My sister did this one.

I love crafts and do-it-yourself projects. One of my favorite new ideas to come along is recycling furniture. Don’t throw away your old broken pieces of furniture. Recycle them.

This is an old dresser with fabric glued to the front of the drawers and repainted.  The different patterns give it a very hip look.  This one happens to have been recycled by my sister.  She is very talented and has a lot of great ideas.  She added old table legs to an old door and it became a new table with a new look.

An old dresser

I love the look of old furniture refinished to a beautiful new wood surface. But sometimes you just gotta throw some paint on it. Or wall paper. Or fabric.  Put legs on a door for a table or cut them off a dresser for a window seat.   Turn an old piece into a modern work of art you will be pleased to have in your home.

I really admire the imagination of those who have come up with these ideas and often you cannot tell that the pieces aren’t in their original form.

TV cabinet

Remember when TV sets were a fine piece of furniture?  Even if the wood is distressed, it has a good look.  If you ever need inspiration, just look on Pinterest.  I’ll share more with you as I find them.

Everyone loves to make their home reflect their own style and personality.  We want our home to be welcoming and comfortable.  Every once in a while we buy a new piece of furniture or two or three.  When we do, what happens to the old stuff?  Take it to the dump?

According to earth911.com the U.S. EPA reported that furniture accounted for 8.8 million tons, or 3.6 percent, of our waste stream in 2005 (quadruple the tonnage in 1960) in our landfills  .Recycling furniture is a great way to help preserve our environment.  Furniture is made from wood which, of course, has to come from our forests.  Exotic wood, like teak, comes from rain forest areas which are dwindling.  We need our rain forests..

So what can we do to reduce this mass of discarded furniture?  Instead of taking it to the town dump, why not leave it at the Goodwill?  In our metropolitan areas, you may see trucks parked in a vacant lot with the doors open for you to leave furniture you no longer want for disabled vets to repair & sell.

But what if you could take an old but usable piece of furniture, paint it or strip it to give it a new look and put it in a different part of the house.  Or sell it in a garage sale and make a little money in the process.  You could list your unwanted furniture on eBay or Craigslist.

Dressers that have broken drawers can be made into cabinets with shelves and drawers.  Distressed wood is very popular now so you don’t have to sand and refinish, just paint or paper or lay a little fabric on the damaged surface.

Before investing in new furniture, check the used furniture stores or eBay or Craigslist.  This is another way to recycle and save the environment and who knows what treasures you may find?

You love your sofa but it’s just too worn out, buy new cushions and reupholster. It will look like a brand new one but it will still be you comfy favorite.

And speaking of recycling, why not use old jeans for the upholstery? It’s durable, has pockets for remotes and cell phones and it’s free! Great for the family room or man cave.

Chairs are the most common piece of furniture thrown away. If they are still sturdy, recover the seats, maybe add a little paint or antiquing to give them a whole new appearance. 

If you still need to get rid of it, recycle it by giving it away.  I’m sure there are many in your community who would welcome the pieces you no longer wish to use.   Other sites that you can use to sell your furniture to others are Freecycle. Donate (get tax deductions for giving items to Goodwill or the Salvation Army), Garage Sale.

To find a recycling station in your area, check earth911.com for a location new you.