11 Uses for Repurposed Library Card Catalogs
If you find a library card catalog for sale, there are a plethora of ways you can repurpose these literary treasures. I’ve blogged about a DIY card catalog coffee table and my library card catalog turned bookcase previously, and here are 11 more ways to use card catalogs in your home. Tomorrow I look forward to sharing a new and fresh way I’ve repurposed one of my card catalogs — and I don’t think card catalogs have been used this way just yet!
I first used my library card catalog as a buffet in my dining room, holding my linens and silverware. Tanna Clark uses hers for a similar purpose, organizing silverware in her kitchen.
This is one of my favorite uses for a library card catalog! As a kitchen island topped with a butcher block, the small drawers and labels are perfect for holding and organizing your spices, as seen via DIY Ideas .
For holidays, fill your card catalog with flowers and plants, as seen in a wedding via josevillablog.
If you are like me and have a huge collection of vintage scarves, organize them by color or style in your card catalog, as seen via MadeWell.
Small card catalogs are perfect for storing makeup and cosmetics, as seen via lifeandlim.
Cultivate the naturalist within yourself and use your library card catalog to protect your delicate findings, as seen via Each Little World.
I guess I wasn’t the only one who saw the usefulness of the card catalog as a buffet, as seen via design*sponge.
Indeed, the card catalog makes an ever-so-useful organizer, as seen via Small Notebook.
Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles sisters support themselves by creating beautiful religious works of art, and they store their sewing and embroidery supplies by color in repurposed library card catalogs, via Hooked on Needles.
Could there be a more intelligent way to indulge in your favorite alcoholic beverages? As seen via Apartment Therapy.
While this may not find a place in your home, reusing card catalogs as a station for the computer-assisted Dewey Decimal system is both ingenious and hilarious, as seen via Library By Design.
























LOL, some great examples – never though library cards could be so useful (apart from renting books of course!)
Love this!! Thank you for sharing!! If I had one, I would use it in my dining room, as storage for candles, silverware, napkins, tablecloths, etc. Would love to someday own one of these!
All amazing ideas! Thank you for inspiring.