We-Design-Day: Making old stuff new again

Part of my on-going design plan is to incorporate old pieces in new ways. I'm a creative person and often I think of something that could be repurposed. Years ago, I took the foot plate off the high chair me and my siblings used and turned it into a breakfast-in-bed table. For several years, I used a sturdy cardboard box as a night table and I once turned an over sized storage closet into a work room.

A good part of design is seeing things that aren't there and interpreting things in new or inventive ways. I wish I had a picture of an art piece a fellow design student did - she used all the discarded plastic laminate samples and created an art-deco inspired wall art piece. This idea plays well into certain styles of design - the 'shabby chic', 'folk' and 'country' styles often reuse existing pieces in a way not generally thought of.

A couch will always be a couch but dressers can be any number of things - an airing cupboard for linens in large bathroom or how about in a living room to hold movies, video games and photo albums? End tables can work as beside tables, laptop desks or if two of the same are put together, a sofa table. During my recent peruse of blogland, I found this great idea for repurposing a baby changing table! What a fantastic idea!

The Internet is a fabulous show place for the many possibilities of ways to repurpose and recycle 'things'. The only real limitation is your ability to think of things to Google! Want some inspiration? Check out this and this and what about this? Ok, so that's not technically a recycling project but what an incredible space saving idea! Makes me want to tear our our cold room and create that storage area under our stairs!

Now as I progress through the detailed planning of our basement, I don't think I'll be repurposing furniture but I am trying to look for different and creative ideas to help me organize my sewing/design studio. So much to store - so little space! Additional research on the storage topic led me to this Easy Organizing: Craft Supplies at Good Housekeeping. It struck home because we've been saving glass jars from our pasta sauce. In part because they can be reused as canning jars but now I'm thinking the idea of fixing a lid to the underside of a shelf would provide additional storage in an unlikely spot. It will also free up some valuable real estate for other things not easily contained in a jar. And my inner hoarder is also telling me that then I could use my mountain of buttons as a decorative feature thus allowing me to further expand my collection!



Seriously though, I have to start looking at finalizing some choices for our project and this is where I got held up when I first started this project in 2005. I've researched possibility after possibility, thought, re-thought and thought again. I've evaluated and examined and printed off so many cut sheets, I'm sure I've deforested a small country (Ok, that's not true, but you get what I mean). I need to work through my anxiety of choosing the wrong solution and try to disassociate myself from the fact it is my house.

I'm going to do to myself what I do to my clients - set a 'deadline'. I need to finalize a floor plan and a colour scheme by next Wednesday... Can I do it?

Have you voted yet for the wall colour for the We-Design-Day Fun with Colour contest winner? Have your say and vote soon, the poll closes at midnight tonight!

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you next We-Design-Day!