REPURPOSING

Green Chic to Enhance Any Décor

by Fred Wish and Loretta Bolger Wish

If you didn’t have a cable-spool table or cinder-block bookcase in your first apartment, your best friend probably did. Long before terms like repurpose, green and upcycle became part of our vocabulary, young people usually started out with a blend of castoffs and improvised housewares.

Today, rescuing and revitalizing unused objects has become an art form that produces distinctive and often exquisite furnishings. From grand pianos renovated into bookcases, to 78 rpm records and bicycle gears made into clocks, to tabletops turned into message boards, these reclamation projects can add fun and function to any living space.

“I’ve always seen beauty in the ability to reuse things,” says Deborah Terry, owner of the vintage shop Flamingo Girl Studio in Charles Town. “I hate to see something end up in the trash when it can be something else.” Among the works she’s proudest of are the Eastlake-style settee she cut up and made into Victorian coat racks and the ornate mirror she detached from a damaged bureau and fashioned into a chalkboard. Terry notes that a skillful paint job can glamorize the worst looking rejects such as old chairs and picture frames.

This elegant segment of the repurposing trend is also represented by Denise Nolan and Bobbi Morris of Repurposed and Refined, located in Hagerstown and Frederick. Although their warehouse and shop contain informal products such as coasters made from Mason jar lids and a repainted bicycle wheel serving as a holder for photos, Nolan and Morris prefer converting fine but distressed furniture into pieces well suited to a formal parlor or grand entryway.

Repurposed and Refined has a special regard for Spanish Revival pieces, with their elaborate turnings and bold combinations of wood and metal. Many of these have seen a century or so of hard wear but can be re-imagined with some effort and thoughtful planning. To encourage this creativity in do-it-yourselfers, Morris holds classes in painting techniques.

Although they occasionally encounter critical remarks from purists regarding their use of paint and colored waxes on unadorned wood, Morris says they would rather see “an item that might be discarded left for future generations to use and enjoy.”

With the right paint, stain or polish, even the rough surfaces of pallets, cable spools and wine barrels can become the finest of furniture. Or they can be sanded and stained lightly to preserve their rustic condition and fit into an outdoor décor or country-themed interior.

For kitsch enthusiasts, repurposing offers a universe of fresh and funky design possibilities. Tables are being created from balcony railings, school blackboards, tractor bases and hundreds of other discards. Clawfoot bathtubs, vintage cars, phone booths and old refrigerators are being cut out and cushioned to serve as couches or chaises. Nolan and Morris, despite their preference for turning discards into upscale furniture, note that their favorite item is a retired railroad luggage cart that now serves as a quirky sofa.

Those who watch the History Channel’s American Pickers series have seen people rummaging barns, sheds and old stores for pieces to rework.

Potential treasures also turn up at curbsides, yard sales, antique shops, auctions or the attics, basements and garages of family and friends. The Shenandoah Valley, with its wealth of family farms and small towns, is fertile territory. Barn sales, business that are closing or relocating and municipal bulk-trash weeks are among the best sources.

And the better you get to know a community, the more opportunities present themselves. Terry, who moved from Florida last spring, fell in love with the Charles Town business district and made a commitment to “shop local and repurpose local.” One of her ongoing projects is recycling bottles from the nearby Bloomery Plantation Distillery into lamps.

Those who are short of time or inspiration can find finished wares at repurposing establishments. Repurposed and Refined, for instance, holds a monthly tag sale at its Hagerstown warehouse. For those who are somewhere in between, shops like Vintage Swank in Front Royal or Re-Love It Consignment in Purcellville offer a middle ground with specialty articles that are in good shape but can be reworked or just used in a different way.

“We see a lot of people buying our furniture, then refinishing and repurposing it,” says Michael Oaks, co-owner of Re-Love It.

Popular candidates for upcycling include console TVs and stereos, entertainment centers and the unwieldy suitcases that preceded soft-sided luggage. Neither Oaks nor Vintage Swank owner Amy Hazam stocks console electronics or the huge entertainment units that were obsolete once TVs outgrew them and music fit on small IPods. But old suitcases take up less space, and Hazam says they’re among the most sought-after items for repurposing. “People love those suitcases,” she says. “They often buy them to turn into shelves.”

Leather and patterned valises are also seeing extended life as occasional tables, desks or portable picnic tables. Stacked and fastened together with their internal sides cut through, they also provide inplain- sight storage bins with tremendous nostalgia value and eye appeal.

Period pieces often become bars, Hazam adds, especially furniture from the 1950s and 1960s since the mid-century revival is still going strong. Her own bar at home, however, was converted from an old industrial library cart.

Repurposing is a great way to keep things that have sentimental value but are no longer needed. Cribs are becoming benches and porch swings, for example, and many tricycles are now decorative planters. Changing tables are being resurrected as desks, serving carts and potting or laundry tables.

Being limited only by the imagination of the practitioner, repurposing occasionally loops back on itself. Terra cotta piping or TV cabinets can become wine racks while wine racks might find a new life holding towels or linens. A headboard is remodeled into a bench, and a door into a headboard. An end table that doesn’t go with revamped décor takes on a new role as a checkerboard, while an old checkerboard is pressed into service as a cutting board.

Radios and Victrolas of the early 20th century, and the mid-century TVs, hi-fis and stereos that followed, were often encased in wooden consoles or decorative plastic or metal. While some of these period pieces are still in working order, others are being tapped for a variety of new uses.

Larger units are cropping up as chairs, storage units, liquor cabinets and stylized sleeping quarters for pets. Tabletop TVs are now lamps, planters or aquariums while portable radios are becoming the music hipsters’ new MP3 amps and Bluetooth speakers.

The appeal of repurposing derives from many causes. Older products, particularly furniture, are of higher quality than nearly all of today’s mass-produced work and far more economical. Whether you do the refurbishing or buy from a specialty shop, you can display unique, well-crafted items. There is also the green factor, rescuing usable goods headed toward the waste stream.

Mostly, however, the attraction is based on the entertainment factor. The entire process— finding unusual or even basic pieces to overhaul, envisioning new functions for them, doing the rejuvenating, and displaying or making use of the result—is just plain fun.

While Morris and Nolan have a passion for all aspects of the work, they express a special fondness for pickin’, which combines the adventure of hunting with meeting the kindred spirits who provide bits of Americana for their five-year-old business.

If you’re sold on repurposing but want to start small, here are a few starter projects. Some are pretty, others are purely practical but none requires much time, expertise or complicated equipment.

Lower a strip of coat pegs nobody uses to serve as a closet or mudroom shoe rack. Resurrect a hinged storm window for an instant mini-greenhouse. Cut vintage soda and wine bottles into glassware and vases.

Fasten a favorite plate or serving dish to a candleholder for a classy pedestal plate. Move a trouser hanger to the kitchen to hang on a cabinet and use as a cookbook holder.

Turn a picture frame into a serving tray with fabric or vintage magazine ads under the glass.

Use a corkboard to organize and display jewelry; cover it with thin fabric for maximum effect.

Recycle a cereal canister or a large oatmeal or coffee can into a trash can for your car. Fill a small wooden box with bamboo skewers and use it as a holder for knives. Use plastic CD spindles as cookie/muffin holders; with a little stenciling, they’re fit for company.

If a broken chest has intact drawers, add rollers and use them for under-the-bed storage.

Terry says she’s been “pickin’ trash” for 25 years and learned the skill from her parents, who “never saw anything they couldn’t salvage.” Eventually, she decided to turn her hobby into a career.

“I’m at the point where I want to enjoy my work, and I have the best time doing this,” Terry says. “I’m in creative heaven, I’m making a little money and I’m keeping things out of the landfill.”

Quick and Easy Repurposing

If you’re sold on repurposing but want to start small, here are a few starter projects. Some are pretty, others are purely practical but none requires much time, expertise or complicated equipment.

  • Lower a strip of coat pegs nobody uses to serve as a closet or mudroom shoe rack.
  • Resurrect a hinged storm window for an instant mini-greenhouse.
  • Cut vintage soda and wine bottles into glassware and vases.
  • Fasten a favorite plate or serving dish to a candleholder for a classy pedestal plate.
  • Move a trouser hanger to the kitchen to hang on a cabinet and use as a cookbook holder.
  • Turn a picture frame into a serving tray with fabric or vintage magazine ads under the glass.
  • Use a corkboard to organize and display jewelry; cover it with thin fabric for maximum effect.
  • Recycle a cereal canister or a large oatmeal or coffee can into a trash can for your car.
  • Fill a small wooden box with bamboo skewers and use it as a holder for knives.
  • Use plastic CD spindles as cookie/muffin holders; with a little stenciling, they’re fit for company.
  • If a broken chest has intact drawers, add rollers and use them for under-the-bed storage.

Author: Brian

Share This Post On