Double Duty: Put Your Furniture to Work

Hi my friends, today I am sharing a guest post with you.  I am not receiving any type of compensation.  I have shared a post by Merri Cvetan before, a designer who writes for Home Depot.  When asked if I would be interested in sharing again, I decided it might be a fun change.

 

I hope you enjoy her post.

 

One of the biggest issues homeowners, renters and students living in dorm rooms struggle with is storage. It doesn’t matter how many closets we have—we always seem to need more. If building an addition onto your house just to

 

 

have a place for your stuff isn’t in your plans, it’s time to get creative. Interior designers are challenged with this problem all the time. One of the best solutions is to choose furniture items or accessories that can do double duty.

 

The best way to do that? Hunt for secondhand furniture and turn it into something both beautiful and useful. There are two things to consider when buying used furniture:

1.      The condition. Is it solid and sturdy? You don’t want to have to tear it apart and rebuild it. Be sure to do the “sit test”. If it’s a chair, make sure you sit on it before you buy it. Don’t worry about chipped or worn paint—that’s an easy fix.

 

2.      The price. Who doesn’t love a bargain?

 

 

This little cabinet was the latest and greatest entertainment stand when TVs were square and boxy. You hid your VCR and tapes behind the smoky glass doors and ran the cords through holes in the back. I knew I could repurpose this TV stand into a cute little storage cabinet/bench.

 

 

However, a bench has to have a padded seat. After all, we want our guests to be comfortable! First, I found a pretty, watercolor-looking fabric for the seat cover. Then, I chose a paint color that coordinated with the colors in the print. A not-so-secret designer tip is to always choose your paint color last. It’s so much easier and less stressful to pick a paint color when you have something to work from.

 

 

I picked a medium blue for the outside and left the inside black. A dark interior doesn’t draw any attention to the inside, but a contrasting color would give it a completely different look.

 

Then, the ideas are limitless! Fill it with storage boxes, containers or cubes to hide kids’ toys—if your children know where their things go, they’re more likely to put them away. Use the cabinet for out-of-sight pet toy storage. Stack magazines, books or DVDs, or add baskets to hold craft supplies.

When placed next to a chair without the cushion, it’s pretty little side table perfect for collectibles with plenty of room to

 place a drink.

 

 

 

It's great for hidden storage and a comfy seat.

 

 

Another designer trick is to tuck benches or additional seats in out of the way places, like under a big cupboard or console table. You don’t always need extra seating, but when you do, it can easily be pulled out and used in any room. If this stand didn’t come with wheels, I would have added them just for this purpose. Wheels make a piece of furniture like this storage cabinet more accessible and practical.  seating.

You can also customize this project to fit your personal storage needs. Use a larger or smaller cabinet based on the items you’ll be storing. To get the most

out of your new double-duty furniture, add dividers, storage bins or drawers to help sort the contents, so you can find what you need more easily.

 

Interior designer Merri Cvetan is an expert on furniture styles, storage concepts and design, and heads up MEC Design Studio in Wisconsin.  Merri uses her expertise to write for The Home Depot. To research more storage options available on Home Depot's website, you can click here.

 

While we are on the subject of repurposing furniture I want to show you this fun bench.  My son and daughter in law made it as a gift for my grandsons wedding in less than two weeks.

 

 

Guess what makes this bench so fun?  It is made from the first bed that hubby and I bought.  We had given it to our son years ago.  They bought a new bed and repurposed this for our grandson Kade and his soon to be wife Ashley.  This lucky couple is building a new home and it is going out on their porch.  Won't it be cute?

The photo isn't the best.  My dil sent it to me when it was drying in their garage.  We will be displaying it at the wedding and I hope to get a better photo.

 

Have you repurposed anything lately?

hugs,

Jann