REPURPOSE

February 23, 2017

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Avid DIYer and owner of the design company Style by Lizzy Jackson, Lizzy Jackson’s old bungalow in Stone Mountain Village has a non-working fireplace that she fills with colors and patterns by way of logs. “I’m kind of obsessed with my fireplace,” she laughs. “Since it doesn’t work, that makes it more decorative, and I use it more for the focal point of the room.” For spring, Jackson paints logs in “bright, fun colors” like blue, yellow and pink, wraps thin string lights around them and sets them in the fireplace for a fun light display.

Jackson also uses the mantel as a display place for artwork that she rotates depending on the season. “It’s easy to change the artwork without having to drill a bunch of holes in the wall,” she says, as her home, like those of many intown clients with other older bungalows, has mostly plaster walls. She says she finds many ideas—and shops for herself and clients—at Binders art store and Ponce City Market.

Repurposing furniture refreshes homes and offices for spring, says Cooper, and often the job can be done without paint. Cooper found an antique chest of drawers that she uses in her dining room for storage. “It is beautiful, but it was banged up and needed some TLC,” she says. Rather than paint it, though, Cooper used a damp rag to wipe down the finish, then she rubbed the piece with orange oil and buffed it. “It took me 10 minutes and brought out how beautiful the wood was,” she says. DIYers can duplicate the process with a tack cloth (wear gloves, since the cloth is sticky) and linen oil, orange oil or another wood repurposing oil. “Just giving [the piece] a good wipe down to rehydrate the wood makes it really pretty,” Cooper says.

Jackson repurposes vintage teacups and mugs by placing small cacti, found at nurseries and in gardening departments of home stores such as Lowe’s and Home Depot, inside them to add greenery indoors. “Succulents [which include all cacti] are the only things I can keep alive,” she adds with a laugh.