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Furniture Upcycling: A Guide

Upcycling is a key trend, and especially when it comes to furniture or home items — and with good reason. Upcycling is a great pastime that combines

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Upcycling is a key trend, and especially when it comes to furniture or home items — and with good reason. Upcycling is a great pastime that combines new skills, keeping active and enjoying creative design.

Why Upcycle?

There are many benefits to upcycling furniture. These include:

  • Saving money. You can create new furniture pieces from items you already have, or cheap items, instead of paying top price for brand new items.
  • It’s something fun and creative. For those who love hobbies that allow them to create something new and be hands-on, furniture upcycling is a rewarding pastime.
  • Create truly unique pieces. If you want your home furnished with items that you know are one-of-a-kind and that you have created yourself, then upcycling is the way to do that.
  • It reduces waste. Turn old, unwanted items into something new and loved instead of contributing to waste material.
  • It’s a great way to develop new skills. While furniture upcycling doesn’t have to be complicated, you can also challenge yourself to create new pieces and try new techniques to build your skills.

A Guide to Furniture Upcycling

Find the Right Space

To work in the best way, try to find a dedicated space where you can work on your furniture, as it could get messy with paint and tools. If you have outside space or a garage, this can work best for storage, but any clear floor space can work too.

Set Yourself Up with Good Tools

You don’t need to spend a fortune on tools, but having some basics around like paint brushes, sanders or saws will be a great help. Investing in multi-purpose tools, too, will always help by providing many different options for what you can achieve. You can browse articles like the best rotary tool: 2020 buyer’s guide and top products to compare ideas and prices.

Always Make a Plan

You don’t have to be too strict with what you want your item to look like, but having a rough idea will be a big help. This can mainly focus on what kind of tools you’re going to need, such as whether you’re simply giving an item a new coat of paint, or whether you want to completely transform the item by cutting off bits or adding to it.

Explore Furniture Options

Part of the fun of upcycling can be getting out in the world and finding pieces to update if you don’t have any old furniture yourself. This could be browsing used furniture stores or markets, or looking online for any people selling old furniture, or even giving away unwanted items for free. You may even want to buy very cheap and basic furniture to give a whole new look and upgrade to it.

Have Fun

Don’t be too strict or anxious when upcycling furniture. It should be a fun and creative experience, and you’re not looking to create a quality furniture item, only something that you can love and enjoy. When upcycling, you can build your skills as you go along and learn new techniques, therefore don’t concentrate too much on avoiding mistakes, and instead simply learn as you go along.