5 ways to upcycle old furniture (instead of buying new)
Repaint
Repainting furniture might seem a little imitating, but it is actually really easy if you follow these steps:
1. Sand over the entire piece of furniture
2. Dampen a cloth and wipe down the furniture so there is not any residue from sanding
3. Cover the full piece of furniture in primer. It is best to leave the primer on overnight, but if you are impatient like I am, wait at least an hour or two before moving to the painting stage
4. Cover the piece of furniture in the paint color you like. If you find a paint color close to the one you like but not exact, consider mixing it with white, grey, or black paint. That’s how I was able to get the shade of green I wanted for this buffet!
Whitewash
This was my first attempt at white-washing a piece of furniture, and it is surprisingly easy! Here are the steps:
1. Mix white paint with equal parts water
2. Paint a thin layer over the piece of furniture. If you want it to be more white than clear, add more white paint and vice versa
3. It is best to add a topcoat over the paint, especially if it is a dining room table like the one I did here
3. Creative ways to re-configure furniture
If you find yourself with a large piece of furniture made of multiple parts, try to pull it apart and see if there is a setup that might work better for your space.
In this room, I took apart the extended headboard and side tables an decided to try and make a small bench for reading by the window. I have used this more than I ever expected to! I also put removeable wallpaper over the front of the bench and used a green paint I found at a discount store to add a little color to the space. There’s still work to do—pillows to be added etc., but it’s on its way!
Here’s another idea: Instead of using this clothes hanger for clothes, because it is secondhand and a little unsteady, I decided to make it into a stand for plant hangers.
All of this is to say, there a many ways to rethink furniture before throwing it out, even if it is just to make use of it until you figure out the change you want for that room!
4. Use removeable wallpaper tape, and if they don’t have the color or style you want, paint it yourself
I pointed to this in the last tip with the end tables for my bed that I turned into a bench. If it is cheap material and not real wood, sanding, priming, and painting aren’t the best option. For this piece I found removable wallpaper to use instead. This is a small side wall I wanted to cover up. I found a wallpaper style I loved for this wall, but if you can’t, buy white and paint over it!
5. Re-upholster
In addition to the buffet and table, I was also left with dining chairs with rush seats. I saw some options for replacing the seats completely, but I do not necessarily have the energy for that, so I decided to figure out how to cover them. For this:
1. I had to unscrew the rush seats from the chairs.
2. Then, I cut up an old blanket to use for padding and wrapped fabric over the top of the seats while they were disconnected from the chair. I used a small stapler I had for work, but it would be more reliable to use a larger one. You can just open it and push down the top of the stapler through the fabric and into the rush seat.
3. Put the seat back onto the chair and screw it back in
And there you have it: 5 ways to re-do your furniture before you get rid of it. Let me know if you try any of these!
