The holiday season is quickly approaching and with it the exciting (or excruciating) opportunity to get gifts for family and friends. Before you run out to the store, or start surfing online as is the more popular option these days, stop and ask yourself if you’ve done or plan to do any new floor installation.
If the answer is yes, chances are you have (or will have) some extra floor materials. Typically this just gets tossed in the trash, but for the savvy do-it-yourselfer it can be re-purposed and make for some crafty gifts. No matter what kind of floor materials used, from hardwood flooring to carpet textures the possibilities are endless. Here are just a few examples to think about.
- Hardwood: Hardwood covered 34% of home floors in one recent Houzz survey. Smooth hardwood floor textures are probably the easiest and most likely to be used for something else. With a little bit of craftsmanship one should be able to make shapes, animals, or any other kind of trinket from leftover wood pieces. Think birdhouses, a child’s table/chairs, or treasure boxes if you’re good with wood. For those less ambitious, wooden spoons and cutting boards can be easy, yet still unique.
- Carpet: Extra carpet floor materials might not be as traditional as pieces of wood to make things out of, but it can still get the job done. If you really want to take the easy way out, a small piece can double as a cat scratcher without too much trouble. Or with the addition of things like glitter, strings, buttons, etc., you can make a creative floor or welcome mat for a friend that bought a new house. As an added benefit be sure to tell them that studies suggest carpets reduce allergens. In Sweden, when carpet usage decreased by 70%, allergic reactions within the general population increased by 30%.
- Tile/Linoleum: Tile floor materials covered 23% of floors in Houzz survey participants’ homes, and can be used in other ways as well. Depending on the color/design of the tile you may want to keep it as is, or draw your own design. Use these pieces to make unique table coasters, garden decor, or laminate your picture on top of it to make the world’s most narcissistic paper weight. Okay, well maybe don’t do that.
