it into another uber cool utility object – and what better than a sandwich station. This station keeps all your sandwich packing necessities in one place, while upping the cool quotient of your kitchen by a few notches. Here’s a detailed DIY instruction guide for fixing your own.
10. Book shelf: Stack up old drawers, in different patterns, and personalize it to your height requirement – you could even create a horizontal bookshelf – depending on the space available. Alternatively, mount individual drawers on your wall and use them as book shelves.
In addition to this, you could also upcycle your old drawer as a mirror frame, a bulletin board or even an ottoman. Whatever, you do, do try up-cycling. Not only will it give your drawer a new form, you’d also be making a huge contribution towards a green planet. If you’ve done any such projects, please do share pictures with us we’d love to see them.