Cool Ways to Re-Use Wood and Plastic Barrels

If you enjoy digging in the garden and growing flowers, fruits and veggies, you may want to re-purpose a barrel as a place to cultivate greenery. You can create flower planters from a large wooden barrel by simply cutting it. You make the planters by sawing the barrel in half to create two new receptacles for your garden to grow in. If you’ve got a plastic barrel at your disposal, think about creating a vertical garden. The plastic barrel is perfect for this as you can cut slits in the sides and bend the material to create little windows with ledges for plants to grow out of.

A wooden barrel’s weathered surfaces have distinctive character. You can bring that charm into your home by re-purposing barrels into furniture. Barrels can be made into dining room, side, bar or coffee table. If you’re opting for a side or coffee table, cut the barrel vertically or horizontally. The vertical cut will help create a longer table, which will need to be completed with a top and feet to prevent it from wobbling. If you choose to cut the barrel horizontally, you will end up with two smaller tables that can be topped with a glass surface or left as is.

Since a barrel’s initial use was to hold liquid, why not keep utilizing that function? Wood and plastic barrels can work well as rain barrels. If you set-up your home or garage’s eaves trough system to funnel rain water into a barrel, you won’t have to turn on the water hose but instead fill your watering can from the reserve of water. This will save you money on your next water bill. Creating a water barrel isn’t too challenging from either a wooden or plastic 55-gallon drum.

A barrel’s aged wood has vintage appeal. You can translate that into home decor by using the materials from the barrel to create serving platters or picture frames. These will be one of a kind objects that bring personality to your home and can make great custom gifts.