I had a stall at a vintage fair recently and got chatting to a couple of lovely ladies about some of the items I had for sale. It was a fairly obscure piece and one that would baffle most people. When they asked ‘what do you do with that?’ I proceeded to rattle off a number of suggestions. I could see their ‘lightbulb’ moment happening before my eyes.
I realised that while some ideas for repurposing vintage pieces might seem obvious to me that isn’t necessarily the case for others. I thought I’d run through a few of my current finds to show you what I mean.
Vintage iron chicken feeder
Now this is the item my customers pondered long and hard over before venturing to ask me what it was. If you are a farmer, small holder or keeper of chickens then it might well seem obvious. But, before you dismiss it as having no relevance to your lifestyle let me explain why it might.
This particular item in question is exceptionally good quality. It’s very heavy and not as flimsy as the more modern galvanised metal ones you often see. In addition, it’s painted the most lovely shade of green. When I saw it I snapped it up because I could see it’s potential to be repurposed as:
A condiments holder down the centre of a table
A candle holder
To grow herbs in on the window sill
An organiser by a sink to hold vegetable scrubbing brushes etc
A vase or planter
A chamber pot
Now this one is so pretty- it is decorated inside as well as outside so almost a shame to cover it up. When I bought it I had these ideas in mind:
A planter for spring bulbs- just imagine it filled with muscari
A friend of mine had one of these in her downstairs loo (a fitting place for it I know) filled with lavender to make the room fragrant. An inspired idea that gives a nod to it’s original use.
Escargot pots
If I had a pound for every person that asks me what these little pots are I’d be doing pretty well. These gorgeous stoneware pots were used in France to serve snails in. Too cute to ignore, the pots that is (I’m not sure about the snails) I wanted to find a way to reuse these so here are my ideas:
Mini paint pots for mixing colours for artists.
Serving individual portions of butter
Putting earrings or rings in for safe-keeping
making your own ‘tea light’ sized candles
Baskets
This is probably a cheat because most of us have a basket or two sequestered around the house. They obviously come in all sorts of shapes and sizes but if you want to do more than take them shopping then here are a few ideas:
I have magazines by the side of the sofa in mine
keeping your knitting or sewing projects in so you can easily transport them to wherever you need them.
lined with plastic and planted up- my friend has a rather lovely display of pansies in hers
Depending on how deep they are you can stand a plant in them and then they double up as a nice planter
Dough bowls
A dough bowl is another item that I am often asked what it is. These bowls are made of wood which, in themselves, just make a really lovely natural decorative object. I love rustic wood and have a couple of these in my home. While originally used to put dough in to rise (and indeed there is no reason why they still can’t be used for that) I’ve found many other ways to incorporate their rustic charm into the home:
Keeping loo rolls in
Filled with fir cones and come winter drizzled with an orange / cinnamon essential oil to fill the house with Christmassy vibe
A fruit bowl
To serve cutlery wrapped in a napkin at a garden party
Made into a planter or centrepiece for a table setting
Serving bread rolls
Filled with shells for a coffee table centrepiece
Cigar presses
These also provide a bit of a conversation starter when seen in their natural form. No one has an idea what to do with them until they see my own repurposed creations where I turn them into delightful bud vases. They are fabulous on a narrow mantlepiece or down the middle of a table where space is limited for large vases. You can fill them with any height flowers so they don’t prevent you struggling to see the person seated opposite you. So simple and effective and no styling skill required- a win win!
I have even sold one to a lady that wanted to propagate some seedlings in them.
Trugs, cutlery caddies, drawers and printer’s trays
The latter are quite well known I think now as being used to put tiny keepsakes in to create a collection to display on the wall but did you know trugs and cutlery or shoe cleaning caddies can work well too?
I have lined my trug with fabric, turned it on it’s side and used it as another form of display shelving for smaller pieces. An old wooden drawer has had a paint-lift and also become a display place for my vintage lead figures. Waste-not-want-not.
A lady I met was using her cutlery caddy to store packets of seeds.
Olive oil pots and flagons
Now this would be way beyond my capabilities but it isn’t beyond James and Joanna Designs They turn beautiful oil pots into lamp bases- genius! I have a couple myself.
Grain Sacks, quilts and tablecloths
The aforementioned James and Joanna Designs also do a great range of lampshades made out of old grain sacks. I’ve also seen them turned into cushions. While I don’t have any of the cushions in my house I do have some grain sacks. Only problem is I don’t like sewing so that is where you creative types come in.
I’ve also seen the grain sacks unpicked and made into a table runner. So simple to do that maybe even I could manage that.
Simona at Love life love vintage is a master of creation turning old French postal sacks, quilts and embroidery samplers into great little ‘bits and bobs’ bags.
Anyone that has visited me on my stand might well have spotted, or even commented (it does attract a fair bit of attention) on my bunting. An ingenious use of often forgotten embroidered table cloths- you know the kind our grandmothers lovingly made but have fallen into disuse these days.
Garden sieves or riddles
I used one of these as a decoration for an outdoor wedding but it has been know to be a handy tray (obviously you can’t put anything too heavy in it) but the depth of the sides mean nothing has the potential to slide off. It also doubles up as a useful place to put cutlery wrapped in napkins for an outdoor party.
Brick moulds
With bricks being mass produced a lot these days you can sometimes be lucky enough to find a vintage wooden brick mould. I have one in the kitchen that I keep various bottles of olive oil in but as you can see it has sometimes had a life as a sink caddy or for cutlery. In the words of Winnie-the-Poo they are ‘useful pots to put things in’.
So there you are! a little bit of creativity and some lateral thinking and beautiful old pieces can be repurposed to live a second life as well as provide the occasional talking point.
