Gone are the days where bicycles only exist for cycling. Old bicycles are now being used in interesting ways around the home and garden as decorations or to serve a useful purpose.
If you’re a cycling enthusiast and have an old bicycle that you’d like to repurpose, there are a variety of ways which you can use them in and around your home. Bicycles can be both functional and stylish, when used in the home or garden. Instead of letting your old bicycles go to waste, take a look at these tips which will show you how to reuse them and add a twist to your décor. Alternatively, if you’re simply a lover of bicycles, we have a few ways to show your love for them, in your home and garden.
Rust to rustic
Use a vintage bicycle in the garden as both a plant holder and a decoration. It will add a rustic element to your garden, as well as serve a functional purpose. Place a container in the front of the bicycle near the handle bars, and another one on the seat, with flowers or other plants. Put the bicycle in an area where it’s surrounded by plants, and you could even add a vintage bucket or two alongside it, with flowers inside. This will spice up your garden and add an old-world flavour.
Functional fashion
Using bicycle wheels around the home can be both stylish and functional. Use an old bicycle wheel in the kitchen and place it sideways, then hang pots and pans from the wheel to make them easily accessible. This is a funky way to reuse bicycle parts and have kitchen items within reach.
Bicycle wheels can be hung on the wall and used in different ways. Transform a wheel into a clock, by adding minute and hour hands to the centre of the wheel, along with batteries to keep it ticking. Alternatively, ditch the spokes and replace them with a trendy, round mirror. Mount a wheel or two on a piece of wood and use them to display photographs or souvenirs from cycling tours or holidays that you have been on. If you happen to have a few wheels going spare, make a three-dimensional looking collage on your wall by placing them against a dark background and arranging them slightly away from the wall. Wheels can even shed some light on a room by being hung on the wall and having a candle attached to the bottom.
Add a glass or wood top to a few bicycle wheels and you’ve got yourself an eclectic coffee table or side table. Bicycle wheels can be used as bases for stools in the kitchen, to give your stools an adventurous twist. Multiple bicycle wheels stacked at different angles can also make an interesting base for a coffee table.
Delicate and decorative
Mini bicycles and unicycles are great to use as decorative items in the home. They can be perched on shelves or bookshelves, or even put in the corner of your home. Decorative bicycles come in the form of clocks which are useful and trendy to decorate your home with.
If you’ve got an old bicycle lying around, spray paint it and hang it on the wall to use as a quirky decorative item that will match your colour scheme. Alternatively, you could paint the bicycle in funky colours and place it in the corner of your entrance hall to liven up a dull space.
Whether you’re a cycling fanatic or you just like bicycles, these are great ways to use bicycles in your home for both décor and functionality.