In this tutorial, Rachael puts her power tools to use to refinish an industrial buffet table, adding an inlaid wooden counter made of salvaged lathes.

Year round here in the Midwest, flea markets and antique shows are some of the best places to source and locate unique and affordable project materials for a DIYer like me. Whether you are searching for epic architectural salvage for large-scale projects or small vintage accents to brighten and bring personality into your home, antique shows can be a treasure trove of possibilities.

Turn any small cabinet into a stylish way to hide your litter box, with a convenient removable top and cat door.

Join Rachael Ranney to see three ways to upcycle wine bottles into simple and elegant outdoor lighting.

Follow our step-by-step guide to learn how to turn any wooden chair into a stunning focal point. Rachael covered an Eames-style frame with cowhide to transform a battered old chair. 

Create an eco-friendly and attractive DIY Rain Barrel for your garden.

Rachael Ranney, the host of {Re}habitat, shows you how to construct and install a DIY rain barrel. By using a recycled plastic drum to collect, store, and dispense rainwater, you can keep your garden growing strong, even through the drier months of the year.

Sometimes it is the materials that inspire the project. Here Rachael Ranney, host of {Re}habitat, finds the perfect use for a long-cherished wooden picture frame.

Part of the charm and allure of DIY design is that you can rely on your own creativity and intuition to transform items you already own into unique décor and furniture for your home. These pieces are the ones that truly reflect your personal style, and you can usually save a little cash by constructing them yourself at home versus buying everything prebuilt.

Learn how to utilize the unique small spaces in your home using a collection of vintage crates, sewing drawers, and shipping boxes creatively repurposed into a funky shelving unit. Rachael Ranney, host of Buildipedia’s {Re}habitat, takes you step by step through this super easy project, a perfect way to add storage and style to your home on the cheap.

The bathroom – most often the smallest room in the house, and home to perhaps the greatest variety of stuff – is the first challenge that I have decided to tackle while settling into my new home.

Find out, step by step, how to create two very different DIY coat racks using both natural and recycled materials. Watch {Re}habitat, Rachael Ranney’s online video series, to learn how adaptive reuse can add fun and function to your space.

I am constantly looking for ways to create new and inexpensive storage for my small home. Throughout the winter and spring months here in the Midwest, my house is always cluttered with a flurry of coats, gloves, and other cold weather gear. Installing a coat rack near your front door will add storage capacity to your entryway and can help you to clear up some of the chaos.

Even if you rent your home, the six steps for winterizing are worth doing. They help save the planet… and save you money!

Whether you are a renter like me or own your own home, these simple steps will help you to prepare your home inside and out for these chilly winter months.

Find out, step by step, how to upcycle a sturdy wooden door into an upholstered floating headboard. Watch {Re}habitat, Rachael Ranney’s online video series, to learn how adaptive reuse can add fun and function to your space.

Few furnishings add opulent coziness to your bedroom the way upholstered headboards do, but such pieces come with hefty pricetags. Rachael shows how to make an inexpensive and luxurious upholstered floating headboard with a salvaged wooden door, decorative wood trim, and upholstery materials.

Let Rachael Ranney, host of {Re}habitat, help you to upcycle some humble materials into gifts this holiday season. Here are three ideas for inexpensive gifts you can make in a few hours.

In the past few years I have begun to make almost all of my gifts by hand. Not only has it saved me from fighting feverishly through the madness of the pre-holiday mall crowds, it has kept my bank account in good standing. I also manage to give creative, personal, and thoughtful gifts to all of the people on my list.

Find out, step by step, how to upcycle an old door into a unique bathroom storage unit. To see Rachael in action, watch {Re}habitat, her upcycling and repurposing video series.

Most bathrooms could benefit from added storage and a splash of color. An old wooden door, some knobs and racks, and a fresh coat of paint will help you to keep your bathroom organized and give it some character. This storage unit is perfect for bathrooms and other small spaces, but it can add functional, funky vertical storage to any room of your house. Join Rachael as she demonstrates how to turn a salvaged wooden door into upcycled bathroom storage.

Creating a multifunctional side table to augment your living room furniture is easier and more affordable than you think. Join {Re}habitat host Rachael Ranney as she turns a vintage suitcase into a useful and chic addition to her living space.

Vintage suitcases are one of my favorite ways to keep clutter hidden and my home organized. Buried deep in the dark corners of my closet and all around my office you will find piles of them. I use old funky suitcases to hide my crafting supplies and photos and to store my out-of-season clothes.

As the holiday season approaches, Rachael, the host of {Re}habitat, has been focusing on eco-friendly alternatives for some of the traditional elements of Christmas.

Living in a small, busy, crazy, constantly evolving, pet-filled apartment has kept me from having the 12’ Douglas Fir of my dreams twinkling in the window. I fear the mess, the drying tree lying out on the curb… and, perhaps most of all, our cats taking it all down in one loud SMASH! In hindsight I feel like I’ve cheated myself out of the full holiday experience by not having a proper Christmas tree.

You can get the tools you need to complete almost any upcycling, repurposing, or refurbishing project at your local hardware store. Join Rachael, the host of {Re}habitat, as she shares her tips on assembling the simple tools you need to get started.

Your local hardware store has thousands of tools on display, but you only need a few basics in your toolbox. Rachael tells us what to look for when choosing tools, how to keep sustainability in mind, and repurposing tricks of the trade.

 

Set a fantastic and festive table with vintage doilies. Rachael Ranney, host of Buildipedia's {Re}habitat, takes you step by step through this easy project, perfect work for a chilly evening.

Create a beautiful table runner using vintage linen and cotton doilies to bring some unique flair to your holiday dinner parties. I have often come across large collections of these linens at antique malls and flea markets. You may have to begin acquiring them one or two at a time, but try to buy them in bulk from an individual dealer: you’ll probably get a better deal.

Don't be afraid to try your luck at an auction. Rachael Ranney, host of Buildipedia's {Re}habitat, shares some insider tips for making your first auction experience a successful one.

Let me start by admitting openly that I love, love, love auctions! The moment I score a great deal on that one-of-a-kind, beautiful piece is an unassailable thrill. Listening to a great auctioneer generate buzz and excitement about the wares he is selling will never cease to entertain me.

Find out, step-by-step, how to make an old chair new again with a small investment in second-hand leather belts in this DIY project that anyone can do.

A sturdy old chair, $70 worth of thrift store belts, and a little upcycling resulted in this lounger, a truly unique eye-catching piece that looks good from any angle. Rachael Ranney, the host of {Re}habitat on the Go Green channel, shows how she gave an abandoned chair an entirely new lease on life.

Find out, step-by-step, how to make a firepit for your backyard or patio by using a salvaged metal stove. To see Rachael in action, watch her {Re}habitat video series on adaptive reuse and upcycling.

It doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg to create a unique place to entertain in your backyard. A salvaged woodburning stove can become a stylish outdoor firepit in a few hours, with a few simple tools, for a couple bucks. Join Rachael Ranney as she demonstrates how she took a rusty stove and turned it into the pride of her garden.