After years of use, our baking ware can get pretty dirty and at some point, we need to upgrade them with new ones. However, just because they can’t be used in the kitchen anymore doesn’t mean they aren’t still good for something.
Check out these 55 ways to repurpose those old dishes and transform them into something totally new and functional- like a lampshade or even wall decor.
Click through and become inspired!
Pans can retain a lot of heat along with a lot of wear and tear. Enough heat, wear, and tear to even transform cake pans into a lampshade. For this DIY all you need to find are some cake pans, wire hangers, and gold spray paint which, for a new lamp shade, is pretty cheap!
Cake Pan Lamp Shade Instructions: here
2. Mosiac Cooking Sheet Serving Tray
Through every day use our baking sheets can become brown and quite honestly disgusting. But when it’s time to update them with new ones, instead of throwing them in the trash try adding some new decorations like mosaic pieces. Now you have a brand new serving tray.
3. Repurposed Cake Pan Snowman With Chalkboard
Here we have another repurposed cake pan transformed for the holidays. All you need to do is take a few cake pans and attach them to some wood to make the snowman’s head and body. Then take a metal piece for the chalkboard, adding some other materials to decorate as you would like and then you have a tiny cute snowman that can wish seasons greetings!
4. Anthropologie KnockOff Shelf
You can even create some more chic looking storage with old baking pans. Remove the bottom, add a few shelves in the middle, and now you have transformed your old baking pan into an Anthropologie knockoff shelf. Now not only have you upcycled an old rustic dish, but created more storage and saved money!
Get DIY Instructions to Anthropologie Knockoff Shelf: here.
5. DIY Tiered Stand Serving Center
Tiered stands make a serving station so much easier to navigate and allow for more space on the table, as well as help to separate the food. Just like they did with this DIY tiered stand that repurposed cake pans allows for not only bread, cheese, and grapes but drinks in the middle to pair with those foods. Even adding another repurposing touch by putting the cheese in a mug.
6. Cookie Sheet Magnetic Makeup Board
A new magnetic makeup board might just be the new best thing! All you need to do to create this is an old cookie sheet, spray paint, and vinyl. With this magnetic makeup board, it allows to clear up some counter space and looks pretty cool too.
7. Mini Cake Pan Floral Decor
Repurposing cake pans can make for some beautiful decor especially depending on what you fill them with. For this easy DIY take some old mini cake pans and fill them with flowers! Place these in the middle of your table and it can double as an easy discussion topic.
Now you can use your old pans that once fed people to now feed the birds. They transformed the bottom of this pan into the feeder and with a little work made the lid into a roof. Then you fill the feeder and wait.
Find instructions for DIY Frying Pan to Bird Feeder: here
9. Muffin Pan Herb Starter
Turns out muffin pans are also the perfect size for herb starter pots. You can spray-paint the muffin pan to decorate the pan but that is optional. Then with some unbleached muffin papers, you are ready to start your mini garden!
10. Upcycled Bread Pan Planter
Once these pans were in the center of the table filled with bread and with a few changes can be transformed into a beautiful centerpiece. Just add some spray paint and four wooden beads to be used as feet. Fill with rocks and flowers and now you have a new floral centerpiece!
11. Baking Pan Wall Frame
You can also transform your own baking pan into an unconventional piece of art! All you have to do is spray paint it to the color of your desire then place the photograph or art piece inside. Then once you add some glue and a wall hook you have a new quirky wall frame.
12. Cake Tin Floating Shelves
As you click through these slides you’ll see just how any old pan, tin, or sheet can be made into something chic. Just like these cake tins transforming into floating shelves. This tin is sturdy enough and safe enough for a variety of items so you can place in it either flowers in a vase just as they did.
13. Baking Tin Herb Planter
If you’ve somehow acquired an assortment of baking tins here’s another way you can repurpose a large one into something chic. All you need is some plastic, gorilla glue, gravel stones, and herbs!
Get instructions to the Baking Tin Herb Planter: here.
14. Baking Sheet Serving Tray
Baking trays can be made into the most decorative pieces all depending on your imagination. Such as this one who took glue and some gold foil. Transforming into a very elegant serving tray.
15. Bundt Pan Candy Cane Wreath
Another holiday-themed transformation with this bundt pan to candy cane wreath. With the holidays, we usually end up with more pans than we started with and then don’t end up using the next year. With this DIY they add a poinsettia in the middle with scalloped ribbon on the edges for finishing touches.
16. Repurposed Muffin Pan Drawer Organizers
Drawers have a way of becoming cluttered very quickly. With vintage bakeware, it can be an easy way of organizing that allows for more storage and is a cheap option too! These also have deep holes for more storage and vary in size.
17. Cookie Sheet Magnetic Memo Board
Give those old cookie sheets a makeover to a magnetic memo board perfect for your home office or kitchen! You could even make one for every room depending on how many cookie sheets you have and how you would like to decorate them.
18. Cookie Sheet Magnetic Spice Rack
All you need for this DIY is a baking sheet, a frame, magnets, and glue. Once you frame the baking sheet then you attach flat magnets to the backs of spice jars. Now you have a new magnetic seasoning wrack to
spice up your kitchen.
19. Tiered Stand Made From Pie Plates & Cake Pans
Tiered stands are perfect for showing off your food, notions, and crafts. Simply take your
trashure, the treasure that was almost trash, pair them with some wood pieces, and create your tiered stand. Now what was once almost trash is a new functional treasure you built.
20. Dollar Store Tiered Tray
Here’s an easy dollar store DIY decor tiered tray you can make without any power tools needed. All you need is pie tins, glue, and candlestick holders. Depending on the holiday you can even specify the colors.
21. Spring Form Pan Centerpiece
We’ve seen how you can turn bread pans into centerpieces but you can also make magnificent centerpieces from springform pans. With some metallic paint, a candle, some glue, and some garland those springform pans turn into a beautiful centerpiece.
For the instructions to this quick and easy centerpiece click: here
For this DIY all you need to transform this dessert pan into a clock are the hands to the clock. As well as, some paint to transform the clock to fit your home.
Find instructions for the Dessert Pan Clock: here
23. Repurposed Baking Pans Gift Box
Here is another interesting way people have upcycled their vintage bakeware items for the holidays. They’ve taken old baking pans and transformed them into a gift box! Makes for a great centerpiece or even a great gift.
24. 2-Tiered Bundt Cake Pan Planter
Turns out even old bundt cakes can be made into the perfect planters. To add more
pizazz to your planter you can stack two to give it the tiered look. To add even more
pizazz add paint and polish!
Transform your wall with some jello molds! Usually, they have some pretty cool designs and the best part is they don’t cost much. You can edit their style with some simple spray paint to fit your home and then they are ready to go up on the wall.
With a little creativity and imagination you can repurpose anything. Such as these people did with their old pots, pans and kettles! Added a fountain pump some rocks for weight and voila something new made from something old.
27. Using Pans As Rustic Decor
You can even take those rustic pans into the living room to help organize. Even using them as a centerpiece on a table. For this room, they used their pan to organize some books and plants and we have to say it looks quite nice!
28. Cupcake Pan Advent Calendar
Advent calendars are one of those special things that help build the excitement to Christmas. Especially, since you are rewarded with a special treat each day! With this DIY advent calendar, you can save some of the trash that is left from regular advent calendars by instead recycling your cupcake pan.
While painting keeping the paint separate can be a tricky task. An easy solution is transforming that old cupcake tin into a painting tray. Now all the colors can be kept separate safely and this is a start to avoiding the potential messy craft time.
30. Baking Pan Serving Tray
Here we have another baking pan serving tray that was repurposed to match the aesthetic of the house. To do this in your home all you need to do is take an old baking tray and use some spray adhesive or paint to transform the tray.
Turn an old cookie sheet into a serving tray instructions: here
31. Rolling Pins & Pans Tiered Trays
We’ve seen as many people have taken their old pans and transformed them into tiered trays. With this, they took the pans and took them up a notch adding rolling pins. Making them an even more unique decorative piece.
32. Jewelry Organizer Muffin Tin
Another organizing hack is taking an old muffin tin and transforming it into a sleek jewelry organizer. With this muffin tin, there’s space for rings, bracelets, earrings, and any other jewelry piece needed. With this upcycled muffin tin jewelry organizer you’ll be less likely to misplace those small pieces.
33. Thrift Shop Mug Tree Repurposed For Jewelry
Create a simple jewelry tree with items from the thrift store and a baking pan. Once you find a mug tree nail the old baking pan to the top. Then the mug/jewelry tree will be ready to store all your jewelry needs.
34. Organizing The Kitchen
Often the kitchen can become quite messy. With this DIY you can use an old bread pan to organize the clutter quickly. It even doubles as a nice decorative touch.
35. Pan Tiered Jewelry Stand
Jewelry can be an absolute pain sometimes to keep separated, organized, and untangled. With this DIY tiered stand that repurposes old pans, it provides an easy organizer. With this stand, it makes it easy to hang earrings off the side, as well as, unique to other jewelry stands this one is magnetic.
36. Baking Sheet Chalkboard
So many people have transformed their serving trays into a new functional piece of their house. For this upcycle
Looking For Adventure Art on Youtube transformed her tray into a new magnetic chalkboard that can now hold grocery lists, reminders, recipes, and more.
Find the youtube DIY instructional video: here
37. Cake Tin Pendant Light
Throughout this slideshow we’ve seen tiered stands, serving trays, and even wall decor made from kitchen dishes but you can even use those old dishes to make lights too! The first step is taking your old cake tins and add some spray paint and you are on your way to some brand new lighting decor.
Get the DIY: Pendant Light Instructions: here.
With each new slide we see just how imperative it is to keep old pans and tins to upcycle those materials into something new. Here we again have a pie tin that was upcycled to now become a cake stand. A lot of times all these transformations take are some paint, glue, and of course as always a little imagination, and voila!
39. Vintage Cake Tin Caddy
Sometimes vintages things make for the best decorations. Like this vintage cake tin caddy shows. Upgraded with some paint and painted words it is good as new and makes for great decor.
When decorating our houses with candles there’s always the fear of it dripping down into the furniture or the floor. Or even the potential of starting a house fire. But with pans that are made to retain and hold heat, they can be made for a perfect and safe display.
Instead of throwing away our pans turn them into planters instead. Luckily enough this is a simple DIY that anyone can do. All you need are your pans and be sure to drill some holes in the bottom of the repurposed planter that will be left in the rain.
42. Cookie Sheet Boot Tray
With the winter season approaching, many of us know how wet it can get outside and in as we track a wet sloppy mess into our homes with us. An old baking sheet could be a solution to help contain the mess. Decorate the baking sheet as they did with some river rocks and now you have a fancy yet functional boot tray.
43. From Kitchen To Holiday Decor
Here we have a mini wreath made from a doughnut tin mold. With this DIY you can stuff them with ornaments or even tiny pine cones to get them ready for the holiday season. Now, these molds have gone from kitchen ready to holiday-ready with only a few modifications.
44. Disposable Cooking Tray Fish Craft
Time and time again we see how a little work and imagination can transform anything. One Youtuber named
CraftKlatch took an aluminum cookie sheet and transformed it into a tropical fish. These can even be made for decor in rooms as well.
Check out her tutorial video: here
Here we have another tiered stand but this time made to organize some paints. For this DIY they upcycled 2 springform pans. These make for an easy organizer and can be transported easily as well.
For instructions to creating DIY tiered stand click: here
If you are looking to add a little more greenery to your house and are looking for something trendy moss decor could be the perfect fit. Take one of those old baking tins and drill several holes to the bottom for drainage, fill with river rocks, soil and then add the moss. As the moss grows you can simply trim it with scissors.
DIY Moss Monogram Decor Instructions: here
Sheets of tin can be pretty expensive. Luckily for us, aluminum cookie sheets work just as well for a significantly lower price. For this faux punched tin project just punch holes into whatever design you like, add a frame and your home has a brand new art piece!
48. Pie Tin Picture Frame
We’re always looking for a new way to hang our photos in our homes. On the
Good Housekeeping youtube channel, Paul Lowe shows how you can upcycle old pie tins and turn in them into unique frames.
Find the tutorial on how to upcycle pie tin & cake pans: here
Most of us are always on the hunt for new coasters to protect our furniture. With this simple DIY project, you can take old tart tins add some cut cloth with some glue and now you have new coasters for your tables! These tart tins are also functional in a way they make it harder to knock over glasses.
Instructions for how to turn your tart tins into coasters: here
So often we lose paperclips, safety pins, rubber bands, and other tiny office items as we stuff them into a larger drawer. Instead, repurpose your muffin or cupcake tin into an organizer! Now those tiny items are easy to sort and locate.
Here’s another DIY to take your serving trays from filthy to functional. All you need for this one is decorative paper, cloth, and glue. Now the old tray is turned into a magnetic memo board.
52. Vintage Jello Mold Wreath
Old jello molds can get old fairly quickly. But with a little cleanup and some ribbon they can be made into a festive wreath. These jello molds not only make a fancy wreath but are even ready for the winter season and can withstand a variety of temperatures and weather changes.
53. Upcycle Holiday Decor
Transforming our homes for the holidays is many of our favorite things about the changing seasons. With this DIY all you need to do is take those old kitchen dishes and fill them with some pinecones, ornaments, buttons, and a “
carrot” nose! Voila, now you have a fun upcycled holiday decoration.
54. Propagating Succulents in Pans
Taking care of succulents may seem easy at first but there are a few secrets to it. Upcycling pans and using them to propagate succulents is one of those easy tricks. They also have a lot of room in them and make for a simple and cheaper decor piece.
For more tips on how to water succulents click: here.
55. DIY Stepping Stone With Secret Key Hider
If you’ve ever gotten locked out of your house you know how frustrating it can be especially when you are in a hurry. Never let that happen again with these DIY stepping stones made with help from some old cake pans. Fill the pan with concrete mix and place a child-proof pill bottle let sit for 36 hours and remove the pan. Now you’ll never misplace your keys again!
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