Kitchen Garden Forum

Hello, my name is Ani. I wanted to start a thread about using old furniture to make flower beds, planters and other things in the garden. This is something I got into last year with my partner after watching a program on TV. It's a great way to re-purpose old furniture from the home. So far I've made some really nice flower bed arrangements using old chairs. I've used an old wardrobe and old bed frame to create planter beds for my herbs. We've also managed to get some palettes from a local grocery store and have created some seating. After we'd used up all our old furniture that no longer had a place in the home, we started looking elsewhere for furniture we could use so bought cheap pieces and job-lots from a second-hand online for sale website at a cut price. Does anybody else have any experience re-purposing old furniture and if so, do you have any ideas you'd like to share? We're always trying to be creative but it would be nice to hear what other people have done in their own gardens.

Look forward to getting some inspiration and tips from other members,

Thanks Ani.

Hi Ani,

I'm all up for up cycling - should be encouraged as much as possible. I've done up a few things (chairs and boxes) for inside, and out side have only really re used things for pots - sink, chimney pot, re claimed pots..

Have only re-used the wood from furniture once for something on the allotment - it was a disaster as it rotted as hadn't been treated properly (my error, but one to be mindful of!).

I look forward to hearing about more projects.

Paula

We have built our raised beds out of condemned scaffolding planks we bought around thirty from two different company's one was £2 per plank the other was £3 I relies it's not reusing furniture but they will last longer

You can use drawers from old furniture for all sorts of things. You can make a few drainage holes in them and line them with plastic sacks to make them last longer (with holes in plastic too) if you're planting into them, or use them for storing apples, onions etc.

Some interesting comments and food for thought, thanks guys.

I like the scaffolding plank idea, cheap and effective.

Yep, always make sure we rub down the furniture then treat it so it doesn't rot. You can keep the desired effect then for longer.

my daughter wasnt that impressed with the carrots id grown in the toilet that id "taken to the tip" for her best friends mum..... growing them in the bath was acceptable though.

using wooden furniture is a fine idea, but it will have a short life ,due to the thinness of the wood and the crapiness of the interior grade finishes (decorative rather than preservative)

pallets ,realwood doors and window frames all have their uses.

I used an old ikea expidit I got from their barging corner when they rebranded it to kalax... The square decisions made for lovely square foot plots in the bed, but it had rotted down in less than a year, leaving my veg growing on a mound of soil full of splintered wood and that white coating they use... So didn't work for me lol

One of my neighbouring plot holders have built raised beds from formica covered chipboard kitchen worktops. I expected them to last about a fortnight, but to my surprise he has had one season's crop from them, and they are still standing. In a couple of years time no doubt he will have a pile of composted chipboard with bits of plastic in it. Bit like a certain Sinclair product then

This has got me thinking, shall i saw up our ten setting, antique, mahogany dining table,....it would make some very nice raised beds...

OH

For What It's Worth I reckon you might just as well, time you had some treatment for those Queen Anne legs

Mahogany would last a few years even untreated and will look smart as well

Liking the way you've reused your bathroom suite Richard P, we'll probably be doing the same once we decide to redo the bathroom. Alright for a little while yet though

i took the mrs to the local auction last weekend..... she likes the occasional day out...
anyway after an hour or so the auctioneer made some comment about i should take her more often...
anyway in the 4 transit van loads i had to fetch were some rectangular pub tables....undeneath the brown stain the tops are 40mm pine.... could be theyre worth more as timber than as tables. nobody else even thought them worthy of a bid.
by the way theres an electric mantis on fleabay at the mo

I like it Richard.....