23 Common Household Items You Can Repurpose Into Unique DIY Home Decor

Decorating your home is a highly personal experience, so the items you choose to incorporate into your space should reflect your individual style. While there are certainly many options that you can purchase pre-made and ready to display, there's something special about building your own décor pieces so they better align with your unique taste. With that being said, however, completely creating pieces from scratch requires quite a bit of skill, effort, and often money. Before jumping into the deep end with a complicated project, consider starting out with some simpler modification and repurposing projects that involve items you already have to get you started off on the right foot.

By adding your own personal spin on one of your belongings, you can decrease the amount of money you have to spend on your project, give new life to an item that would have otherwise gone to waste, and help reduce your negative environmental impact. According to a survey from Statista in 2017, only 21% of respondents said they regularly upcycled materials, despite these benefits. While it might take a bit more effort to turn an old plate into a clock or use your glass bottles as decorative vases than tossing them straight into the trash, taking on these projects can give you the ability to make your space truly your own in an environmentally-friendly way.

Our plates see quite a bit of use in our day-to-day lives. Multiple meals a day, frequent washing, and difficult moves can contribute to wear and tear over time. If you have some plates that are leftovers from an old set or that no longer get a ton of use, consider repurposing them into décor. One of the most interesting ways to repurpose a plate is to turn it into a clock with the help of an easy-to-install clock kit, but they can also be hung up as wall décor as-is or repurposed as trinket dishes.

Kettles are an essential kitchen item for any tea-drinker, but they can be transformed into an essential décor piece with a bit of TLC. Because they're already designed to be watertight and have a convenient opening along the top, you can easily turn your kettle into a unique planter or vase with the addition of some flowers. Your new décor piece can be placed on a surface to display or, if you're feeling more creative, you can use the attached handle to turn your kettle into a hanging or mounted planter.

While clipboards might seem like they don't have a ton of uses outside of the office, they can actually be used to add a bit of customizable charm to your space. Take your clipboard, decorate it, and then mount it on the wall with Command strips. If you were just looking for something to act as a canvas, you can display your new art without any further modifications. If you want to take it a step further, however, the included clip can also act as a convenient place to hang prints or photos without causing any damage from pushpins.

Whether they were previously used to hold wine or ketchup, glass bottles have plenty of different uses around your space. Start by giving your bottle a good clean, then use a steam cleaner or some baking soda to help loosen stubborn stickers and remove any adhesive residue. Once you're done cleaning the bottle, you can start brainstorming ways to use it as décor. Particularly interesting bottles can add some texture and variety to your space as-is, but they can also be used as vases, candle holders, or lanterns with the addition of some fairy lights.

If you don't routinely host or batch-make drinks, it's likely that the pitchers you have in your kitchen aren't getting much love in your day-to-day routine. Instead of letting them sit unused in a cabinet, consider repurposing them as décor. Pitchers are great to display fresh flowers, but they can also be left empty if you're just looking for something to bring some more interest to a shelf. If your pitcher is looking a little bland, you can also give it a coat of paint to better match your space and make it appear more intentional.

Tin cans might seem like they're just a utilitarian piece of packaging, but they can be surprisingly chic when styled correctly. After you open up a can of vegetables or finish off a tin of coffee, remove the label and give it a thorough clean. From here, don't be afraid to get creative with how you reuse them. They can be mounted on the wall as a decorative planter, used as a more rustic alternative to a traditional vase, or even just repurposed as a pen holder to bring some more charm to your office space. 

Saving corks from interesting wine bottles or as a keepsake of a special moment is nothing new. However, what do you do with them once they're out of the bottle? Luckily, there are plenty of different ways to repurpose corks and use them as crafting material when making your own décor. Glue them onto a backing to create a textured wall hanging, lay them flat and attach several together to create your own custom coasters, or use them as vase filler if you're looking for something a bit more unique than the normal glass pebbles.

Glass jars can make a product feel more high-end and luxurious, but once you've emptied the container, it can feel wasteful to toss out something that still has so much life left. There are plenty of different functional and utilitarian ways to reuse old glass jars around the house, but with a bit of a facelift, they can also be turned into a fashionable décor piece. Use them as planters, transform them into an organizer, or paint on some designs using traditional or faux stained glass paint to create a unique vessel for an LED candle.

Though tablecloths are great for protecting your delicate surfaces from spills and hot dishes, more intricate or ornate textiles typically don't get much use beyond special occasions. To display them year-round without having to worry about damage, consider framing them. This is a low-cost way to create a large piece of wall art, especially if you can source a frame for a lower price second-hand. Fabric tablecloths can also be turned into interesting throw pillow covers or even curtains if you're willing to cut them down and put in a bit of work sewing.

Teacups are already miniature works of art on their own, so it just makes sense to repurpose old teacups around the house as decorations. For a simple DIY that doesn't require a ton of work, try using your teacup as a planter or a convenient collection point for your keys or loose change. If you have a teacup that's been cracked or chipped, however, this likely isn't the best option, as frequent handling might cause the damage to worsen. Instead, try breaking it up into smaller pieces and using it to create your very own custom mosaic wall art.

Although pillowcases might seem like they don't have that many uses besides bedding, they're actually surprisingly easy to repurpose. For a simple DIY that can help bring a pop of color to your space and block out direct sunlight, consider turning your pillowcase into a curtain with the help of some clip-on rings and a curtain rod. If your pillowcase has a particularly interesting pattern — or if you want to try your hand at embroidery — you can also frame it to create a piece of oversized, customizable wall art on a budget.

Glassware is often designed to be both beautiful and functional, so it just makes sense to repurpose it as décor. Wine glasses in particular are a great candidate for this transformation, especially if you have a few leftovers from a set that don't quite match the rest of your cups. Use one as a vessel for making your own candles, repurpose it as a vase or planter for a small pop of greenery, or flip it over and place a tea light on the base for an interesting twist on a plain candle holder.

Accessorizing your space without leaving it looking cluttered or disorganized can be a challenge, but placing items on a small tray can help to make everything look more cohesive and intentional. No tray? No problem! Try using a cutting board instead. Just about any kind of cutting board can work for this task, so long as you make sure it's thoroughly cleaned and dried before using. If it has damage from knives or is still looking a bit too much like it belongs in the kitchen, give it a coat of paint or cover it in contact paper.

Cake stands can help to elevate your home-baked treats, both literally and figuratively, but they can also do the same for other small décor pieces you want to incorporate into your space. If you want to spotlight a particular item or turn something simple into a display or centerpiece, try placing it on top of a cake stand. Because they're already meant to be decorative, you likely won't have to do a ton of work to make your stand look like an intentional décor piece and blend it into your existing setup.

Shopping online can be so much more convenient than buying items in-store, but all of those shipping materials can add up. If you have some extra cardboard boxes lying around, consider giving them a bit of an upgrade and repurposing them as functional décor. Cover the outside with some scrap fabric or contact paper to conceal the boring brown surface, then add on some trim or ribbon to polish up the edges. Once you're done, you can use your boxes to store just about anything from toilet paper in the bathroom to miscellaneous items on your shelves.

Books have always had a place in the décor world, but they're good for more than just filling up empty shelves. If you have some books with particularly interesting spines, stack them and use them as a platform to bring some height and dimension to your other décor pieces. If you have some books lying around that are in less-than-ideal condition, you can also use these as an opportunity to create your own DIY book stack. Place the books on top of each other, paint the spines, and use them as a base for a vinyl cutout.

It's not uncommon to end up with far more baking pans than you use on a regular basis, so if you're looking to declutter your kitchen, trimming down your collection of bakeware is a great place to start. Instead of trashing these pieces, however, consider using them to make unique home décor. Because they're usually fairly simple in shape, these pans make a fantastic base for a wide variety of projects. Turn a pie pan into a clock, upcycle a baking sheet into a decorative tray, or use a bundt pan as unique planter.

Watering cans certainly have a functional role in the home and garden. However, they can also make for a solid addition to your décor if you're looking for a way to curate a rustic or farmhouse look. Because watering cans are, of course, designed to be watertight, they make a great base for a DIY vase or unique planter. If you're looking for a way to repurpose a watering can that has a leak or damage, however, it can also be used to hold faux flowers or simply as an addition to your other décor pieces.

While serving trays and dishes are absolute necessities when you're serving a large meal, if you don't host all that often, they likely don't get a ton of use. Instead of letting them gather dust in the cabinet, consider hanging them up as display pieces. If they're still a bit boring or don't align with your taste, this also presents a great opportunity to use your paintbrushes and play around with a new canvas. For pieces that are too heavy or bulky to go on the wall, you can also repurpose them as decorative trays or trinket dishes.

Instead of tucking away your ironing board in the laundry room and never using it, turn it into a chic décor piece. Depending on how old your ironing board is, the frame is likely made of metal or wood. After stripping off the outer layer of fabric, you can give it a coat of paint and decorate it with hand-painted words, drawn-on designs, or vinyl cutouts if you want to ensure absolute precision. Once you're done, let it dry and hang it on the wall to finish off your large-scale and completely-customizable décor piece.

When you're decorating your home, one of the easiest ways to bring in some color and texture is by adding rugs. If your rug has seen better days, however, it can be a major eyesore in your space. When it's time to toss out your old rug in favor of something new, cut out a piece that isn't damaged or stained, then mount it in a frame and hang it on your wall. It's guaranteed to already match the room, and it's a fun way to make the most of a piece that you've likely had for years.

Now that video games are more popular and accessible than ever, it's likely that your board games aren't getting as much play time as they once were. If you have some board games on hand that are missing pieces, outdated, or simply collecting dust in your closet, consider repurposing them as home décor. This is an especially great idea if you're still holding onto board games that are nostalgic, but the complex and often-colorful designs of these boards can add a fun novelty pop to your space regardless of their age or personal importance.

Repurposing projects don't have to be complex to be effective, and this silverware DIY is the perfect example. If you have any old forks, knives, or spoons lying around, bend them into a hook shape with some pliers and then secure them to your wall or a piece of scrap wood to act as hooks. This is a great way to create some extra — and on-theme — storage to hold hanging items like pots and pans or aprons in your kitchen, but it could easily be mounted anywhere else in the house where you're looking for a fun storage solution.