Repurpose Your Broken Grandfather Clock Into Beautiful DIY Home Decor

If you have an old or broken grandfather clock, your first instinct may be to send it to charity or toss it out, especially if it's becoming a bit worse for wear. However, it turns out that you could create something rather unique with it: a beautiful DIY bookshelf, as shown by @aminordetail on TikTok. While it may seem like an unusual item to repurpose, you should end up with a unique result that will really pack a punch with that "wow factor" and provide you with plenty of storage. This applies whether you want to utilize it as a bookshelf or place some decorative pieces around your home — the options are endless.

Of course, another obvious benefit of this hack is the upcycling part, as it means your costs will be incredibly low overall, making it a great budget DIY project. Not to mention that it's also much better for the planet rather than producing even more unnecessary waste that will end up in landfills. If you're just starting out in your DIY journey, then this would be a fantastic place to start, and certainly makes for a very trendy home décor piece. 

For this hack, you'll need two wooden slabs or more, depending on how many shelves you want (which you can cut from a larger wooden slab), a tape measure, some wood stain, which you can grab off Amazon for $8.47, or paint if you prefer, a saw, and a brad nailer. To begin the process, you'll first need to remove the "insides" of the clock, including the weight, pendulum, and chains, if they're still in there. Once they're removed, you can take your tape measure and plan out the dimensions for your wood pieces that will sit inside your grandfather clock, sawing them to the appropriate size. Now all you have to do is secure them in place using your brad nailer, ensuring you leave enough space between each shelf for the items you want.

When that's done, you can move on to painting the inside with your wood stain, ensuring that you spread it evenly throughout for a satisfying finish, covering the undersides and top of your shelves, as well as the other areas, such as the back and sides. Once it's dry, you can add your books, even implementing some bookends if necessary. If you don't have enough books to fill the space, you can always add other items, such as plants or ornaments.

If you want to add your own flair and create some showstopping home décor, then you have plenty of options. For example, try giving your grandfather clock a lick of paint in some bold colors to create an eye-catching piece or adding some strip LED lights, which you can purchase off Amazon for $29.99. This way, your grandfather clock DIY could double as both a bookshelf and an ambient lighting piece, which will undoubtedly add a very unique twist to it. After all, who else do you know who has a grandfather clock that glows? In addition, you could also swap out the wooden shelves for some glass shelves for a more modern look, but you'd have to stick to using brackets to secure them, as nails would likely shatter the glass. Finally, you may also want to add some funky wallpaper, which would pair well with a similar-colored paint.

The reason why this hack works so well is because the inside of it has plenty of space, making it incredibly easy to slot things in there. Just make sure that your shelves can hold the weight of your books or whatever else you decide to put on there, otherwise, you could end up with one very broken DIY instead! Now, you can place your repurposed DIY anywhere around your home to add a striking touch, whether in your lounge, bedroom, entryway, or kitchen.