An area where you can save a lot of money is in furnishing your home. Buying new furniture is extremely expensive (and if you have small children or pets you know that furniture gets stained, scratched, and worn very quickly). With two young boys, it is a constant struggle to keep furniture safe from spills, dirt, and bits of food at my house. When you upcycle furniture you can get the look you want for much less.
It is a rewarding task to upcycle furniture. You take something unwanted and give it a new life. Not only is it great on the pocketbook, but it also helps stop beautiful and useful pieces of furniture from going to the landfill. You can make small changes to furniture to give it a quick update or get more extreme and use your creativity to completely transform an item.
Depending on the type of furniture, it may need some repair, some paint, some cleaning, or all of the above. Knowing what furniture to select and what to do can take this from a fun idea to the beginning of a rewarding project for your home. It can be hard to know where to start if you have not upcycled furniture before. Below are the basic tips to select great furniture to ensure that you get the most reward out of your work.
Upcycling Furniture Essentials to Get Started:
- Have a Plan, Know What You are Looking For
There is a ton of available used furniture for sale, it can be a bit overwhelming with all the options. Knowing your plan helps to weed down the selection and to exactly what to look for. A plan narrows your focus so you do not purchase items just because they are nice or a good deal.
It is important to ask yourself questions like the ones listed below to make certain that the furniture you select meets your needs:
– What will I use it for?
– Can I afford it(is it in my budget)?
– Is this a want or a need?
– Do I have room for it?
– Is it the ideal piece of furniture or am I settling for what I can find?
– Would something else work better?
– Is it worth the cost (is it a quality piece of furniture)?
– How much time, money, and effort is it to transform the item into what I need (am I willing and able to do this and still fall within budget?)
I usually measure the area that I am looking to place a piece of furniture and keep it in a note on my phone. This allows me to reference it when I am shopping so any item I consider will fit the space. I also keep a small tape measure in my purse to measure items easily. - Where to Find Affordable Used Furniture
Yard Sales, thrift stores, and online marketplaces (FB Marketplace, Kijiji, Craig’s List) have a wealth of used furniture. I find my best deals are in local FB Groups, where people are just looking to get rid of items (due to them not being needed, moving, etc.). I always search, FB Marketplace for free things, it is amazing what people just give away.
This is where knowing your local thrift stores come in handy. Some of my local stores have furniture but it is very overpriced, others have it at prices that you can’t beat. You just need to know which one has the best deals to cost-effectively upcycle furniture. We also have community habitat for humanity thrift stores in our area and they are a goldmine for home improvement projects and furniture. Top 10 Thrifting Tips provides lots of additional information on how to get the best deals thrifting.
Letting friends and family know that you would be interested in any used furniture is also a good idea. My family knows I always am looking to upcycle furniture. That makes sure you are first in line if they decide they don’t want something. You can always say no if it is something that you don’t need or want. I also like to pay it forward and give away any items that I no longer need. It helps me feel like it balances out (I may take a free piece of furniture someone is giving away but I also give furniture I don’t need to others as a way of paying it forward). - Looking for Quality Furniture
Finding quality upcycle furniture means that you need to know what to look for. There are a few telltale signs that let me hone in on quality furniture quickly.
Solid wood furniture is always better and easier to work with than other products like particleboard, MDF, or veneer. Good furniture woods are cherry, oak, mahogany, pine, and maple wood.
Look at the Construction:
– Look at the drawers for things like dovetails (joints interlock like puzzle pieces)
– Furniture held together by staples at the joints is a sign of poor construction
– Test the drawers to see if they slide easily
– Chair/sofa: sit in it to test the construction and springs (make sure it is comfortable and sturdy)
– Check the upholstery (heavier and more expensive upholstery lasts longer if there are signs of wear, discoloration, or thinning of the fiber it may be a cheaper material)
– Look at the construction of the frame, to ensure there are no cracks or issues. better furniture usually has reinforcement in the corners to make them stronger
– Look at the back panel of a dresser (if the maker bothered to make the back out of quality solid material instead of particleboard the chances are that the maker took the same care with the rest of the piece)
-Inspect for damage, cracks, and/or chips in the surfaces that would need repair - Know Your Style
Even though you can change the look of the furniture, the shape should fit your style and be proportional to the furniture in the rest of the room and the space. If the rest of the room has modern furniture you are going to want to coordinate a new piece to make it look like it belongs in a modern room. If your room has natural wood in it already you would want to ensure that if you are adding more wood it should be in the same shade/ color family to look like it belongs.
My style preferences change often, and I have a mix of traditional, antique, and modern. I get inspiration for how to coordinate my décor and make it all match online. Pinterest is my go-to, I follow lots of the larger high-end décor stores and pin my favorite rooms for inspiration. There are online quizzes available to help you identify your décor style.
Pick color pallets per room, to know the different colors that work well together and what to keep an eye out for when shopping. It is very easy to pick up paint chips (especially the chips that already have the coordinating colors on the same strip) at your local paint supply store and carry them in your purse for quick reference. You need design inspiration when you upcycle furniture. - Cleanliness and Smell
I cannot stress this enough. It is critical to inspect the furniture carefully before you buy it and take it to your home. You DO NOT want to bring home any unwanted guests like rodents, cockroaches, or bed bugs. Not only are these things gross, but they can also be costly to eradicate. There are many great sites to learn how to identify infestations/ signs on furniture and I recommend you look it up to know the visual signs. If you find anything that resembles critters, DO NOT BUY IT, it is not worth the risk.
In terms of cleanliness, I am ok with a little bit of dust and dirt if something has been stored or is old. I always clean every surface of the furniture I buy and have a hand steamer for upholstery. Staining/discoloration of the material may not come off with cleaning, so be mindful of that.
I also always smell the furniture. If it has a bad, musty, or smoke smell I will not purchase it. Smells are extremely difficult to get rid of, and on warm days the smell can permeate a room (even after you have cleaned it). Odors seem to sink into the piece of furniture and linger. Pet urine is another smell to look out for, it can be difficult to get rid of and not worth buying something if you suspect it has been soiled. To upcycle furniture you need to make sure that the finished product is going to be worth the effort. - Make Sure You Can Get It Home
Furniture can be very large. You need to know how you are getting it home before buying. Knowing the size of furniture that will fit in your vehicle is important. Measure the back of your vehicle to make certain it will fit. In addition, you need to know that you can get it in the vehicle (or that you have help to lift it). Know the weight as well. You don’t want to purchase items you cannot physically carry unless you have planned for the appropriate assistance.
You can enlist help from friends with trucks for larger items (if you do this please ensure that you offer to pay for gas and or time, or provide a little thank you gift to show appreciation). Companies also move furniture items for a fee if that is something you are interested in. If the furniture piece is a good deal it may be worth paying a delivery fee.
Also, make sure that you can fit the upcycle furniture in your home. It must be able to fit in the doorway, go around corners, or upstairs (if applicable). It would be a disaster to purchase something, transport it home to find out you can’t get it through the door or up the stairs! - Refinishing Options
There are so many different ways to refinish furniture. Depending on what material it is made of will depend on what is possible and will work best. For solid wood pieces, I typically will strip the piece, sand, and then paint or stain. I use chalk paint for quick projects and stain for quality wood items. Metal can be painted with appropriate paint (I usually use Rustoleum spray paint.
What paint you use really will depend on what look you are going for. The material of the furniture you are painting also will determine which paint/ stain is best. It can be overwhelming to look at all the paint choices: paint stripper, primer, latex, oil, chalk paint, milk paint, finishing wax, sealers….the options are endless.
I recommend researching to see what look appeals to you and what paints are best for your particular surface (to ensure durability). Before selecting the type of paint/ materials you will use and the steps you are going to take, know your end goal (what you want it to look like, the durability you need, and if you want a glossy or matte finish). This will narrow down the choices for you and help you determine the steps you need to take to upcycle the furniture.
Know how much time you are willing to invest in the project. Many people select chalk paint for the simple reason it doesn’t require sanding or priming before painting (it can be much faster to complete a project). There can be pros and cons to chalk paint as well, it depends on what you want the finished product to look like and the durability you need. Again, research and pick the best option for your particular goal and time.
Doing your research is important to make sure you get the result you want. I recommend joining Facebook groups dedicated to refinishing furniture, they are a wealth of information. Pinterest also has lots of information on this subject and is a great place to reference ideas and project materials.
The research before starting your project is worth it. You don’t want to spend your time refinishing an item to then not get the intended result. Below is some inspiration:
17 Beautiful Painted Furniture Ideas - Additional Options To Transform Furniture
In addition to painting, there are many different ways to change the look of upcycled furniture. You can change the hardware, change the legs, change the top surface, reupholster, use wallpaper, apply the contact paper, add/ remove shelves, add/remove drawers, mod podge images to it, use stencils, add decorations, add/remove trim, or add/ remove glass or mirrors. There are so many creative things that you can do. It is easy to be a bit braver with your transformation when you have not invested a large amount of money into a piece of furniture. You don’t feel as scared to take a risk and try something new if you are not losing a lot of money.
Furniture doesn’t have to be boring, it can be a reflection of your personality. Well-chosen furniture can pull the design of a room together, or be a statement piece in a room. - Think Outside The Box
Even though a piece of furniture was made for a particular purpose there is always the possibility of using it in a new and unique way. You can find different uses for things (repurpose the main use of the item to fit your needs).
Long dressers can easily become TV stands or console tables, bookshelves can become storage areas, entertainment cabinets can become coffee bars. again Choices and uses are only limited to your imagination when you upcycle furniture.
A few examples of recent projects I have completed are an old sewing table made into a portable bar/ ice cart for the patio (I plan to do a post on this), a garment rack transformed into an outside cooking kitchen (for camping), a display table from a retail store into a desk and a crib into a bike rack. The trick is to look at an item and look at the possibilities or what it can become and have fun making it into something new and beautiful.
Upcycling furniture can save a lot of money, helps reduce waste, and can enable you to live a luxurious life for pennies. You can take pride in your one-of-a-kind beautiful item.