In a house that frequently plays host to guests, a sign marking the guest bathroom can be a fun and friendly touch. With the 100 letter tiles of a Scrabble set—yes, most likely minus a few—you can create many meaningful groupings of letters to suit any number of tongue-in-cheek purposes.
8 New Things You Can Do with Old Board Games
Doesn't it seem like there's always at least one board game in your house that's no longer playable? Maybe there are pieces missing, or you've given up on the game because your sister throws a fit every time she's outmatched. Rather than let the lonely game languish on the shelf, explore the imaginative ways you can bring Clue or Monopoly or Scrabble to play in your home decor.
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Leave a Note
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Hanging Out and About
In a home office or kid's room, vintage game surfaces can make for charming, offbeat shelves. Whereas storage pieces very rarely pack personality, these are as entertaining as they are genuinely useful, thanks to the sturdy brackets undergirding the cardboard.
Related: 10 Insanely Creative Shelves You Can DIY
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Elevate to Art Status
Looking past the original purpose of a well-made wooden Chinese checkers board, Apartment Therapy celebs Greg and Deirdre chose to mount a particularly attractive one on a wall in their kitchen. With its sculptural form and geometric precision, it is, in its own distinctive way, a work of art.
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Just Coasting Along
If you've got a short stack of stylish old Bingo cards, follow the lead of Cheltenham Road and decoupage your way to a set of nostalgic coasters. A coat of clear sealer protects sweaty drinks from ruining the paper, while painted, cut-to-size scrap wood forms the half-inch-high base.
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You've Got This Covered
In a stroke of repurposing genius, Etsy seller beckydesigns turned a vintage Clue board into a one-of-a-kind notebook. You could do the same with any game surface, theoretically, as they're all square or rectangular with a seam along the midpoint of equal halves.
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A Spot for Everything
The pits of a Mancala board not only fit the game's pebbles, they're also amply sized to accommodate home office supplies, jewelry, and bedroom miscellany. The board is sort of like an ice cube tray, but sleeker. Alternatively, you can follow the lead of Etsy seller FlotsamJetsamCrafts by turning a Mancala board into an artsy installation on the wall.
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Pocket Some Extra Cash
Satisfy your inner child by finally putting your old Monopoly money to use. No, it won't sub in at the cash register, but you can still admire the colorful bills when they hold your real forms of payment in a sewn-together vinyl wallet like this one from Etsy seller SadDucky.
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A Roll of the Dice
Take no more chances on where you thought you last left your USB flash drive. Now you can keep it with you at all times in this entertaining (and handy) keychain. An Instructables step-by-step details how to convert a pair of dice into the keeper of your most important files.
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For More...
For more about repurposing, consider:
10 Trash-to-Treasure Ways to Reinvent Old Tech
17 Creative Ways to Reuse Cardboard Boxes
Get Organized: 25 Clever Ideas for Repurposed Storage
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Don't Miss!
For the handy home improver, few pleasures compare to the joy of a well-stocked workshop. Take a look at this roundup of some of the best and most essential tools for DIYers of every stripe, and see which items might be missing from your own home improvement headquarters.
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