Mantles are such gorgeous pieces of architectural salvage, just begging to be repurposed into headboards.  Enjoy these DIY ideas that may have you sleeping under a mantle soon enough!

For a reupholstered mantle headboard, clear DIY instructions can be found by the OG DIY Queen Martha Stewart., and you can find brief DIY instructions at BlueCreekHome, whose lovely project is featured above.

I really liked the OldPaintedCottage‘s interpretation of the repurposed mantle, as you still feel the essence of the mantle in how she decorated it.

Hortons of Tipton via FrenchLarkspur not only repurposed a beautiful mantle into a headboard, but created the loveliest canopy bed using branches!

It does not get more romantic than this, as seen via Cottage Magpie!

In true Maison Reve style, this mantle was beautiful repurposed and looks fantastic next to the other architectural salvage pieces.

Repurposed vintage suitcases have been the topic of many blog posts here on Poetic Home, such as my original repurposed luggage filing cabinet and other suitcase upcycling ideas.   In helping Nicole, a Poetic Home reader, redesign her bedroom in an “Anthropologie” style, I began to brainstorm chic, creative, and bohemian nightstand ideas that were also budget friendly.  Naturally, repurposed suitcase nightstands came to mind!

In my former home in San Diego, I simply stacked four vintage suitcases to be a neutral but creative end table in my living room.   I added a piece of glass to the very top suitcase to make it suitable for holding drinks (after the fan found a new home through my Etsy shop).

These are Louis Vuitton suitcases stacked to be a most luxurious repurposed suitcase nightstand, as photographed by Victoria Pearson in House Beautiful.    Wouldn’t these look gorgeous in a dashing gentleman’s quarter?

Fernseed took a director’s chair bottom and topped it with a vintage suitcase to create a repurposed nightstand that would fit well for both him and her.

Angels in the Architecture transformed a simple suitcase from the 1960s with spray paint and the legs of an Ikea laptop stand to create this mod chic repurposed side table.  I love the spunk of this one!

This is the project by SongBird that launched a thousand painted suitcase sidetables.  It’s still every bit as lovely and ingenious!

In a similar vein, A Beach Cottage painted two mismatched vintage luggage pieces to create a chic nightstand.

Love Nostalgic Whimsy created a truly eco-friendly nightstand using reclaimed pallets and a vintage suitcase.

The rainbow delight that is this repurposed suitcase sidetable is the lovely creation of Shrimp Salad Circus, who simply bolted the brightly colored luggage pieces together.

If you have repurposed any suitcase pieces, I would LOVE to hear about it and possibly feature it here on Poetic Home!

Farm machinery may not come to mind when you first think about home furnishings, but repurposed farm machinery makes the most interesting pieces of furniture!

Kate and Ben Gatski took their appreciation for pieces of vintage farm equipment to a whole new level of upcyclying and repurposing. Their vision and “green philosophy” has compelled them to take parts from old 1970′s tractors and create beautiful tables, from the superior steel that was used to manufacture large tractors back in the 20^th Century.  The above “straw walker side table” is a lovely example of seeing the potential in the most unsuspecting of places!

In this barn beam console table, a certain ruggedness and yet a timeless and balanced lightness come together fabulously.  This console table would be at home in any décor. The wooden beam used in this latest creation comes from an old barn that Ben’s brother-in-law tore down recently.

Imagine a single tea light holder or grouping of these beautiful and sculptural candle holders, and the lovely, whimsical flickering light they will create in your cozy eclectic or industrial style home.

Here is a charming Hay Baler Needle Side Table. You could put just about anything from candles, a clock, picture frames, or a tablescape with either pottery, or perhaps a piece of sculpture on this one-of-a-kind beautiful and functioning table.

Ben and Kate live in rural Pennsylvania. Having grown up on farms, both of these craftsmen have a passion for the origins of scraps which they repurpose. These handmade treasures are the embodiment of their love for “the people, soil and culture” of farm life.

Carlo Sampietro is an environmentally concerned artisan who repurposes what he literally finds in the street into industrial chic furniture.  A plastic traffic barrel, for instance, becomes a Cloche Chair (with a light-up base) when Carlo Sampietro reinvents “thrown away stuff” from New York City Streets and conjures up his “street is in the house” line of furniture and accessories.  He also incorporates old Police barriers, mailboxes, and even used newspaper and magazine holders into vintage chic tables, aquariums, and even dishwashers!

A 1960s taxi cab topper is ingeniously repurposed into mood lighting.

Who would have known that an emergency barrier can be repurposed into the most stylish workhorse table?

Here’s another great take on the emergency barrier repurposed table idea, and I’m loving the patriotic feel.  What a way to spark dinner conversation!

Yes, that is indeed a dishwasher upcycled from an old magazine rack!

Repurposing vintage furniture in order to go “green” has been, until recently, something that was done by artists, environmentalists and DIYers who are advocates for using sustainable materials and recyclables to reduce waste and preserve pieces from our history and culture for future use.

Now, furniture designers who want to create one-of-a-kind pieces are embracing the Repurposing Movement too. Keith Merry, furniture designer and owner of Garden Park Antiques in Nashville, is a master at his craft.

This beautiful coffee table is made from a 19^th Century Pulley Wheel, which was part of a mechanism that brought power to an piece of industrial machinery. Keith had the vision, added vintage “feet” and repurposed glass for a table top — and look at the magnificent result!

Look what can be done with a vintage wooden Pattern Mold from a Foundry! Now its an exquisite mirror, which will reflect light and beautiful images in someone’s wonderful space for an infinite number of years to come

Keith took vintage film reel canisters and creatively repurposed them into chic industrial stools (with the help of your friendly local welder).  If only I had not sold my collection of antique Hollywood film reels before I moved to Hawaii, I would have such great seating in my home now!

The pallet trend is here to stay (but be sure to read my post about testing for toxic pallets before you bring one into your home!), but Keith takes it to a new level by repurposing vintage pallets into storied coffee tables that have a great patina and sense of time.

Keith found this 1920′s old growth pine industrial assembly table from a factory and knew it still had generations of use to offer. Adding the glass top upcycles the piece to fit in any decor, from a loft to your farmhouse kitchen – and even to your den office space or man-cave!

As we embrace this new decade, Keith feels that more and more furniture designers will be adding repurposed pieces that they re-design or upcycle for modern purposes, but with a unique gift included. The gift is that each repurposed creation offers its owner the opportunity to own a piece of history.

It’s time for another installment of affordable Anthropologie inspired ideas, and today, let’s take a peek at their wanderlust beds that one could easily DIY.  The best part is that while these Anthropologie beds are crafted to look worn and upcycled, I believe it’s far more rewarding, personalized, and unique to find pieces to repurpose.  Enjoy!

The Marigold Bed may have rosettes as accents, but it also sports a price tag of $1000 – $1500.  I always see brass or metal beds on Craigslist that have the same shape, but only cost anywhere from $50 – $150.  Even the older true brass beds on eBay have buy-it-nows of only $500.  With a can of spray paint, you can enjoy your own version in whatever hue suits your bedroom best. The money you save could be spent on luxury beds from Silentnight!

When I was visiting Detroit last year, I saw heaps and heaps of cogs from abandoned factories that could be nearly identical to Anthropologie’s Hushed Hours Bed.  You can also find old factory cogs at various antique fairs across the country, and I have a feeling it won’t set you back $2500!

Now this bed is what lovely dreams frolicking through the forest are made of!  Be on the lookout as I replicate the Forest Canopy Bed look with real fallen trees from a forest nearby my home (and perhaps coaxing a Hawaiian wedding flower plant’s real vines to embrace the branches…imagine the sweet smell lulling one to sleep) — and the price tag will be free, rather than $5500!

Why buy a Gate Headboard for $1500 when you can use the real thing?  Visit your nearest Restore, architectural salvage, or even the “free” or “materials” section of Craigslist to find a real gate to use.

Do any of these affordable Anthropologie ideas pique your creative DIY arm?

On Thursday, I’ll be saying goodbye to San Diego and aloha to Hawaii, and with this inspiration, I’ve rounded up more ideas on how you can repurpose vintage suitcases into new treasures.  Enjoy — and I’ll see you on the other side of the Pacific next week!

This is the BEST repurposed suitcase idea I have ever seen.  Yes, you are looking at a bass made out of a vintage suitcase by Daniyel.  And the best part is that this crafty musician has posted step-by-step DIY instructions on his blog.

Use your vintage suitcase as a planter tray for your indoor specimens, as seen via Junk Warehouse Online

I’ve blogged about suitcase tables before, but I love what lovenostalgicwhimsy has done with creating an entire set of luggage coffee and end tables with their color-coordinated legs.  Charming!

I once hoarded half a dozen vintage suitcases in the hopes of stacking two columns of three to four suitcases and then topping it with a glass piece or antique French door to turn into a desk.  Alas, I sold all of my vintage suitcases during my last move, but here is a modern creation made of leather briefcases from the talented Maarten De Ceulaear, who you may know for the pile of suitcase armoires.

From the uber-creative JunkTion comes a great piece of repurposed furniture – a sofa made from an old vintage trunk.  It’s like the human version of the repurposed luggage pet bed that has been quite popular in the blogosphere.

A vintage suitcase gets a new life as an ambient light by Jo-Annie Larue – what a clever idea!

While perusing Bel & Bel’s portfolio beyond their Vespa office chair, I stumbled upon the greatest conversation piece one could own: a vintage 600 SEAT Model D car repurposed into a sofa!

The sofa is equipped with working headlights, which are perfect for ambient lighting in a room, as well as an audio player.  I simply am in love with this piece and wish they shipped to the US so I could buy it for my son’s room!

Not to waste any piece of the SEAT 600, the back of the car has been ingeniously repurposed into a CD rack, which also has a built-in audio player.

Of course, there’s a version for the iPod, using the rear of the car as a repurposed docking station.  My oh my, I will never look at auto junkyards the same again!

Look out Herman Miller! Repurposed Vespa office chairs may just take you by storm. We all loved the faux repurposed Vespa rocking horse, but this reincarnation by Bel&Bel works for the coolest of adults too.

The repurposed chair has all of the modern workings of a comfortable seat, including ergonomic considerations, a hydraulic piston for height adjustments, and soft supple leather for the upholstery.

Better yet, the chair is available in white, red, gray, silver, and blue.  Decisions, decisions!

Kitchens are the heart of the home, and now they can be the center of repurposing!  With a few free shipping pallets that grocers always throw away, fruit crates, and even tea crates, you can turn your kitchen into a repurposed haven.  With a little bit of wood stain and a rag, you can transform nearly any wooden pallet or crate to have vintage-esq patina and glow.

Katrin Arens ingeniously repurposed a shipping pallet into a beautiful dish display.  The aged wood patina in this rustic kitchen is calling me to make a few good stews!  You can compliment this type of kitchen with rustic unfinished window shutters and get the most out of your new look.

As seen on HGTV, an old wooden crate is repurposed into a lovely, weathered spice rack.

If you really want a kitchen that is repurposed swoon-worthy, then it’s time to take shipping tea crates, complete with their original shipping imagery and type, and turn them into cabinets like Rupert Blanchard did.  Aren’t these incredible?!

If your cabinet doors leave something to be desired, why not take off the doors and use vintage apple crates in their place, as seen in House to Home?

Vintage fruit crates make another appearance as open shelving for your jars of dried goods, as seen in Country Living.

For one week, Simon Hoegsberg gave out free advice and coffee in Copenhagen to people walking by.  The project itself is quite intriguing, but what really caught my eye was the advice station he created out of shipping pallets.  This would make for a great repurposed kitchen island or kitchen table!

Crate appetit!