Great Uses For Old Auto Parts Around Your Home
If you like visiting the auto salvage yard, or if you can't bear to say goodbye now that you've rebuilt that vintage car, fear not. You can make some fun and amazing home decor by upcycling car and motorcycle parts. If you're handy enough and have the tools to work with used auto parts, you can take on these projects.
Headlights
A motorcycle headlight is a no-brainer when it comes to making tabletop light fixtures for your interior. Add a base, a cord, and a switch, and you've got a cool desk light for a car buff or someone who loves industrial style.
A car grill, with the headlights intact, can be mounted over an exterior door for a light fixture. Just wire the lights to the house like you would any other piece of lighting equipment.
Springs
Large springs can be a base for all kinds of things. Turned on their ends, with a piece of wood or glass across the top, they make a great base for a bench or console table. Smaller springs, turned sideways, are perfect counter or desktop holders for mail or office folders.
Auto Body Parts and Seats
Used auto body parts are one of the places you can get very creative. The bed of an old pickup truck can make a great kid's bed. A hood can become an awning with a couple of braces and some bolts to affix it over a door or window. A car door is the perfect size for a garden gate, and looks neat with other garden art made from small parts.
You don't have to do too much to seats to make them functional. Upholstery from the 1950s and '60s looks great as a bench, especially in mid-century modern homes. Add the grill from a vintage vehicle as a piece of wall art, and you've got a wonderful car-themed room.
Steering Wheels
Kids love to play with steering wheels, so why not give them a real one on their play structure? Steering wheels also make great towel bars for a car lover's rec room or that proverbial "man cave."
Seatbelts
Seatbelts can be repurposed for drapery ties or guitar straps, among other uses. For truly unique material that reflects your love of automotive work, try weaving them into a fabric for cushions or throw pillows. If you have enough, you can also make woven lawn furniture from them.
Tires
You can use old tires outdoors to create patio furniture. Stack two on top of each other, paint them, and add a glass top for an instant coffee or side table. Cover a tire in fabric and add a top, and you have an ottoman, with no one the wiser about what it's really made from.
Need a hose reel? Try a spray painted tire rim.
Small Items
There are always plenty of small parts to be had at the salvage yard. Door handles can be mounted on dressers and side tables for a fun alternative to regular hardware. Set emblems and gears in cement to form garden stones, bookends, and door stops. You can also add small items to the aggregate layer of a polished concrete floor.
If you're artistically inclined, small parts can make amazing sculptures and pieces of art. The next time you head to the salvage yard, take these ideas with you, and you'll have another year's worth of car projects in no time.
Contact a service like Teddy Bears Auto Parts & Salvage Inc for more help.
