Today’s Rethink & Reuse is somewhat selfish. You see, I have a type drawer that I bought to display some family photos at our wedding. I absolutely love it, but apart from a brief stint as an advent calendar two Christmases ago, I’m actually at a bit of a loss as to what to do with it now.

Here are what some clever folks are repurposing theirs for:

Jewellery rack | Tonya Staab

Shadow box | Apartment Therapy

Shadow box | Design*Sponge

Craft supply storage | 26 Letters

Memento coffee table | Zween

These are all great ideas, but I already have jewellery storage and a coffee table, prefer my craft supplies to be kept out of sight and I don’t really have many tiny mementos for a memory box. I would LOVE to hear your suggestions of what I could do with my cool – but currently useless – type drawer.

Can you believe it’s only three days until Christmas?! Sheesh.

The fact that I have no idea where this entire year went is my excuse for not having given you an update on this project since, um, April. Oops.

So, at long last, here is the famous blue buffet in situ in my office. (Sorry for the odd cropping, it was impossible to get the whole thing in without the filing cabinet creeping in the foreground. Note to self: get wide-angle lens.)

For the first few months it was looking great (so much decorating potential!)… until my printer died. Yes, the one that was hidden oh-so-neatly inside the desk cupboard had to be replaced by this absolute monster. It’s an awesome printer, but see how it’s so enormous it hangs over the edges? And that’s not even fully extended. Here is the beast in all its glory:

Ack! Anyway, ugly techno-stuff aside, let’s talk decorating. I decided to reuse the clipboards that held our wedding menus to display new designs while I mull them over. Thing is, I haven’t really been using them in that way so now they just look boring. I could easily find some cute pieces to pin up, but this is a very hardworking room and I can’t justify a whole wall of impractical prettiness!

The type drawer is another piece reused from our wedding (kindly ignore the awkwardly high hanging – I just used the existing hooks). This time last year I used it as an advent calendar but apart from that I’ve been struggling to find a use for it.

I’m still in love with the awesome colour pop and much-needed storage and workspace that the sideboard offers, but I’m not loving the overall look of that area. I have a few ideas in mind that I need to consider and I’ll let you know how I go!

Doing what I do, I come across a ton of decorating ideas and after a while you feel like you’ve seen it all before.

Not so in this case. What an original (not to mention beautifully decorated, styled and photographed) idea this is for families who no longer need their cot. It looks like it would be a bit impractical for a desk (as there’s nowhere for your legs) but how handy would it be for an extra workbench with storage like in this photo?

Via Achados De Decoracao (if anyone knows the original source please let me know as I would love to credit them)

There’s nothing I hate more than being half-way through a project and running out of materials and having to run to the shops (or worse, order again online and wait for weeks). So instead I’ll buy way more materials than I need, which leaves me with craft boxes full of leftovers and a lighter wallet.

Thanks to this handy chart from Little Green Notebook, you can instantly calculate your fabric yardage required for your next upholstery project. (Use this tool to convert to metres.)

This type of renovation is not for the faint hearted, but is it ever worth it for gobsmacking results like this:

See the rest of the home and read the owner’s story over on Design*Sponge.

Side note: I am trying to explain to The Man about the difference between good exposed brick and bad exposed brick. Ryan, this is most definitely the good kind.

I’ve already covered how you can turn old doors into headboards and wedding decorations, now let’s look at some ideas for all around the home.

Door decor via Design*Sponge

Bookshelves by Woodbird Design via Salvaged Grace

Chalkboard by Poetic Home

Coffee table by Green is Universal

Door decor by Easie Peasie

Door desk by & Unlimited

Photo frame by Row House

Pot rack by Do It Yourself

Potting bench by Viveka Gil via Compulsively Compiled | Hallstand by Reused Relics

Swing by PMD

Garden arbour by Confessions of a Curb Shopaholic

Dining table via Design*Sponge

Weekly planner by Donation 2 Decor

Now, who’s going scouring the neighbourhood kerbs for some great old doors to upcycle.

Seven months after we purchased the brackets to mount our new TV, we have finally mounted it!

Here are some quick snaps of the totally unedited and unstyled before and after, complete with a) The Man reclining with a book and b) clutter all over the sofa because I didn’t realise you’d be able to see the reflection.

Zero points for decorating, I know, but I’m still loving the difference. Don’t you think it looks so much more airy and less of a big dark boxy blob?

It’s a really big TV for such a small space so having it that bit further away from the couch makes it feel much less in your face. Being able to get rid of the chunky stand means I’ll have the whole surface of the entertainment unit to play with, rather than having to work the decor in the two awkward end spaces.

Next challenge: dealing with the ugly cord situation.

I was intending to do a post on doors upcycled for various uses… until I found like a hundred great examples just for headboards so I figured it deserved its own post.

Dreamy Whites via HGTV

Fresh Home Ideas | Better Homes & Gardens via Apartment Therapy

Under the Sycamore via Design*Sponge

Sherry Hart Designs via Emily A. Clark

Birdhouse Interior Design

Hus & Hem via Remodelista

A Pair of Pears

House Beautiful

Design*Sponge

Daisy Woodworks

Country Living | Better Homes & Gardens

Remodelaholic

Cluck Cluck Sew

HGTV

Studio 30:31 via Design*Sponge

Dirt Cheap Decor

Do it Yourself

I’ll tell ya what, if my bed didn’t already have a headboard I’d be scouring the roadside for an old door straight away.

Who doesn’t love that warm and fuzzy feeling of knowing you’re reducing waste by reusing materials? One of the most versatile items to upcycle into furniture, it seems, is the humble wooden pallet.

Coffee table by Norske Interior Blogger.

Daybed in this too-cute-for-words nursery by the crazy talented photographer Ashley Ann.

Perhaps the little one needs a real bed like this one (via MonkeyZen).

…or yourself. (I still remember reading this article years ago in Home Beautiful. Styling by Pia Jane Bijerk and rediscovered on Design*Sponge.)

Maybe just a headboard is all you need (Stylizimo via Creature Comforts).

Put it all on display like chris.shutter.

Katrin Erens’s farmhouse plate racks via Remodelista.

Vertical garden by Life on the Balcony.

Great display shelving available from IndianSummerGarden.

This looks like it’s in a restaurant but on a smaller scale it would be great for a domestic dining area or office.

Add some hooks and pegs to make a cute rack (See Saw Design).

You could even construct your entire office from pallets like Most Architcture did! (via Javakonindo)

Yesterday I shared how I updated a tired old buffet, but the interior still left a lot to be desired.

Can you imagine storing your cutlery on that scungy green felt? Yech. I’ll be using to store craft and packaging supplies so it doesn’t have to be good enough to eat off but still definitely needed to go.

I assumed the felt was inserted separately into each section, but it was actually one whole piece so it was a little trickier than anticipated.

It also left a lot of residue, but that was easily removed with a damp cloth and a paint scraper.

I swear I drove all over town looking for some decent wrapping paper that would suit the room’s palette of yellow, grey and white (and now blue). I didn’t find what I was looking for, but this silver and white contemporary lace pattern will do (it is only inside a drawer after all). I just cut it by eye (if anyone has any tricks please leave them in the comments!) and stuck on with some double-sided tape. The metallic finish was hard to photograph, so here’s a closeup:

I suspect all the other drawers in the house are feeling a tad jealous.