Six "Trash-To-Treasure" Furniture Revamping Ideas

How many people here can admit to giving the ol' heave-ho to slightly scratched, worn or outdated furniture, household and/or decorative items at some point in your life? For whatever reason, perhaps they weren't hip, cool, mod, shabby-chic or bohemian enough? Do you recall hearing a friend talk about how they replaced all of their bath towels so they'd match their new curtains, or maybe your own sister ditched her perfectly practical L-shaped desk in favor of a new teak wood one from World Market?

Is any of this really even necessary? The "use it, get tired of it and get a new one" mentality has gone on long enough, don't you think? We may be fickle creatures, but it is so much more eco-friendly and cost effective to take what you already have and put your personal stamp on it. Plus, it's really satisfying to transform junk into treasure and know that it's a one-of-a-kind creation. You don't even have to be blessed with wicked right-brained skills to pull it off -- just tear a page from artist Donna Walker's book and rethink what you trash.

Remember the junky plastic lawn furniture that you may have inherited from your loopy aunt with the 17 cats...or perhaps you retrieved it from the odiferous dumpster behind your apartment?

What about those mismatched ugly-as-sin wooden chairs that you spotted on someone's curb and snatched up just moments before the garbage truck pulled up?

You could paint them, you could throw a slipcover over them, you could definitely repurpose them or you could just wrap each framework with contrasting bits of outdated clothing that you'll probably never get around to wearing. Hmmm, never thought of doing that before, did you? Me neither!

Ever consider creating your own funky floating wall lamps out of pieces that someone else no longer wanted? With a fresh coat of paint and a quick reupholstery adventure, they could be right as rain once again.

How many households have an iron that has been intentionally shunned for years on end? You'd really turn heads offering your guests a seat on this repurposed number, constructed with reclaimed medium-density fiber and refinished with recycled leather and buttons.

If you're lucky enough to scoop an old fashioned commode seat out of the garbage like Walker did, you too can ixnay the toilet function and instead convert the bottom into a handy storage drawer for reading materials, remote controls, cds and maybe even a collection of art accessories!  Paint and new fabric takes this relic of centuries past into an entirely new orbit of cool.