Repurposing things around the house

When I buy furniture or any expensive item for the home, I try to think about where else in the house I can use the item. 

For example, when we decorated our nursery, we bought a small neutral-colored recliner instead of a rocker and matching ottoman.  The plan is to put it in the family room when it is no longer needed in the nursery.  We use the armchairs from our dining room set as chairs in the guest room and master bedroom - and they look like they were bought specifically for that purpose. 

We also look at our available inventory of stuff in the attic or around the house before we shop for an item.  I have a large mirror in our living room that will eventually be used as a mirror in our daughter's bedroom or in the kids' bathroom.  We had an old chest of drawers in the garage that we painted and is now being used in my 2-year-old's room. 

Often we forget about using things we already own when decorating.  If they can't be used "as is", consider refinishing them.  Paint is a cheap way to transform a piece of furniture or a room.

My most recent repurposed item was a black and white photo of a cafe in France that my husband had in his old house before we were married.  It sat in the attic for the past 5 years because it didn't go with any of the decor in the new house.  I recently remodeled our laundry room and joked about decorating it since I spend so much time in there.  Then I ran across the old framed photo in the attic while looking for something else and decided it was the perfect touch for my laundry room.  Now it reminds me of the vacations that we will take again someday when we are finished paying for children!  :)