Ultimate Upcycling: 10 Tips on Upcycling Furniture | Decorating Centre Online

How do I Up-cycle Furniture?

There are so many up-cycling projects, as well as so many ways in which you can up-cycle either your old furniture, or even second-hand furniture too!

Up-cycling furniture is not only a very cost-effective way of getting your perfect furniture, but it is also great to expand your creativity and really have a unique piece of furniture which is perfectly suited for your home, your space and yourself too!

Whether you want to up-cycle a chair, stool, table, or even a whole dining room set, there are a few handy little tips & tricks which will help you create your ultimate up-cycling adventure!

So, let’s get started! 

Check out the video below for some handy tips & tricks!

1. Get Creative with your Up-cycling Projects!

The best way to up-cycle your furniture is to get creative with the way in which you are doing it! Whether it is choosing a unique and bold colour, or whether you are choosing a specific pattern, or even a combination of colours, working in a unique way can really bring your furniture up-cycling to life.

You must definitely have some fun with your furniture up-cycling in order to have a unique and wonderful piece of furniture, perfectly suited to you! After all, you’re up-cycling your furniture to get a unique and individual piece of furniture that is not only perfect for your spaces, but also perfect for you too! 

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2. Give your old pieces of home ware a new purpose!

Although you may think that certain pieces of home ware are better suited staying in certain spaces, you can give your old pieces of home ware a different purpose in a different space!

Certain things like old teacups, shelves and even washing machine drums can be used as plant pots and holders for the garden.

This means that, with just a little but of TLC and maybe even a lick of paint, you can re-purpose these different pieces of home ware for different purposes!

There are many different ways in which you can re-purpose your home ware, the limit really is your own creativity and imagination (and what you think will work in your home spaces)! 

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3. Make sure that your prepare for your up-cycling journey!

The best way to up-cycle anything, whether its just general home ware, or even a larger up-cycling project, you can definitely help yourself by preparing ahead of time!

Not only can you ensure that you have all the tools you will need for your job (this can be helped with our ‘Everything you will need for up-cycling’ kit), but you can also ensure that everything is perfectly clean and dry before you start up-cycling in order to get the perfect finish from your up-cycling project! 

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4. Search your local second-hand stores for some furniture canvases to up-cycle!

One of the best ways to gain some creativity and imagination with your up-cycling project is to wander around some second-hand and other thrift stores in order to scout out what pieces you could use to up-cycle!

Even sites like Gumtree and Freecycle are great ways of gaining some pieces which can be easily up-cycled into fantastically unique pieces of furniture for your home!

With only a lick of paint, and a little bit of imagination, you van easily create something unique, beautiful, and perfectly suited for your spaces at just a fraction of the price if you bought it new! 

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5. Make sure you have the right paint brush for the job!

The best way to up-cycle furniture is to have the right toolkit before you even begin!

Depending on what you are deciding to up-cycle, you will need a variety of different paint brushes for the job!

Some cheaper paint brushes can leave bristles in your work which will leave an unsmooth finish, and they can also have low coverage too!

However, one handy little hint can be to wrap your paint brushes in clingfilm between coats of paint in order to keep the brush moist and reusable!

Make sure to wash them straight after you have painted though! 

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6. Remove any knobs before painting!

Perhaps you have decided to up-cycle a chest of drawers, or another piece of furniture which has knobs on it.

Masking taping them could be an option, however this is often quite difficult to do, especially if your drawer knobs are a different, or even just slightly unique shape!

The best way to not only save yourself some time, but also it will ensure hat your paint job is as clean and smooth as it possibly can be without the obstacles of drawer knobs and other objects which can get in the way like them! 

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7. Make sure you wax/varnish any furniture to make it durable and long-lasting!

After taking the time and effort to sand down your new piece of furniture, prime it and then paint it, you will definitely want it to be long lasting and not suffer from any chips, scratched or cracks!

The best way to do this is to make sure that you are using a hard wearing and durable top coat such as a wax or a varnish, or some other hard-wearing finish which is specifically suitable for the paint which you have used underneath!

For example, if you are using chalky finish furniture paint, a suitable top coat would be a wax which will make the up-cycled piece of furniture durable, strong and water-proof too. 

8. Use old clothes as decorating accessories!

Although using paint brushes and/or rollers for your painting jobs is the best way to achieve the perfect finish, you can also use old (but clean!) socks and/or t-shirts in order to wax finish your furniture.

Perhaps you are using chalky furniture paint, and need a top finish to seal in the chalky finish furniture paint, you can use socks which don’t have too much fluff so that the fibres don’t get into the final finish of the up-cycled furniture! 

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9. Expand your imagination to wallpaper too!

Up-cycling furniture doesn’t always have to be about painting older pieces of furniture, you can also use your favourite wallpapers to decoupage your pieces of furniture too!

If you have any spare wallpaper from your roll (or just buying a brand new one!) you can easily upgrade your bookshelf by lining the shelves with your favourite wallpaper to give it a shabby chic look!

Don’t close yourself off to new ideas! Make sure that you are thinking about up-cycling in a different way!

You can achieve the same look as furniture from an upscale shop by up-cycling, but you can also add your own unique twist too- perhaps by using a combination of paint and wallpaper for your new up-cycled piece of furniture!

The results are almost endless when you decide to think about up-cycling in a unique and individual way! 

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10. Have fun and be bold and brilliant!

Have a look around and see what others have done with their up-cycling projects and gain information and inspiration from them! The best way to up-cycle is to be bold and be brilliant with it!

Up-cycling is all about experimenting and fun- if it goes wrong, you can always strip it all away and start again!

Make a mood board, pin away on your Pinterest, find hashtags on Instagram, do it all! Find inspiration anywhere and everywhere!

Have fun up-cycling!

And you're done! 

If you have any more questions or issues, just DM us on either Twitter, Instagram or Facebook for some individual consultation advice.

OR Check out our OTHER Blog Posts for more information as well as handy Tips & Tricks!