We all struggle to find homes for items that we may be sentimental about and we want to be sure they are repurposed, wanted, and enjoyed as much as we enjoyed them. Things like your children’s baby furniture, or maybe that vintage furniture that was passed on for generations like a piano or old organ are not accepted at donation centers and charities. Before you look to haul these items to a landfill, do a quick search on the internet. 

Today there are creative, talented people who turn old unwanted furniture into pieces of usable, beautiful and even functional art!  A quick search online using words like “upcycled” and repurposed” with “crib” or “piano” can open up a world of images and ideas. 

Metal cribs can be painted and placed outside to use as raised flower beds. Wooden cribs can be transformed into dog crates, benches, porch swings, children’s craft tables, desks and shelving. The side rails may be hung on the wall to organize craft supplies or as a head rest. 

Upright pianos can be given new life as desks, work benches, sewing cabinets, liquor cabinets, bars and wine racks. Baby grand pianos can have the legs removed and be hung on the wall as a bookshelf. Child-sized pianos can be turned into coffee tables or smaller display shelves. 

Think about the needs you have and whether you have the desire and skills to upcycle these items for yourself or would need help transforming them. If these are pieces you’re willing to part with, why not search for someone else who can repurpose and redeem them, so they can have an extended life and be enjoyed in a new way. 

In Lancaster, PA an online search for repurposed furniture reveals shops like Always Never Done (www.alwaysneverdone.com) which also offers classes in chalk painting and Vintage and Co. (www.vintandco.com) another store featuring repurposed furniture.

It’s exciting to know that unwanted furniture can find a new use and maybe a new home with just a little work.