Repurposing Old Furniture to Use on Screened Porches

Getting Started

• Repurposing old furniture works for all design schemes. Something old, such as a dresser, can be made to look contemporary with new metal hardware and the latest coat of Pantone paint. Repurposed furnishings that wear their age well, but are still a bit beat up, complement porches of shabby chic, country, industrial and French-style homes. The furnishings on your family's porch should reflect the interior of the house and your personalities and, hopefully, help your family function.

Better Business for Old Bureaus

• Bureaus offer storage and the chance for you to show off your personal style. Rest drinks on a short and squat bureau positioned between two chairs, or fill an empty corner with a tall, thin bureau positioned on an angle. The bureaus can hold bug spray and sunscreen during the summer and extra hats and mittens during the winter. Use a bureau as your potting area. Store tools, seeds and bags of potting soil in the drawers and use the top as a work surface. When a bureau won't fit, an old toy chest or camp trunk can double as an end table. Stain or paint the old bureau or chest and further adorn it with decorative stencils.

You Made Your Bed

• Outgrown toddler beds deserve better treatment than sitting on your curb decorated with only a "free" sign; repurpose it as a daybed on your porch. Position the bed lengthwise against a wall to ensure back support for those sitting there. A mattress on a simple frame, one without high head- or footboards, best resembles a daybed. Cover the mattress with a fitted sheet in a neutral color and cover that with a decorative quilt or blanket plus plenty of throw pillows. Other possibilities, that require facility with power tools, include turning an old bed into a swing or turning a crib into a dog bed.

Wall Art

• Create a unique message center or wall art with a mattress spring. Clean and, if desired, paint the spring before hanging it on the house wall. The mattress spring can be hung vertically or horizontally, but should not block the door or any windows. Update the wall art as you see fit with holiday decorations or small labels that you and your family have adorned with sayings or drawings.

Stackable Seating

• Benches of all sizes make versatile seating in mud rooms, play rooms, living rooms and bedrooms; smaller children love them because they can easily sit on the benches by themselves. When the kids outgrow the smaller benches, move the benches out to the porch. Stack them on top of each other with the longest on the bottom and the shortest on top and use them as storage for books, accessories and decorative lanterns. Attach them to each other and to the wall with screws, for stability.