Thrifted Grandfather Clock Repurposed!

Reduce, reuse, recycle: these are primary principles for me and a huge aspect of why I am such a big lover of vintage and secondhand pieces.   This is a perfect example!

I came across this antique grandfather clock during a recent thrifting trip to my local flea markets.  It’s charm just stood out to me as something extra special.  Not only does it have loads of character, I noticed it had family height markings on the side going back to 1911.

Children’s names, and dates written depicting the story of their family.  I immediately knew those were too special to cover up.  (pic below!)

The interior of the base was empty as the clock mechanism had been removed.  But I got an idea for that.  I wanted to turn this piece from just a lovely visual into something that was also functional.

My plan was to make it a hidden storage cabinet!  It could be in a bathroom for towels or toiletries, an office for files/folders, supplies, etc or a bedroom for sheets or blankets.  The possibilities are endless.

The process to do this was SO easy too.  I decided on a spacing of 4″ at the top and 12″ between the other shelves.  Using a tape measure I marked this spacing out and then used a level to draw a straight line.  Repeat this process for each shelf.

Next up, using a small drill I made 2 holes on each side (for a total of 4) per shelf.  Then just popped in shelf pins I snagged from Lowes.

Prepped for shelving

Using some leftover plywood, from a previous project, we cut 4 shelves to fit.  Obviously they are not pretty to look at and don’t even remotely match the piece but don’t worry I came up with an idea for that too

Ready for some oomph

I keep leftover wallpaper from my projects and I had a stash from the laundry room makeover.  I LOVE this paper and I just so happened to have enough.

Check out the full laundry room space here!

I cut pieces to fit each shelf and while I recommend using a strong spray adhesive, I ran out and didn’t feel like a run to the store.  So I busted out some double sided scotch tape.  (Elmer’s glue probably would have worked too)

 Using an exacto knife I was able to get a really tight clean edge and applied the paper wrapping it around the top, front and bottom of each shelf.

Repeat for each shelf and voila!  You have some pretty shelves with some extra pizzazz.

I love the unexpected moment when you open the door.

Of course I couldn’t stop there.  Cue the “of course not!” or the “oh no” groan depending on your view haha.

I opted to add a bit of paper to the front inset.  A bit of double sided sticky tape on the perimeter was all I used for adhesive so as to keep the original finish intact as much as possible.

I have used the sticky tape before on our painted front door and it worked like a charm.  A year after putting it up I removed it with no damage to the paint finish so I feel pretty comfortable using it on here.

And finally the finished product!  The paper is such a fabulous contrast with the overall style and finish of the clock.

 The original details and quirks are still on full display

Here are all of the children height markings complete with names and dates.  A beautiful record of a family that will remain intact.

 They are legible and add so much history

The interior is just as fun.  I have a collection of old books so I popped a few of those on the shelves along with a few colorful accent pieces.

I’m so happy with how it turned out.

Cheers to taking an interesting old piece and making it functional.  I definitely see this moving around the house, living in other spaces and being used for different storage needs.

What do you think?  Have you ever taken a piece of furniture and turned it into a different functional item?  I always love to hear from you so be sure to hit me up in the comments!

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XOXOXOXO