Redecorating the living room doesn’t have to mean a trip to the local furniture store and a huge hit to your bank account. It doesn’t necessarily require a trip at all, or purchasing anything new beyond a few basic supplies. When you repurpose items you already own, you save money, conserve resources and help the environment by sending one less item to the landfill.

Seating
You probably have a couch and a chair or two in your living room. If wear and tear is taking its toll, get creative with your seating.

• Cover a worn but usable couch with a quilt or colorful sheet. Dig out unused bed pillows, cover them with decorative shams and use them as throw pillows.


• Bring the patio bench inside, freshen it up with a coat of paint, then soften it with a cushion and a throw pillow or two.


• Create a sturdy stool with a large, faux terracotta plant pot. Turn the pot upside down, then use heavy-duty glue to attach a small, round cushion for use as a seat.

Tables
Every living room needs a coffee table, and most have at least one end or accent table as well.

• Screw a pair of sawhorses to an old door, paint the whole thing a bright color, and you have a coffee table.


• Clean up an antique trunk for use as a coffee or side table.


• Set a circle of glass on top of a large, painted flowerpot and use it as a side table.


• Paint old wooden crates, screw two or three together side by side, and cover the top with a sheet of glass. Voila, a new coffee table!


• Pull out an unused nightstand from the bedroom and press it into service as a side table.

Storage
Corral the clutter in your living room in repurposed storage.

• An old armoire just needs a coat of paint on the outside, a lining of wallpaper on the inside, and it’s ready to hold videogames, books, craft supplies or magazines in the living room.


• Give old cabinets from the garage or kitchen new life in the living room. Paint them, add snazzy new hardware and use them to hold all your clutter.


• Old wooden crates make excellent storage bins for toys, video game supplies, craft supplies or books.

Accessories
No need for expensive tchotchkes or artwork in the living room. Repurpose what you have.

• Frame old maps, children’s artwork or greeting cards, and create a collage above the couch.


• Display a collection of interesting mugs on your shelves. Use a few of them to hold small potted plants, faux flowers or interesting twigs or stems from the yard.


• Use an old ladder as a plant stand.


• Spray paint dated looking collectibles shiny gold or silver, then show them off on the mantel.