Invert a rusty metal tub for a coffee table or fashion a wall sculpture from old horseshoes.
Imagination and an eye for spotting beauty in discarded or secondhand objects can facilitate adding touches of salvage chic to home decor at little or no expense. Secondhand shops, junkyards, construction sites and beaches can yield potential treasures. An old wrought iron gate can become a novel headboard or fire screen. Place a rusted cheese grater over a candle to create a "Moorish" lantern, or unroll some cheap burlap to create window curtains with bold, light-diffusing texture. Decorating with these found or low-priced elements provides a sense of history and whimsy to an interior and the satisfaction of recycling your secondhand discoveries. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Pave a picture or mirror frame, using a glue gun, with found seashells or employ the shells to cover a fireplace surround for a show-stopping bit of imaginative whimsy. Beach driftwood, with its worn silvery patina and fantastic shapes, can be transformed into sculptures for wall or table, candleholders, or hung above a doorway in lieu of a pediment.
2. Group old bottles of blue, amber and clear glass to add interest to a side table or as dining table candleholders. Use an old newel post with peeling paint as an interesting center post for a hanging fixture by attaching candleholder arms rescued from a trashed wrought iron chandelier.
3. Hang a weathered wrought iron gate as a spectacular headboard or transform a section of antique metal railing into a decorative fireplace screen. Connect tall, narrow ironwork gates or panels for a standing screen to liven an empty corner.
4. Cover walls with the texture of warm-toned burlap, using a staple gun, and cover the stapled seams with braided twine. Drape the burlap over a used decorative rod to frame a window or hem the burlap for curtains and top it off with a cornice of discarded planking or driftwood.
5. Add cracked ice to a worn scrub bucket to act as a wine chiller and utilize larger discarded metal tubs as planters or invert them for coffee, end or bedside tables.
6. Install an old roll-up classroom map as a wall hanging or window shade, or wallpaper a bathroom with sheets of vintage newspaper. Use your imagination and have fun.
Tags: wrought iron, curtains with, iron gate, table candleholders, wrought iron gate
