8 Innovative Ways To Repurpose Bird Cages Around Your Home & Garden

Whether you're a bird owner with empty cages your birds have outgrown, or you just love finding nifty ways to repurpose things, a birdcage can be utilized around your home and garden in several ways. Typically made from sturdy metal, these cages can be changed or updated to carry various things besides live birds. If you want to add some character around the space in your home, repurpose these vintage treasures for storage, lighting, and decoration. If you'd like to create a more inviting atmosphere or bring life to your outdoor porch or garden, birdcages serve well as planters and plant hangers. 

If you don't just have empty birdcages lying around waiting to be repurposed, you can find them in many places. Often, you can find old vintage birdcages at antique stores, consignment shops, and even yard sales. Finding them at these places is the perfect way to help reduce waste and prevent them from eventually being discarded. You can also buy them from online suppliers like Etsy, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace. Otherwise, you can hit up stores like Hobby Lobby or any other local retailer to possibly find a birdcage to repurpose. Depending on where you purchase it, birdcages vary in price. Old antiques can cost $1,000 or more. But you can find other options for less than $10. With a little creativity, these ideas can help add a unique, personal touch to your living space.

One clever idea to repurpose a birdcage is to use it to store your toilet paper and decorate your bathroom at the same time. This particular birdcage opens at the top, which would be quite handy for accessing and restocking toilet paper. It's also an apt way to disguise or dress up a commonly used bathroom item in plain sight. You can set it on the floor, or if your birdcage has a big enough door to fit each roll, perhaps you could hang it or set it someplace higher. 

Whether old and rustic or new and bright, a vibrant green hanging plant can bring any birdcage to life. And it could save you a little time if you'd rather not paint or decorate the cage. Add just about any trailing plant or bushy fern in its pot to an appropriate-sized birdcage. Push the leaves and stems out the sides of the birdcage so your plant can fit comfortably in its new home. Hang your plant in a sunny window inside or put it outside to dress up your front porch.

Flare up any room in your home with a birdcage lighting fixture. Adding a light bulb, string of lights, or chandelier to a birdcage can take your home to a whole new level. Style the cage to match your interior design, and you may want to remove the bottom of the birdcage altogether. Depending on the type of decor you're going for, you can add fake plants, flowers, or plastic birds to bring your fixture to life. Hang it from the ceiling or place it on a shelf to add a lovely ambiance to your home. 

Use a birdcage to plant yourself a succulent garden and add instant charm to your front porch or deck. You'll probably want a birdcage with at least a 1-inch lip on the bottom to hold the liner and whichever planting materials you use. Pack them in there for a full look, as succulents can take a long time to grow. If you want to add dimension, you can use trailing plants that hang out the sides of the birdcage. 

Decorating your home for the holidays is so much fun. And what better way to put an empty birdcage to use than by decorating it accordingly? There are a variety of spooky birdcage ideas that work well for weird and mysterious front porch or yard decorations to engage the trick-or-treaters during Halloween. Or you could repurpose the birdcage for other holidays, too. For Easter, you could put a bunny in the cage with some fake spring flowers. During Christmas, add some tinsel, trees, and fake snow for some holiday cheer. 

If you're running out of room to store books on your shelves at home, you can always recruit a birdcage to store them in. As with any place where you store your books, there are so many creative ways to decorate your birdcage bookshelf. Add some houseplants, wicker baskets, or glass fixtures to give it some style and fit it in with the rest of the room. You can always paint the birdcage and add your own shelves to the birdcage for even more storage. 

Your first thought when repurposing a birdcage might not be to plant annual flowers in it, but it can make for a striking focal point in your garden and landscape. You can use a liner for the bottom, as you would in a hanging planter, fill it with potting soil, and then plant a beautiful assortment of flowers in it. You could use any variety of flowers, especially ones that will trail out of the birdcage, to compliment your flower beds.

Candle holders work well at events and celebrations and for decorating and creating a specific ambiance in your home. Repurposing an old or vintage birdcage to hold your candles is a lovely way to add an eye-catching piece to any space. These candle holders would work well by the entryway, a fireplace mantel, or as the centerpiece for your dinner table. They look lovely next to cut flowers, houseplants, or any other decoration. You can always change the color of the birdcage to match the style of your home.