Most items of furniture in your home will need refurbishing or updating every so often. Much-loved sofas and chairs can look shabby after a couple of years of use, and some rooms will be in dire need of a complete makeover. With this in mind, upcycling may be the answer. You won’t have to spend a fortune, and you only need to look online or in style magazines for inspiration.
Upcycling the basics
With most chairs it’s the upholstery that shows its age first. The frame for many sofas and chairs will probably be perfectly sound, and this includes furniture that’s equipped with castors from Tente UK. Simply re-covering your chairs in a vibrant design of your choice will freshen your furniture.
You don’t have to be a whiz with the sewing machine or a master upholsterer, you can just strip off the tatty furniture covering and staple on the new material on top of the existing upholstery. Or you could convert your old sofa into a wonderful new upcycled swinging garden chair – the possibilities are endless.
When is a door not a door?
Whether you’ve liberated a door from the local skip or an architectural salvage yard, or simply knocked two rooms into one and don’t know what to do with your surplus doors then you could create a new stylish table!
The design magazine House and Garden has some ingenious ideas, and most of these are easy to replicate. You can strip and varnish your new table or you can paint it in some wonderful colours to reflect the rest of your interior décor.
Chests of drawers don’t have to be boring
Unless you are replacing your storage with purpose built units, traditional chests of drawers can present a problem. They do develop stains over time, or they simply look old fashioned. A very economical way of giving this useful piece of furniture a revamp is to cover it with clippings from your favourite newspapers, magazines or even comics.
Select your favourite photographs, or simply buy a few copies of the Financial Times and cover your chest of drawers with these. First, cover the furniture with Spraymount, and then attach your newspapers or pictures to the item. Cut around any uneven edges. When the work is finished just add a couple of coats of clear varnish to the covered surface and you’ll have a wonderful new piece of upcycled furniture.
Upcycling is sophisticated
When you’re upcycling don’t be afraid to get creative – you were more than likely going to throw the furniture out anyway, so giving a new lease of life to old items should be fun.
Leading designer Daniel Hopwood, writing in The Daily Mail, suggests that ‘handmade products, furnishings and art are going to monopolise this year’s showstopping pieces.’
Learn how to mix and match. Transform your wooden beadhead by covering it with some exotic jungle print. You can even make use of an old wooden commercial palette and transform this into a perfect storage solution.
Upcycling is all about using your imagination, saving money and giving your home a creative refurbishment – everyone can try out this trend.