I am always looking for a second use for things in my house.
As an example, my grandma used a wrought iron wine rack as a towel holder. She would roll her towels and hung the rack in her washroom. It was just so pretty and creative.

Do you have any objects that are being used as accessories or embellishments that they originally weren't intended for?

Sara

For those of you who like that country or rustic look to your home, how about a branch used as your shower curtain holder? I have a friend who did this in one of her baths, and it is adorable!:bfly:

That is such a great idea. I love to see rustic touches to a home.
I really enjoy the hgtv shows where the designers find old stuff and reuse it or make it into something entirely different.

Sara

Off the top of my head, without walking through my house, this is what I can think of.
I have a vintage fifties, painted enamel laundrey hamper as an end table in my living room.

There si an old piece of ceiling tin as a fireplace screen.

A child's play size potting table serves as a tv stand in one of the bedrooms.

Another end table in my living room is an old school desk.

I like the look of mixing old with new and using things in creative ways.

CarrotCake, sounds like you and I enjoy the same taste in decorating. I use an old pie safe as an entertainment center in my living room. I got it at an auction and it is one of my favorite things. I use old crocks in my kitchen to store my kitchen tools. I also use an old wooden soda crate to store my spice bottles. I have an old potty chair with a plant in it decorating my bathroom and an old flour bin table as one of the end tables in the living room. Outside, last summer, I used some big metal funnels for plant hangers. Just put the pot down in them and hung them on the fence. You should have seen the guy I bought them from at a yard sale. When I told him what I wanted the funnels for, he got a really puzzeled expression on his face! Some people just don't understand! LOL! I also have several old carpenter's tool chests I use for coffee tables and storage in the bedrooms. I just love old items!:D

Oh you have found my weak spot I just love Trash to Treasures.
At a garage sale a lady only had the two sides to an old porta-crib that I bought both for a dollar. On side is leaning up against my bathroom wall with magazines hanging over the dowels, the other is hanging flat from my ceiling with s hooks and it a pot rack. I took the top off an old end table that use to have glass in the top and mitered the corner and put a mirror in it for a bathroom mirror, the wood was very ornate so it turned out pretty. Then my dad works in a place that gets a lot of savlage furniture and when I moved into this house I didn't have a pantry and not enough cabinet space for food, so he took two old hutch tops and put one on top of the other and made me a pantry/cabinet. It's really cute because the tops had doors on them that the glass had broken out so we put screen in there and painted it forest green, looks very country. My MIL it the queen of trash to tresure though, I envie her she is so creative, she has an old porcelin bath sink for flowers on her porch, an old pot belly stove for an end table (not hooked up). There's tons more her house should be a feature on HGTV it is amazing. Oh I have to tell you about her chimes then I will shut up. She found an old porcelin coffee pot and the cups, like the camping kind. She drilled holes (6) in the bottom of the coffee pot and ran string through them then hung the cups off the string to make the chimes, it is too cute.

I love love love trash to treasure.
Here's the link to hgtv's trash to treasure archive.
http://www.hgtv.com/HGTV/pac/0,1964,t2t02_trsh2trsr,FF.html

I enjoy browsing that section.
I have been wanting to do this one that's listed on there.

Laundry Table

An ordinary table is turned into a functional laundry room accessory. Lift off the top then reattach with a safety hinge. Create two fabric baskets with casing on two sides to hold dowel rods. Use a jigsaw to cut out space on four wood strips for the dowel rods. Attach the wood strips and place the baskets inside the table.

I really enjoyed the show Treasure Makers the first year it was on. I think when they changed it the second season it was not as good. i think they tried to make it too "hip."

They did alot of trash to treasure kind of stuff and re-use-it ideas.

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Creative Decorating Tips!!
I love to work With Trash to Treasure Finds for our Home!!
In Fact I wish that I could take Interior Decorating Classes to See if I would be good at that!! :)

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Awesome ideas!!!:smball: