Awesomely Cool Upcycle Ideas for Home Decor Items to Reuse in your Home
If you’ve been looking for a few upcycle ideas on how to reuse items in your home, there are so many possibilities of making that happen.
Who says that you have to head to the store and buy new home decor items when you may be able to use what you already have?
Stop and take a look at everything that you have currently in your home.
More than likely, you don’t have a shortage of items or “things” just lying around.
That’s honestly true for most Americans. Our homes are littered from wall to wall with items that we “think” that we need.
And then, when we want something new, the majority of us just head to the store to find a new pattern or decor idea that we switch to.
Simple, right?
While it may be simple, it’s not how it has to be.
Even if you aren’t restricted by budget, why waste all those perfectly good home decor items that you currently have?
There has to be a way to use items over in other rooms to give them a new look and feel.
The good news?
There is!
All you need are these simple upcycle ideas to make it happen.
Upcycle Ideas for Home Decor Items to Reuse in your Home
Before we get started on all the upcycle ideas, let’s talk about what it means to upcycle.
Because, what does that even mean, anyway?!
What is upcycling?
Upcycling is a term used to reuse or change items into something else.
Many people do this to items in their home that they don’t use in one way but have a vision on how yo use them in another.
Typically, it’s a way that you can save money while also adding a bit of flair and fun to your home along the way.
What can be repurposed?
Honestly, almost anything that you want.
Repurposing (which is just another term for upcycling) can be done to a majority of items and home decor products that you already have.
If you’re even a tad bit crafty, you can repurpose items with ease.
Think of wooden items that you can varnish or repaint or even items that just need a new “look”.
And even if you aren’t necessarily crafty, it might not be hard to find someone who is!
Ask your family and friends if they’re interested in helping update or transform some of your items, and then make it happen.
How can you reuse household items?
One other way to give your home a new look or feel is to reuse household items that you already have and turn them into home decor focal pieces.
It’s actually not that hard to do and can result in some really cool and unique additions to your home.
One way to figure out how to reuse household items is to go room by room and make a pile of items that you no longer want in that specific room.
Maybe it’s an item that is out of place, too worn out or just no longer goes with the home decor.
Regardless, every room has to be gone through for this to work.
Once you’ve gone through every room in your home and made a pile, it’s time to look at that pile and start to think about what you could do with those items.
If you know for a fact that you’ve over an item and no longer want it in your home, place it in the donate box and move on.
If your heart isn’t into saving an item, it isn’t into it.
There’s no reason to force it.
But those items that are left?
Those are your items to reuse and repurpose.
Clean them up and think about how they can serve another purpose in a different area of your home.
And once you have that thought in your mind, it’s time to move forward in getting those items to their new location.
How can I recycle items in my house?
It’s important to understand that there is a difference between upcycling items in your house and recycling items in your home.
Upcycling is changing items or reusing them and making them into something else.
Simple, right?
By recycling is something that is completely different.
Recycling is when you’re completely getting rid of an item but in a way that it can be melted down and used again to create something entirely new.
Examples of items in your home that you can recycle would be:
- Newspapers
- Cans
- Plastic Bottles
- Glass Jars
- Anything cardboard
And while all of those items can be recycled, some of those items have the possibility of being upcycled or reused as well.
Just think how many cute things that you could do with glass jars!
You could make fun votive candles as a cute decoration on your shelves. See how simple it can be to reuse items?!
Repurposing ideas for decorating
Do you consider yourself to be a creative person?
Even if you aren’t, it’s actually not all that hard to think of repurposing ideas for decorating your home.
Like we talked about earlier, our homes are literally full of stuff.
So much in fact that many people actually have boxes and boxes of items in storage because they don’t have room for them in their home.
Sounds wild, right?
To have so many items that you can’t display them all?
As wild as it sounds, it’s the truth.
But when you have items that you love but need to give a look, what can you do?
The simple answer?
Repurpose them of course!
Simple ideas to reuse your home decor
This is where it gets fun to repurpose your home decor items!
These simple items that you probably already have in your home can be easily transformed into something else entirely!
Reusing Ladders
When you think of ladders, most time you probably think about using them to climb up and down to fix things or get to a higher location.
But guess what?
Ladders can be a fun and funky home decor item that you never knew you needed.
Use an old ladder as a bookshelf with ease!
You really don’t even have to do much for this idea to work unless you want to paint the ladder a different color.
Just lean it against the wall at an angle and just like that, you’ve reused your ladder to make a totally adorable and “rustic” bookshelf.
Does it get any more simple than that?
Reusing Old Books
One item that people tend to hold on to for a long time is books.
And with good reason.
You never know when that feeling is going to strike again that you’re going to want to read that book.
So if you’re on the fence about keeping your books or getting rid of them, why not reuse them for something else in the meantime?
Stack them up on the floor and make a fun nightstand out of them.
Who says that your nightstand made out of books can’t hold even more books at a later point in time?
Other fun ways to reuse old books would be to stack them on the floor in a fun pattern on top of each other.
Have them sitting by the side of a chair or couch as an easy focal point for people to notice.
Reusing Old Windows or Shutters
If you love the look and feel of Farmhouse decor, reusing old windows or shutters may be right up your alley!
There are a ton of great ideas to upcycle old windows or shutters and they’re all super simple to do.
Start by turning the window on its side and finding a spot on the wall to hang it.
Once you do that, its’ game on got decorating it with pictures and other fun items of your family and friends.
Besides that, you can add a few hooks to it and have it as a wall hanging and a place to hang your coats and keys.
Some people even use old windows in their homes as a way to write notes to one another with dry erase markers.
That way, the markers wipe off super easily from the glass to use over and over again.
Reusing old t-shirts
Yes, you read that right!
And while t-shirts themselves are not home decor items, you can use them to make something pretty cool that can be used as home decor.
If you have a bunch of old t-shirts lying around but you just can’t bring yourself to get rid of them, why not take and turn them into something that you can use and love instead?
If you have any type of sewing skills (or know someone who does) you can easily take your old t-shirts and turn them into a blanket or throw that you can use a fun home decor item in your living room.
Plus, it’s certain to be a great conversation starter for anyone who is stopping by to visit!
Finding upcycling ideas on Pinterest
Let’s be honest…not everyone has the creativity and imagination to be able to look at a pile of items and see a way to reuse, upcycle or repurpose those items.
That’s okay.
There’s nothing wrong with that.
This is where the beauty of Pinterest comes into play.
Did you know that Pinterest was created to be a visual search engine for millions of people every single day?
And that is actually really great for you. It’s possible to go to Pinterest and find hundreds of home decor ideas within a matter of minutes.
This is great news!
If you have any type of furniture item that you’re wanting to reuse, simply type that item in the search bar and see what comes up.
More than likely, you’ll hundreds, if not thousands, of search results that will show you have to reuse and upcycle home decor items.
It doesn’t have to stop there.
You can then use those ideas and try to recreate them on your own or hire someone to do it for you.
Use Pinterest to your advantage to find out what options are out there to explore.
What happens when your ideas for reusing home decor items doesn’t work?
It happens.
Sometimes the visions on our heads don’t quite turn out exactly as we thought.
It’s where the term “Pinterest fails” originated from probably.
And when that happens, don’t beat yourself up about it.
When it comes to thinking of ways to reuse your home decor items, be bold with it and really give it a go.
The worst that’s going to happen is that it isn’t going to turn out…but the best that can happen is that you’ll create something stellar that you never thought possible.
If you happen to create a home decor item that doesn’t work with your vision and needs, don’t discard it completely.
You never know, there may be someone out there who might love it.
Offer it to family and friends or donate it and pass it on to someone else who can enjoy it or get use out of it.
There’s no sense in holding onto something that doesn’t bring you joy and happiness.
Figuring out what to reuse in your home is completely and totally up to you.
If you take a look around and have a vision, it’s time to make it a reality.
There are so many easy projects and items that you can reuse and upcycle with ease.
Take your time going through your home and picking out items that you want to keep.
And when you find those items, start searching on ways that you can change them to keep them in your current home decor.
Use Pinterest or other creative ideas to come up with a plan for repurposing items for your home.
Then, when you have a good plan or idea of how to make it happen, it’s time to start implementing them.
Have fun in the process and let those creative juices flow!