23 Creative Ways To Repurpose Old Coasters To Take Them From Trash To Treasure

A practical way to protect and care for marble to avoid damage from drink spills is to keep a stack of coasters on hand. In fact, these accessories work for most tabletop materials, from wood to laminate to glass. After a few months (or years) of soaking up red wine and coffee sloshes, coasters can start to look unsightly — but that doesn't mean you have to throw them out. Cover old coasters with decoupage, paint, or family photos. Old cork coasters make great bulletin boards. Give cardboard coasters a new life as notebook covers or turn glass coasters into a mirror frame. Have just one coaster left after breaking all the rest in a matching set? Use it as a trinket bowl, plant pot coaster, or soap dish. Pop it underneath that bottle of balsamic vinegar to catch drips or cut it up to make furniture leg floor protectors.

If you don't have a set of coasters ready and waiting for re-use, ask around family, friends, and neighbors. If you're willing to spend a few pennies, check out online marketplace sites, visit yard sales, or shop thrift store shelves. Be sure to clean the coasters before tackling any of these projects. For example, cork coasters should be lightly sanded using a fine-grit sandpaper and spot cleaned with a mild dish soap, while you'll need to use a tile and stone cleaner, like Zep Home Pro 2-In-1 Marble, Granite, and Stone Cleaner, on natural stone coasters.

Beer coasters make for affordable vacation souvenirs, but these paper coasters get moldy and warped if stored incorrectly. To preserve them with resin, first paint the coasters with two to three layers of Mod Podge. Sit the coasters atop some plastic disposable cups, and pour the glossy, glassy resin over them. They'll be ready to use around your home in about 12 hours. Want a more professional look? Cut a sheet of cork to the same size and shape as the coaster, and glue it on the bottom. 

Hot glue square tile coasters together to form a box or a trough, using a minimum of five coasters. Use the box as a new houseplant pot with upright leafy tropicals like snake plants, cute succulents, or faux foliage arrangements. Avoid water damage by keeping real plants in their nursery pots and taking them out of the planter to water them.  If the coasters are looking a little worse for wear, paint, or otherwise decorate the outside of the box. 

Create a game by shuffling a bunch of different coaster sets and asking your kiddo to find the patterns that match, or simply let your child use them as building blocks. If you have a coaster caddy, transform the wooden coaster set into a planet teaching tool. Paint the planets onto the round cork center of each coaster using non-toxic acrylic paint and write the name of the planet in silver permanent marker in a discreet place. Pull out a coaster, name the planet, and check the answer.

If your coasters have lost their finish or boast way too many coffee stains but are otherwise in good condition, breathe new life into them with decoupage. Gather paper products of your choice — think printed maps, last year's wall calendar, magazines, greeting cards, book pages, floral tissue paper, or patterned paper napkins. Paste the tissue to the surface of the coasters using Mod Podge or a similar adhesive sealer. This method works on coasters of any shape, size, and material, from stone, ceramic, and glass to wood and cork.

Coasters come in such an incredible array of shapes and finishes; repurposing them as tiles isn't such a wild idea. After all, what's a tile really if not simply a flat, patterned ceramic square you stick to a flat surface? Personalize a tiled feature wall in a bathroom by working a few glass or ceramic coasters into the design. Or go all out and cover your kitchen walls with hexagonal mirrored coasters and paper paint sample chips in rainbow hues.

A simple way to repurpose used coasters is to use them as trinket dishes. Pop them on your dresser or in your walk-in wardrobe for rings and earrings. Keep them on the sideboard in your entryway as a collection place for keys and coins. The key to making this repurpose work is choosing coasters with a rim that is still in good condition. Flat coasters won't work; the items will simply slide off. Any coaster material is okay, but something sturdy like metal will last the longest.

If your coasters are past their best but you still want to use them to protect your surfaces against water rings, you can get crafty and breathe new life into them. Paint your coasters to give them a refresh, then add graphics or slogans to personalize them. You can style the coasters to match your decor; for example, in a nautical space, add rope and marine colors to a circular coaster set for beachy vibes. Recovering old coasters is also a clever way to use your leftover wallpaper.

No matter how much you love your houseplants, the scratches or stains on your window sills, counters, and tabletops can get on your nerves. Watering spills are a common occurrence, but you can avoid making a mess while watering your houseplants by popping an old coaster underneath the pot. Any old coaster will do, even a damaged one, since it will be mostly hidden beneath your planter. However, porous materials like cork will soak up spills and drips the best.

Glue five square coasters together to form a cube with one open side. Then, simply fold your bundle of tissues — each tissue stacked on top of the other — in half and pop it, fold side facing upwards, snugly into the box. This way, when you pull the top tissue out, the rest will stay in place. If the coasters don't have patterns you like, decoupage them before gluing them together. You could even use mismatched coasters and paint the box after gluing for a more cohesive look.

Use coasters made from a lightweight material like cardboard or wood. Heavy coasters will pull on the branches of your Christmas tree or wreath. Use the coaster as the base for your ornament, then decorate it however you like. Glue a shape cut from last year's greeting cards to the coaster and add ribbon as trim and the loop, or decorate the loop with wooden beads. Alternatively, decoupage some sweet Christmas robins cut from paper napkins, dust them with glitter, and glue on a natural string bow loop.

Need a soap dish in a pinch? Grab a coaster with a rim — ideally made from a relatively waterproof material like metal, ceramic, or glass or something porous like stone — and sit it on your bathroom vanity. Set your bar of soap on it to keep your counter free from suds and scum. If you have a problem with water collecting in the coaster and are using one made of stone, create a drain hole in the coaster with an electric drill fitted with a diamond-tipped drill bit.

Some coasters are simply too pretty to use for fear of ruining them. Maybe they're something you picked up on vacation or from a potter's stand at a local craft market. Either way, unique coasters make for great wall decor with little effort. Mount them inside a shadow box or decorative frame, or stick some Command strips on the back and hang them on the wall. Decorate the coasters to make them stand out, or join them together horizontally or vertically to make a rustic farmhouse sign.

Coasters made from wood, cork, or heavy cardboard make perfect miniature canvases for those looking to keep their art supply budget low. Whether you're into painting waterfall, sunset, forest, or wildflower meadow landscapes, or prefer flora, fauna, or cartoon characters as your subjects, all you need to complete your next pocket masterpiece is a drinks coaster, a set of acrylic paints, and a paintbrush. Display your creations on drapery hooks, which double as miniature easels. You can also use coasters to experiment with new acrylic fluid pour techniques and color combinations.

Slip a cardboard, felt, or cork coaster under your furniture to avoid scratching the floor, or soundproof your condo for your downstairs neighbors. Hate seeing the coaster? Cover one side with double-sided tape sheets, like this 20-pack ISUSSER A4 Size Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape Sheets. Measure the furniture leg diameter and cut pieces from the coaster to fit. Then, peel and stick! This is also a neat way to even out wobbly tables or chairs — pop the coaster under just one leg in this case.

Glue a whole bunch of cork coasters to a wooden board or sturdy cardboard for a free bulletin board for your home office. You could use circular cork coasters as a border and leave space in the middle for photos or artwork. To create a daisy noticeboard, paint about seven round cork coasters pink, glue them to a small wreath frame like the Sumind 2 Pack of 8 Inch Wire Wreath Frames, and affix a yellow coaster in the center. Alternatively, wrap ribbon around square cork coasters and mount them to the wall sequentially.

Here's one to do with the kids! Decorate round (or any shape, really) cardboard coasters as you wish: with decoupage, paint, or markers. For something a bit more sophisticated, cover the coasters in peel-and-stick wallpaper, like the Qoubao Self-Adhesive Colorful Floral Decal. Then, either punch two holes near the top of each coaster and string through them or arrange the coasters in a long line, pattern side facing down on the table, and glue them to a long length of cord.

To create a luxe mirror frame using coasters, you need square coasters in relatively good condition and made, ideally, from mirrored glass. Look for coasters with glitter, gold leaf, faux marble patterns, or other opulent details. Measure your coasters, then look for an unframed wall mirror in a size that matches those dimensions — the aim is to completely border the mirror with coasters. Once you've found the right mirror, simply hot glue the coasters around its edge, creating a very fancy frame for above a mantle or sideboard.

Paint the coasters or just use them plain if they're in good condition. Pick and print out photos of family, friends, pets, or places you've visited. Cut them to fit neatly inside the rim of your coasters, gluing them in place with a hot glue gun. The rim of a coaster acts like a frame around the photo. Affix a picture hook to the back of each coaster — get this 45-piece pack of Wenqik Adhesive Picture Hanging Hooks costing about $8. Mount them to the wall in your preferred arrangement.

Are you a fan of statement fridge magnets that hold lots of stuff? Turn already dramatically patterned or bespoke painted coasters into fridge magnets by sticking a strong magnet onto the back. A 20-pack of Grtard Self Adhesive Magnet Dots costs just under $4. We also love the idea of transforming those beer coasters you picked up as vacation souvenirs into magnets for the beer fridge. These also make great gifts for that friend or family member in your life who loves to cover their fridge in magnetic decor.

Cardboard coasters become notebook or journal covers in this practical DIY. Cut a pile of paper to the same dimensions as your coasters, sandwich the paper between two coasters, and punch one or two holes in the left hand side. Decorate the coaster covers as you wish, then thread binder rings through the holes in the coasters and paper to secure everything in place. You can also use spiral binding coils. Alternatively, keep branded cardboard or paper coasters from bars and restaurants to cut up and use for scrapbooking.

One of the handiest ways to repurpose coasters between parties is by using them to catch olive oil, vinegar, or wine bottle drips. Place the coaster on your counter or table and sit the condiment bottle on top of it. Instead of the oil or red wine running down the bottle and onto your fresh tablecloth, it will collect on the coaster, where you can rinse or wipe it off once dinner is done. A coaster made from a cleanable material like glass or stone works best.

Tired of scraping dried wax from your mantle? Instead of purchasing a pricey pillar candle holder, repurpose an old but cute ceramic, metal, or wood coaster. As with some of the other ideas in this list, ideally, the coaster you use will have a rim to catch all that runny wax before it hits your tabletop. Stack multiple coasters with candles to add height or interest to sideboard displays. If you only use LED candles, popping them on a coaster may make them look more realistic.

Does IKEA's viral coaster hack really work for an inexpensive DIY apothecary jar dupe? Absolutely! The catch is that you need heavy coasters with a tapered base so they sink into the mouth of the jar or vase rather than sit on the rim. This prevents them from sliding off when knocked. Keep in mind, too, that these coaster lids won't create an airtight seal. Use a glass vessel topped with a coaster for non-perishable items like cotton balls, craft supplies, and packaged snacks rather than pest-attracting foods like grains.