A crib becomes a toy box. A suitcase is now a footstool. Dusty glassware changes into a towering totem. No, it’s not a scene from the latest Transformers movie. The mantra of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” is being replaced by “Reinvent, Repurpose, Upcycle” by creative do-it-yourselfers who take cast-off furniture and housewares and transform them into something completely different.
Look beyond the broken leg, old paint, or missing drawer and focus on the personality. The carved posts, curved arms, clean lines or intricate shapes can become the focal point of a repurposed showpiece that reflects your unique style.
A word of caution … repurposing can become an obsession, as these three women discovered. They turned their passion for repurposing into everything from a hobby and a brick-and-mortar business to an online educational mecca. See Saturday’s HomeStyle section for examples.