17 Stylish Ways To Repurpose Bike Wheels In Your Home Or Garden

Have an old bicycle rusting away in your yard? Before you throw it out, consider giving some new life to the wheels. Old bike wheels have a certain vintage charm, and with a little love and some TLC, they can be repurposed into so many different things around the home and garden. In the garden, an old bike wheel can make a great DIY garden trellis or a set of melodic wind chimes. Inside the home, old bike wheels can serve functional purposes like holding pots and pans, or they can be turned into fun pieces of artwork.

Whether you're looking to spruce up your home with some new artwork or simply want to keep your old bike wheels from going to the landfill, you'll love these DIY bike wheel projects. Even if you don't happen to have a bike or bike wheels lying around, odds are a neighbor or friend has one they'd love for you to take off their hands! Flea markets and thrift shops are also great places to look for old bikes or bike wheels. 

Repurposing old or unwanted items is a great way to reduce waste and gain some fun new decor in the meantime. Some of these projects call for just one bike wheel, while others call for using multiple old wheels put together. Even if your old bike wheels are dirty or in rough condition, you can still clean them up and upcycle them with these 17 stylish ways to repurpose old bike wheels in your home or garden.

Feeling festive? You can easily turn an old bike wheel into a holiday wreath to hang on your front door. For a Christmas wreath, glue pine to the spokes and rim, add festive ribbons, or even attach some pinecones! For a spooky fall wreath, some fake cobwebs and spiders will do the trick. You can even paint the wheel pink and glue some flowers on it for spring. For an extra touch, wrap some twine around the rim. The options are seemingly endless for transforming old bike wheels into a gorgeous wreath alternative.

For something a little more functional, transform an old bike wheel into a light fixture. To keep it simple, just paint the bike wheel and wrap string lights around the spokes and rim. If you want to create something a little more extravagant, you can turn it into a chandelier! There are a lot of different ways to go about this, but all you'll really need is hardware to mount the bike wheel to the ceiling, beads, a lightbulb, bulb holder, some spray paint, and you're good to go.

A really simple yet functional way to repurpose an old bike wheel is to turn it into a clothes hanger. The spokes on a bike wheel function great as a place to hang dry your clothes. For this project, you'll definitely want to make sure you thoroughly clean the wheel to prevent any rust or old grease from getting on your clean clothes. Then, all you'll need is some string or twine to hang the wheel up off the ground — just make sure it's strong enough to support the weight of wet clothes.

A super fun way to repurpose an old bike wheel is to transform it into a photo board. To keep it simple, use clothespins to attach the photos to the spokes for a very cute and unique way to display your photos. For a more involved project, paint the bike wheel, and add decorations like fake flowers, twine, and ribbons to the wheel. Think of it like scrapbooking, except you're using an old bike wheel. You can even double up and use two overlapping bike wheels to create a larger piece.

Clocks make for great home decor. Not only do they help you stay on time, but they can also be very stylish. A really neat way to repurpose an old bike wheel is to turn it into a wall clock. There are a few different ways to go about it, but you'll generally need to use a clock mechanism, something to function as the hands of the clock, and some glue. Craft the numbers out of wood, cardstock, or another unique material. For a more simple piece, you can omit the numbers entirely.

Hanging plants inside is a great way to give your home a nice, airy, and natural feel. If you have an old bike wheel lying around, why not try repurposing it into a plant hanger? With a little twine and some jars, you can create a beautiful, rustic plant hanger. This is a great way to show off the beautiful plants inside your home. You can also hang your plant hanger out in the garden from a tree or on your front porch. Feel free to use plants that vine to create a lush, jungly look.

Having your pots and pans hanging above your kitchen cooking space is very convenient. You won't have to dig through drawers and cabinets to find the right saucepan, and it's also a nice way to show off your pretty cookware. If you have an old bike wheel hanging around, you can hang it up in your kitchen with some hardware, give it a nice paint job, and add some hooks for a cool steampunk fixture in your kitchen. You'll want to make sure the bike wheel is in good condition and sturdy enough to support all the weight.

Who doesn't love having beautiful, creeping vines in their garden? A garden trellis offers support and helps vining plants climb taller, and you can easily create one out of an old bike wheel! If you have something to prop the bike wheel up, use twine or string to connect the wheel to the planter box, giving the vines something to grow on. A simpler way to use bike wheels as a trellis involves just attaching the bike wheels to a fence above your plants, and they'll eventually weave their way in and out of the spokes.

Looking to add a touch of something whimsical to your garden? Use colorful spray paint on your old bike wheels to turn them into standing flowers in your garden! You'll need some glue and a pole or piece of wood to stand the wheels up on, and then you'll be all set. These giant steel flowers look great in any color, but you can always paint them yellow to replicate the look of giant sunflowers. You can also paint these steel flowers in holiday colors and put them in your front yard to serve as holiday decorations.

One of the more darling ways to repurpose an old bike wheel is to turn it into a nursery mobile. Simply tie some little clouds or small toys to the spokes, hang the wheel, and you'll have a sweet DIY mobile. You can leave the bike wheel a metallic color for a more vintage look or paint it a soft blue or white for a more peaceful looking mobile. Not only is this a really cute DIY project, but it also saves your old bicycle wheel from the landfill!

Try turning your old bicycle wheels into an upcycled shelf. You'll just need a little wood, some hardware, and paint, and your old bike wheels can be transformed into a stunning shelf for books, plants, or pictures. If you have large wheels, you may need to add multiple shelves for more storage. This is also a really fun project for a car-themed kids room — simply leave the tire on the wheel, add multiple shelves, and you'll have created the perfect wall shelf for showing off a toy race car collection!

Use an old bike wheel to create wind chimes in your garden. With some string or fishing line, you can hang old keys, seashells, sea glass, bottlecaps, old bike parts, or whatever you'd like to create a funky DIY wind chime. To give them some color, add beads to the strings. This is also a great way to repurpose leftover buttons you might have lying around the house. Once you've attached your chimes to the bike wheel, hang it up in your garden or front porch and get ready to listen to the music.

If you happen to have a whole collection of old bike tires hanging around, turn them into a fence! This particular bike wheel repurposing project is slightly more ambitious than others on our list, but the results are great and you don't need many tools or parts beyond some wood supports and wire to attach the wheels together. You can make the fence as big or small as you'd like, and it can also function as a great way to fence off a garden or chicken coop.

Try sprucing up your home by converting an old bike wheel into beautiful beaded wall art. Add beads directly on the spokes, or tie beaded strings between the spokes to give it a more full look. With some planning, you can create a beautiful cohesive beaded piece like the sun and ocean pictured above. However, if you want to keep it simple, just add beads to the spokes and call it a day. If you use iridescent beads, you can also place it in a window or in the garden to serve as a suncatcher.

Upcycle an old bike wheel into a windmill using items you already have around the house. You can either use strips of fabric, aluminum, tape, or even old CDs to create blades between the spokes that will catch in the wind. Then, place your windmill outside somewhere that the wind can hit it and let Mother Nature do her thing. Bicycle windmills look great standing upright or hanging from trees or your porch. If you have issues with pests, mount your windmill near the garden to help spook them off and protect your plants!

If you have multiple bike wheels lying around, you can convert them into a small table or bar cart. You'll just need a flat piece of wood or glass to use as the tabletop and hardware to attach it to the wheels. This DIY might require a little bit of planning to pull off, as you'll want to make sure that the wheels are roughly the same height. However, this is a fun and unique way to upcycle old bike wheels into something you can really use around your home.

Who doesn't love crafting DIY holiday decorations? With three different sized bike wheels, you can craft the cutest upcycled snowman decoration for your yard. After you attach the wheels together, feel free to dress this snowman up however you want. Painted sticks or old tent stakes can work well if you want to give the snowman arms. Dress it up by giving it a carrot nose, adding some buttons, and even popping on a little top hat. The best part about this DIY Frosty? He's not going to melt, and you can reuse him next year!