The shabby chic trend
is more than just a decorating style, it's a way to give new life and
love to old items that might otherwise end up in the landfill. Flower
gardens are especially enriched by thrift store and flea market finds.
Whether you spruce it up with paint or break it down into mosaic pieces,
find inspiration in the way these old knickknacks, household items, and
furniture breathe new life into the blooming landscape.
Frames and Mirrors
If your garden is a pretty as a picture, why not reinforce that idea with a frame? Organized Clutter made a focal point of a healthy blue lobelia plant as a hanging basket in a rustic wooden frame. Is your flower garden small or even tiny? Double the view with a mirror and hide a blah privacy fence at the same time, like the secret garden of Not Just a Housewife.
Chandeliers
A chandelier can be
rustic or formal, DIY or rescued from the rubbage bin and rehabilitated
with a can of spray paint. You can install candles in place of light
bulbs if an electrical source isn't available, or give it a new life
entirely as a petunia planter as explained in the blog Rustic & Refined.
Architectural Salvage
From doors to church spires, who knows what discarded treasure may find a place in your landscape? The Empress of Dirt reveals two salvaged doors converted into a garden arbor. The Brambleberry Cottage
shares its clever tutorial for how to make a garden conservatory from
vintage barn windows, both beautiful and a functional way to protect flowers from cold weather.
Bicycles
White spray paint makes everything look better, as Sweet Magnolias Farm
shows us with a castoff bicycle painted white and planted with pink
geraniums. If all you have left from your junked bikes are the wheels,
use them to make a garden border as seen in Upcycled Wonders.
Tea Cups
Vintage tea cups make whimsical fairy gardens, as seen in the Etsy shop of TinkerWhims.
Are many of your cups chipped or broken? Midwest Living shows you exactly how to make garden mosaic projects from your broken ceramics, like stepping stones or terracotta pots.
Furniture
Garden furniture can eat up a large chunk of the landscaping budget, but not when you give thrift store finds and curbside castoffs
a garden makeover. Make sure you include white or pastel paint, pretty
tablecloths, and floral pillows that echo your flower garden on your
redo shopping list. Rethink the original purpose of the furniture, such
as Better Homes and Gardens' antique crib renovated as a daybed dressed in floral fabrics.
Bathtubs
An old cast iron claw foot tub is a thing of beauty, but not everyone has the time for a luxurious soak on a regular basis. A Cultivated Nest features a gallery of antique tubs that have found a new life as flowering container gardens.
A bathtub planter is ideal for someone with back issues, as the no-dig
soil and elevated planting surface make it easy to weed.
Musical Instruments
A
bad piano is not worth the expense or back ache of moving it. When
sound boards get cracked, felts wear away, and keys are missing, the
piano may have lost its value as an instrument, but not its ornamental
function. ArchitectureArtDesigns
shares several ways to repurpose salvage pianos, including turning them
into dramatic container gardens or fountains. If it's an out-of-sorts
acoustic guitar you possess, look to the Refab Diaries for fun and funky planter ideas.
By Jamie McIntosh
Flowers Expert
