Not A Planter Nor Decor: Give Your Old Frying Pan A Functional New Life On The Living Room Wall

Spend any amount of time on social media, and you'll notice a seemingly unending stream of videos highlighting ways to give old belongings new life — sometimes for the better. This idea of repurposing our belongings to be used as something completely different from their original intention gives being eco-friendly a creative, DIY twist. Another perk of DIY repurposing projects is that they typically don't require much money or time, yet still can delight us with unexpected and unimaginable results. You can repurpose household items to be used in your yard and garden, create new decor with old wall art, or transform old clothes for decorative or practical uses in the yard. Take a quick scan through your kitchen, where items tend to be heavily used, and you'll likely come up with some things that can be reused. For example, you can transform an old frying pan into an attractive plant shelf.

Because of its frequent use in the kitchen — and safety concerns that have led people to avoid using nonstick pans — you may be in the market for a new pan soon. When that time comes, don't toss your old one. Instead, try a quick and versatile project shared by YouTuber @sunilassweethome9581 that centers on an old frying pan. The one caveat is that unless you are an expert blacksmith or are freakishly strong, this project works only with pans that have thin, pliable handles.

The project is simple: Take a retired frying pan from your kitchen (or thrift one that suits your color and style) and bend the handle upward 90 degrees. Thread a decorative ribbon through the hole in the handle, hang this on a nail or hook on the wall, and you instantly have a new shelf. Rather than simply clustering small pots together, create a more dramatic display with a simple formula used when designing a container garden.

Don't have a green thumb? Don't scroll past this project just yet. Instead of using the shelf for potted plants, add elements of coastal decor, like shells or woven trinkets, for a beach-themed display. Another option is to create a homey vignette that includes a small picture frame and a few favorite trinkets you would like to display.

Besides using this shelf for a decorative display, you can make space for accent lighting. Find two small, identical frying pans for this project and hang them on the wall on each side of a couch. If the pans are sturdy enough and not at risk of being jostled, use them as platforms for candles — or use battery-powered ones just to be safe. Or if you're more about being utilitarian, use the shelf to keep TV remotes in one place; you won't need to search through the couch cushions anymore.