I love stumbling upon discarded goods that I can transform from “Trash to Treasure”.

In NYC, landlords put their tenant’s trash directly on the sidewalk to be collected 2 times per week. Everyone has small apartments, and there is no room to store unused furniture. Most people do not have cars, and are unable to transport unwanted furniture to a donation location. So it’s remarkable what people throw out on the sidewalk!

From tables to furniture to artwork, trash day in NYC is perfect for DIY enthusiasts! Here are some of my proudest “Trash to Treasure” finds!

Shelves

I found this circular shelf while walking home from school with Mabel. For months we’d struggled to find the perfect over-the-toilet shelf to mount on the wall that would provide storage and visual interest, and this shelf fit the brief! The shelf is used to hold washcloths and Emily’s make-up and skin care products, which means now I get the over-the-sink cabinet all to myself!

Tables

I found this large circle table discarded outside of a preschool. We placed it in the middle of our Woodland cottage 4-chair seating area. It is the perfect height for playing games and building puzzles. I painted the top Jasper green and added 4 layers of polyurethane.

I discovered these two matching yellow tables outside of the CVS that I pass on my walk to work. The table frames and glass tops were in perfect condition. They are the perfect height for bedside tables.

This beautiful wooden table was thrown out right in front of our apartment. The bottom of the table was slightly damaged, but I was able to secure the wooden pieces together with wood gorilla glue. The table was also missing a top, so I added a piece of glass. It’s the perfect table for the space directly next to our cottage stairs.

I transformed a discarded record player box that I found on our street into a bedside table at the cottage. I painted the outside of the box navy blue and affixed it to the wall with brackets. This small floating table is perfect for next to the our twin over full bunkbed with a trundle and stair drawers, as it still allows the trundle bed to be pulled out!

Emily found this small yellow table while walking the girls home from preschool. The top can lift off to be a serving tray, and it fits perfectly between two of our chairs in the living area at our cottage.

Furniture

This 6-compartment shelf was thrown out on our sidewalk. We repurposed it to house our picture book collection in the bedroom our 3 daughters share. We placed bins on top of the shelf to add additional storage.

This metal locker was discolored and incredibly dirty when I found it. I gave it a solid clean and used some metallic spray paint to give it new life. This locker is in our “getting out the door area” and houses gloves, hats, sunglasses, and park supplies.

We stumbled upon this discarded black cabinet while taking a walk near our cottage in PA. It was placed at the end of a driveway with a “FREE” sign in our neighborhood. The cabinet was in perfect condition and has been so helpful for storage of arts and crafts supplies.

I noticed a large pile of discarded furniture outside a building while walking to the park. Intrigued, I walked over and found a chair that perfectly matches a pair of chairs that we’d purchased for the girls. We now have a chair for all three girls!

Many years ago I purchased a blue suitcase at an auction and transformed it into a floating bedside table for Emily. I used wall brackets to attach it to the wall. Recently, my sister-in-law found two more matching blue suitcases at a “free” stoop sale. While walking to work I found FOUR LEGS thrown out on the sidewalk. They were the perfect height for my table! When I got home from work I screwed them on to the suitcase, and now have a complete “trash-to-treasure” bedside table! 

Artwork

I found this amazing “Connect 4” wooden board game frame in the discard pile by the door of a NYC play space where the girls were playing. Emily painted blue and green circles on cardboard strips and then slid the strips into the slots of the game board. We hung the DIY artwork over our couch at our cottage.

I found this BRAND NEW frame, which was still in the plastic wrapping, discarded on the sidewalk. We placed a Queens tea towel from one of our favorite boutiques in Astoria inside the frame. We love having a nod to our NYC life framed at the cottage.

I found a black letter board on the sidewalk outside of a store that had recently closed. I hung the letter board in the playroom and added the words “BEAUTIFUL MESS”. It is a reminder to embrace the sometimes chaotic state of this little playroom, where life happens for our girls.

Thanks for Pinning: Trash to Treasure!

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