One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. With these ideas from Better Homes and Gardens (bhg.com), you can transform secondhand finds into pretty, cottage-inspired storage.
Take note: Create a mail center from an old shutter. To reuse a cast-off shutter, sand and paint or stain the piece deep brown. Remove the slats from the top half with a handsaw. Screw a piece of plywood over the back of the open area, then glue a layer of cork over the wood. Cover the cork with decorative fabric. Use pretty thumbtacks to display notes on the corkboard. Stash mail in the bottom slots.
Pulled together: Vintage drawer pulls make ornate hooks for keys and reading glasses. Add curtain clips to hold papers. Simply remove the pulls from an old dresser and screw them to a wall.
Get hooked: Mount a section of iron fencing on the wall as a coat rack. The curled ends of the fence are just right for holding coats, towels, robes or dog leashes.
Simple storage: Old ornate metal heating vents are too pretty to leave to collect dust, so press them into service as nifty wall- mounted newspaper racks. Attach a vent to the wall with screws and voilu! Instant storage.
In plain sight: Give a cast-off window new life by turning it into a rustic cupboard. Construct a three-sided box to fit the window. Install shelves to align with the window muntins. Then attach the window to the front with flat hinges. You’ve just created nooks to display pottery and other treasures.
