Hello my friends! The Penny Pincher Post Mistress is here with cheap, money-saving DIY makeovers for you! I love those magazine articles and TV shows that show several different configurations of the same room with the same furniture. I LOVE Ikea's model rooms for example, show how to organize the teensiest of spaces to creatively arrange stuff. I like to redefine spaces and see how the addition of a few simple and inexpensive accent pieces can revitalize a room.
White Elephant in the Living Room
White elephant treasures can freshen up any decor and still cost very little. Some of my favorite white elephant treasures are shelving units and storage containers. I like to seek out useful, decorative and creative ways to store items. And I like to decorate with a Feng Shui-y vibe that creates cozy spots, featuring unique objects arranged in an heuristic, avant-garde approach. And my best decorating pal is a second shop. Here are 25 "up-dos" for repurposed "white elephant" objects.
Live like an Egyptian
The ancients believed that simple storage units, like vases, pots and racks should be functional as well as beautiful. They gave us Ming vases, Egyptian ebony racks, Greek pottery and Benares brass tables from India. Most of these items were common household items. Now although we probably won't find an Etruscan pot at a secondhand store, there are certainly plenty of lovely and unique white elephants available! If you keep two basic principles in mind, you can find lovely accent pieces for very reasonable prices!
Think outside the box
Consider using unusual items for storage or shelving. I have used a baker's rack, a wooden baby changing table, a wine rack, an upended wooden crate, garden furniture and a tiered plant stand for shelving. For containers, skip the traditional square box and give these holders (especially those with a groovy shape or pretty pattern) a try:
- baskets
- hat boxes
- dishware
- pottery
- vases
- baking pans
- wine bottles
- pails
- a child's toybox
Form follows Function
Look for storage containers that are bespoke as well as those that aren't. All you need is a container that gives you enough room to store whatever you need to store. Try to minimize your cost by finding the most functional, well-made pieces. Consider pieces with several uses, such as footstools with covers which gives you comfort as well as storage. Look for attractive magazine racks and baskets to put near family room chairs for books, pens, paper, newspaper ads, knitting, crossword puzzle books and even little toiletries. I found a cute lidded picnic basket white elephant for just this purpose!
Go beyond Bed, Bath and Beyond
Rack up savings
Let's think about our shelving white elephants. I like baker's racks for shelves as they have different sized shelves as well as drawers. They work well in the bedroom, library, kids room, den, living room as well as kitchen. I found a nice wrought iron and wicker white elephant for $20 secondhand. I use two shelves for books and two for clothing. In the kitchen, a baker's rack provides shelves for pots and pans, drawers for utensils and sometimes room for some potted herbs and cookbooks, as well as a work surface and racks to hang towels. A baker's rack is the most versatile shelf you could ever need!
Change it up, baby!
I am super proud of this one. I found a secondhand wooden changing table that I use for a vanity. I use various cloth placemats and table runners I got off season on 90% off clearance. They basically paid me to take them away. I have my jewelry and cosmetics and hair care items arranged on the top shelf. The other two shelves contain my lingerie, hosiery and knit garments. The old plastic kind work great for wrapping paper storage. Use it in the bathroom and there is ample room for all bath linens, hair and bath products, soaps, extra toilet paper and paper products, and even your cleaning products!
Cheers to vintage decor!
I found a bamboo wine rack shelf for $10 at a church rummage sale (love those, the wine racks and the rummage sales). I'm still using it 27 years later. What you can't store on a wine rack has yet to be discovered. My favorite use is as bookshelves. We keep our family games in the cupboard part, our books on the shelves and even have room for a few bottles of wine in the round slots. Speaking of bookshelves, I use a small one as a bedside stand. I have room for a lamp and clock on top, some books on the shelves and my nighttime remedies on the third. I've also repurposed the old detachable head boards as shelves.
Corral your smalls
For drawer or bathroom storage, I am very fond of collapsible and lined baskets and round hat boxes. I've even made them by recovering a sturdy cardboard box in fabric pinned together at the bottom. I keep them on my shelves open with a scented sachet for my lingerie, hosiery, sleepwear, and knit garments. My clothing stays fresher and wrinkle free! I store cosmetic bottles in baskets to keep them upright and tidy. I have wire baskets for cotton balls and swabs. In the kitchen, I like miscellaneous 'white elephant' baskets, bowls and dishes to hold fruit, napkins, and bottles (again to keep them organized and upright). And for stationary and art supplies glasses and baskets make ideal storage and are great for easy access!
It's curtains for you, cupboards!
I honestly hate built-in cupboards, shelving and storage units. They are made of cardboard and hardboard which is only hard enough not to get screws in properly but yet crumbles like a granola bar randomly. So fake particle board (!) as if real particle board wasn't crummy enough! But yet are monstrously expensive. And being literally pressed dust, they are always requiring some sort of repair or new hardware. And don't get me started on their vindictive nature of cupboard doors and drawers in general. How many fingers have they bitten? So I say down with doors and up with curtains! I let them fall by attrition and then replace them with curtains on tension bars. Soooo much safer, more convenient, prettier and neater. I store all bathroom linens in open baskets on free standing shelves. Value added is that it keeps me accountable and my shelves tidier being open to public view.
So hit those flea markets and hunt up some decorative, new ways to organize and store your stuff!
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