8 Creative Ways To Repurpose Old Patio Furniture To Use Around Your Home & Yard
As you start preparing your home for the summer, you might be thinking of the furniture and accessories you need to make it more comfortable and enjoyable. Maybe you have your eye on a shiny new lounge chair or a fun plant container. However, we want to turn your attention to the old patio furniture that you may have forgotten about because you might be able to repurpose those pieces into something you need around your home and yard. That old chair or table might be just what you need to make a porch swing, a new living room bench, a play table, or even a kitchen island.
There are many creative ways to repurpose old furniture, and a big part of that is thinking outside the box. While they might be weathered and falling apart as units, you can find new uses for their parts. With a little creativity and innovation, old patio furniture can be upcycled into items that can add a bit more ease and even fun into your everyday life.
1. Plant containers
Old patio chairs can be easily turned into planters. Take off the seat and insert a pot through the seat hole so it looks like the plant is growing out of the chair, or place the chair frame in the middle of your garden if you have a lot of tall plants growing out of the ground so they shoot out and around it. A third option, which allows you to keep more control over the plants, is to keep the chair's seat and simply place the plants on top.
2. Bench
A bench is the perfect multifunctional piece to add to virtually any space because it's so versatile. To repurpose your table, cut its legs shorter or take off the tabletop and add new legs to it. You now have a simple low bench that you can use either inside or outside. It can come in handy in the yard if you need a place to sit while working, or in the bedroom or laundry room if you need additional surface area.
3. Pet beds
With an chair, upgrade your furry friend's simple cushion into a proper bed. You can keep things simple by removing the seat part of an old chair and attaching the bed to it to give it more structure, or you can take off the chair legs and leave the seat and back parts to give the bed a headboard as well. Just make sure the chair matches the size of the pet bed.
4. Side table
Old patio furniture can also be repurposed into a side table or two that you can use inside or outside. By cutting down a table or taking the back off a chair, you can get a new coffee table or serving table. It can hold your drinks, books, or remotes in the living room or at your bedside, or be used to serve refreshments if you're hosting people in your yard. One tip to make it more custom is to repurpose something else for your new table's base, like a sturdy tree trunk or piece of driftwood.
5. Floating makeup table or vanity
If you have a small, simple patio table, you can turn it into a floating makeup table or vanity for your bedroom by adding drawers, a mirror, and lights to it. Cut the tabletop into the vanity surface and build pull-out drawers to fit, then hang up a mirror on the wall above and install some vanity lights. You can install lights on the wall or get LED lights that you can stick onto the mirror. Save yourself from spending a lot of money on a readymade vanity with this DIY project.
6. Children's play table
Another creative way to repurpose an old patio table is to turn it into a kids' play table with some drawers underneath. This will give your kids compartments to store their games and keep them in one place, and a nice surface to play games that need a tabletop like legos or toy trains. If needed, trim and shorten the table to be more compact and to be comfortable for your kid's height. One tip to make the surface more functional is to paint it with chalkboard paint so your kids can also write or draw on it.
7. Kitchen island
If you have an old but sturdy wooden patio table or serving cart with a versatile look, consider cleaning it up, refinishing it, and repurposing it into a basic, industrial-style island. It will be much more affordable than a traditional island but still a stylish solution for creating more counter space in your kitchen. One tip to make it more functional is to add casters to its legs so you can move it around. Do you also have some old patio stool chairs? You can combine them with the island table because they won't look out of place.
8. Swings
This can be done with small, wooden tabletops. Take off the legs, add thick, sturdy ropes or chains to all four corners, and then pad the surface by fastening a nice cushion to it. If using indoors, fasten the swing to the ceiling with a mounting set that includes tools like screws, bolts, and brackets. For an outdoor swing, you can fasten it to a big tree. Safety is crucial with a swing so make sure it is fastened very securely. To make it more comfortable and stylish, add accessories like pillows and blankets.