Claim your recycling crown: 5 fantastic ways to repurpose old items at the cottage
Cottage dwellers are masters at giving old items new life: a stack of books can become a knife holder, and leftover boards can turn into a cooler cover. Check out these five clever ideas!
Idea 1: box made from recycled boards
A Styrofoam cooler is a bit stark white, isn’t it? At Leni Joutsjoki’s cottage yard, it took on a more stylish appearance when it was fitted into a beautiful wooden box. The box is made from leftover decking boards and treated with black wood oil. The idea came from Leni’s cousin.
This solution is perfect for the deck, and there’s now a cool storage spot for drinks and food under the lid. It doesn’t require electricity and is easy to make out of many different reclaimed boards. You can finish it with paint or oil that matches your yard’s style.
Idea 2: A knife holder from books
Old books can take up a lot of space when you don’t need them anymore—but not at this cottage! Here, several old books are joined together so their pages hold knives in place like a top-notch knife block.
The books were tied together with rope, forming a sturdy yet playful whole. This handy idea adds a rustic feel to the kitchen at Huvila Anneli in Raseborg while staying practical.
Idea 3: A storage basket from an old measuring contai
It seems there’s an endless amount of small items in the world! That’s why you need various baskets and other storage solutions.
More than a century old yet still going strong, the two-liter measuring container found a new role in the kitchen once it was cleaned, transforming into a beautiful and practical storage box. This old wooden object also brings back memories of the past at the small farm where Anita and Timo Hannunen have their cottage.
“We both love items that come with a story. Timo collects tin cans, and I collect old ceramics,” Anita says.
Idea 4: A flower stand made of hay poles
Traditional hay poles found new life as a flower stand on the deck. A stand built from old poles stands the test of time and adds a rustic cottage feel to the yard.
In autumn, you can swap the flowers for lanterns, so the idea adapts to the season. Seija and Jarmo Karhula’s cottage is located right by the sea, which also comes through in the cottage’s interior design.
Idea 5: A ceiling light from a fish trap
On the island of Stora Högskäret in the Vaasa archipelago stands a cottage property where Sanna and Markku Parkkari have come up with all sorts of wonderful custom projects. One of them is on the ceiling of their guest room.
They fish a lot on the island, and the couple had an old fish trap that was no longer in use. They decided to hang it from the ceiling as a lamp shade. The mood couldn’t be more nautical!
The Parkkaris share a hobby of traveling around in their motorhome to rummage sales and flea markets. They’ve brought all kinds of finds back to the island from their trips.
