Last updated on November 30th, 2022 at 08:54 am
It’s almost always the case that minor parts of one or two of your furniture items at home are damaged, but in general, it’s still an undamaged item and you don’t really want to throw it away. But it might affect the aesthetic of your overall home design and it can also be quite unsightly when there are guests. As well, it’s quite hard for us to part with our possessions as they represent a part of our memories. In the United States, a research shows that more than 64 million Americans have or plan to discard a large piece of furniture when moving.
So instead of throwing away your old piece of furniture, why not repurpose it, or upcycle it into something better and more useful, like a furniture centerpiece? Here are 20 methods that you can use to breathe new life into pieces of reclaimed vintage furniture, such as an original coffee table or wood table.
20 Ways You Can Breathe New Life into Your Reclaimed Vintage Furniture
Consider these 20 vintage DIY furniture projects which will turn your home into a vintage haven without much upfront costs, and you’ll most likely agree with me, as these ideas that we have collected from our creative bloggers are fun and easy to create!
Unique Upcycle Projects for Reclaimed Vintage Furniture
(1) Vintage Chair Tree Swing
Janet Harrison of The Simple Solution Mom made a tree swing out of a piece of reclaimed vintage furniture that you wouldn’t even think of – a dining room chair. Her advice is to use a chair that is structuring sound, and strong ropes that you have to tie tightly together.
(2) Vintage Typewriter Table
Taryn of Design, Dining and Diapers upcycled a vintage typewriter table using basic furniture painting such as chalk paint and 2 coats of soft wax, and it looks so cool you have to take a look! You will look differently at your old piece of wood table now, won’t you?
(3) Vintage DIY Bookcase
Shanty 2 Chic sisters Ashley and Whitney show you step by step how to build a perfect piece of vintage bookcase from scratch using plywood cut into 16″ boards. Look at these lovely bookcases they’ve made for the kids!
(4) DIY Accent Table
Another great example of how reclaimed vintage furniture is used effectively is Heather of Twin Dragonfly Designs, which took a small wire laundry basket and a circle of plywood from to made this awesome side accent table for only $12! Check out her tutorial here.
(5) Vintage Photo Frame
If you have an old door or window that you no longer use, hang it sideways, nail in a few coat hooks, and fill it up with your favourite photos and you’ll have something nice to adorn your wall.
(6) Old Board Game Pieces As Your Gallery
Turn bits and pieces of your old, unwanted board game pieces into centres of attraction for your walls.
(7) Vintage DIY Lace Lampshade
Take a balloon, blow it up, and apply some wallpaper glue to some lace and stick it around the balloon. Once done, leave it overnight to dry. The next day, pop the balloon and attach a nice cord and lamp fitting, and you’ll have your vintage lace lampshade. Tutorial from the dosfamily.
(8) Hanging Bookshelf
Get a nice slab of wood or wood furniture, drill some holes into them and thread some strong ropes through, tying a knot at each end to make sure they are secure. Then screw a hook into the ceiling, and hang the bookshelf there. Now you have the perfect piece of container for your beloved books!
(9) Vintage Step Ladder Shelf
Take an old wooden step ladder and use sandpaper to go over the surface. This is to remove any sharp splinters or edges which might cause injuries. Then add some wooden blocks horizontally across the steps to create a larger shelving surface. You will have a cool little step ladder shelf where you can keep your books and display your plants. Tutorial from FunkyJunkInteriors.
(10) Vintage Designer Chair
Check out this cool upcycling project of a vintage chair, where an old dining chair was turned into a stylish, vintage chair suitable for the living room, bed room or even office. Now, think about what you can do with that old, vintage leather furniture you have!
(11) Vintage Ottoman
See how Sarah of ‘While They Snooze’ turned an old car tire into a vintage ottoman for her house. I’m quite sure nobody can tell that the finished product was actually an old tire!
(2) Vintage Wooden Craft Table
The Junk Gypsies found an electrical spool lying around the house, and repurposed it into a wooden exotic coffee table for crafts and storage. You can also think of repurposing them into other kinds of tables, such as sofa tables, tea tables, telephone tables or other furniture products.
(13) Factory Craft Coffee Table
Ana White made a vintage wooden coffee table from pine boards, with an optional reclaimed vintage furniture piece of wood top and caster wheels. Check out her tutorial here.
(14) Vintage Accent Table from Log Slices
Joanne Palmisano made a pair of accent tables using rough-cut lumber and old metal chair legs. Check it out here.
(15) Vintage Old Window Art
Convert old windows or wood panels works of art for your walls by hanging them against the walls.
(16) Vintage Window Message Board
Get crafty and upcycle an old window into a multipurpose message centre. You can turn certain sections into a mini chalkboard, another section into a magnetic board, and some just leave it blank for you to paste sticky papers. How awesome is that? It’ll definitely help keep you and your family organized! Check out the tutorial here.
(17) Vintage Stenciled Little Bench
This pair of vintage stenciled benches by The 35th Avenue will fit into any vintage-inspired home and be a fun project to make! Here’s the tutorial.
(18) Vintage Floating Book Shelves
Create some invisible book shelves from old books – all you need are 3 vintage books, 4 command strips, 2 L brackets and screws, a level and drill. Check out the tutorial here.
(19) Vintage Wine Rack
Create this vintage wine rack that Shanty 2 Chic made. It looks quite easy and if you follow their tutorial step by step, you’ll definitely be able to make one yourself, and henceforth be able to pick your wine out easily!
(20) Vintage Ottoman with Drawer
Check out how Becky of Beyond the Picket Fence upcycled a sturdy drawer that she picked up at a thrift store into a rustic little vintage ottoman! The material used for the cushion is amazing, isn’t it?
Have you been inspired by all the above creative people? Well, you can also take your original coffee table and turn it into something spectacular, like a vintage-looking couch side table or a teak table, or even repurpose your current console tables into a furniture centerpiece because, why not really? Don’t let that piece of high-quality leather furniture go to waste! Have fun!
