Our new house, which was built in the early 90’s, has a wall unit in the family room with a fireplace in the center and two built-in window seats on each side. Below the window seats are cubbies. The cubbies were originally meant to hold large speaker boxes for a surround sound type system.
We weren’t going to be using the speakers and the black mesh covering on the front of the cubbies looked extremely dated. It was really an eye sore for me and I knew we needed a change.
![family room built in speaker repurpose](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0198/9741/7790/files/mendez_family_room_2048x2048.jpg?v=1611766372)
![repurposed home decor](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0198/9741/7790/files/repurposed_speakers_2048x2048.jpg?v=1611714378)
I shared a few pictures and took a poll on Instagram, asking my friends how I should repurpose the cubbies. I got a lot of suggestions but my favorite was to turn the them into storage cubbies for firewood. We have a gas fireplace in the family room, so firewood isn’t really a necessity in here. However, I love the cozy look of stacked firewood and thought this was a great idea! And since we actually DO have a wood burning fireplace in another part of the house, keeping stacked firewood isn’t too impractical of a use for this space.
This was the easiest repurpose ever! We removed the black speaker covers and the large wooden speakers from the 90’s that were inside. I had to paint inside the cubby, as it hadn’t been touched up in years. I purchased bundles of cut firewood from my local grocery store. I had to buy about 8 bundles to fill both cubbies but that’s it! It looks so much better than it did before. A much less dated and more classic look, if you ask me!
My other favorite suggestions I got for repurposing these cubbies included turning them into pet beds and using them for toy or book storage. Cute ideas but I think I’m going to stick with the firewood for now. Maybe it’s just because it is winter, but I’m liking it. Thanks for reading! -Nicole Mendez, Designer