When you want a more sustainable future, upcycle wood furniture to get you there. Using repurposed furniture rather than buying new furniture pieces reduces your environmental impact while expanding your creativity. Whether you haunt thrift stores searching for statement pieces, hit flea markets looking for old furniture or keep Facebook Marketplace open in a quest for discarded items, these tips will help you give old furniture a new lease on life.
Understanding Upcycling and Its Impact
When we say “upcycling furniture,” we mean repurposing furniture that’s seen its better days into fashionable, functional items. For instance, you may check out garage sales and find an old coffee table matching your home decor style. You can add a fresh coat of Real Milk Paint to better mesh the color with the design. By furnishing your home with DIY projects like this, you reduce waste and make a real difference in your environmental footprint.
Choosing the Right Piece to Upcycle
When considering upcycling furniture, selecting the right piece for your DIY projects makes all the difference. The right piece of furniture has several key qualities beyond how it looks or how well it meshes with your home decor. These qualities include:
- Sturdiness. When considering pieces for upcycling projects, look for solid wood furniture with excellent structural integrity. Avoid old furniture with weak spots or damage that cannot be easily repaired.
- Quality. Find furniture made with high-quality woods — materials like MDF and plywood may not survive the upcycling process. Though any solid wood furniture lends itself to upcycling projects, some of the best woods include maple, oak and cherry.
- Design. Pick old furniture that complements your personal home decor style. Opt for furniture with ornate moldings to dress up a traditional bedroom or old pieces with unique shapes to bring out the best in your modern living room.
- Size. Get a sense of scale in your room to ensure the furniture items fit well within the space. If the furniture pieces you pick are too small, they may feel uncomfortably dainty, but if they’re too big, they might overwhelm other furnishings.
- Condition. Condition matters the most when you’re upcycling furniture. You may need to fill in some problem areas with Real Wood Filler or perform other minor repairs. But furniture items that require more than that may be more work than they’re worth.
Preparing Your Furniture for Upcycling
Start the process correctly by preparing old furniture for upcycling with eco-friendly products from the Real Milk Paint Co. Use Emerge Cleaner & Degreaser to remove dirt and grime from the surface quickly and safely. When dealing with multiple layers of unknown old paint on the surface, use Soy-Gel Professional Paint Remover to remove them while encapsulating harmful ingredients like lead. This eco-friendly paint remover has a formulation with low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), making it safer for use in areas without much ventilation. Next, repair any metal stains on the wood beneath the finish with Oxalic Wood Bleach. Then, repair damaged areas with Real Wood Filler. Lastly, rub the old furniture down with sandpaper to smooth the surface and better prepare it for painting.
Design and Inspiration
When upcycling furniture to suit your setting, take inspiration from the world around you. First, choose themes that consistently crop up in the home decor you select. For example, if you surround yourself with trees, consider paint color, furniture transfers and hardware that bring that motif to life. Next, choose every element to upcycle wooden furniture according to your tree-inspired design ideas.
Let’s say you discover a classic coffee table that’s seen better days and give the wooden furniture piece a new life as a side table for your bedroom. Begin the DIY project by brushing on two coats of Lily Pad green, and add a Tree of Life furniture transfer when it dries. Next, exchange the hardware for options featuring complementary trees. Complete the look of the wooden furniture and transform it into a work of art by detailing the edges and freehanding falling leaves with a round paintbrush filled with Granny Smith green.
Painting and Finishing Techniques
Give wood furniture a new lease on life with painting and finishing techniques and products that create a vintage aesthetic. The process you follow should be based on the products you decide to use, so be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for proper use. For instance, give an old dresser new life in your farmhouse, country-style or shabby-chic space by distressing the surface with Natural Crackle Paste. If you want to add a patina of time to the most frequently touched spots, use different techniques with Soft Finishing Wax. Choosing two-tone Real Milk Paint color schemes in contrasting and complementary hues also lends extra visual appeal to your upcycling projects. Once you achieve your desired look, seal your design with eco-friendly finishes like Pure Tung Oil or Hemp Oil.
Advanced Upcycling Ideas
Take your furniture projects to the next level with upcycling ideas that further transform old pieces. Use these advanced ideas when you want to upcycle furniture to better suit your home and home decor.
Adding Furniture Transfers
Rather than just changing the color of wooden furniture with Real Milk Paint, customize upcycling projects further with furniture transfers. These ready-made designs simplify home decor with fashionable motifs that tie your space together. Simply place them where you want them on your furniture, rub the furniture transfers however long it says on the package and pull away the backing paper. Alternatively, use electronic cutting machines like Cricut Makers or Silhouette Cameos to make personalized furniture transfers that precisely match your room design.
Decoupaging Old Furniture
Infuse your paint job with extra beauty by decoupaging the surface with your favorite thin papers. Add these touches before your final coat of Real Milk Paint so you can distress the edges with your brush as you paint, and cover the design with sealant for a smooth look. For example, maybe you found floral napkins at a yard sale and want to add them to an old dresser. You cut them up how you want them, use a sealer to secure them and blend in the last coat of paint around the edges, brushing on a final coat of sealer over the decoupage and paint alike.
Changing Out the Hardware
In some cases, upcycled furniture ideas help when the color you choose means the old furniture’s new look clashes with the old hardware. Let’s say you find a bathroom vanity on Facebook Marketplace that you want to transform into garage storage. Once you repaint the piece gray to suit the utilitarian space, the old ornate hardware doesn’t fit the new look. You complete the upcycled furniture project by installing streamlined chrome pulls for the drawers and doors.
Increasing Furniture Functionality
Repurposed furniture ideas don’t stop at aesthetics — they can also make your old furniture more fashionable and functional. For instance, you find an old china cabinet at a thrift store and decide to repurpose it as a coffee bar. You remove the glass doors entirely and add shelves to hold all the essentials for your morning coffee. Alternatively, you decide to repurpose an old cabinet as a kitchen pantry. It has an open design, so you can install solid doors to keep dust off pantry items and better conceal clutter.
Care and Maintenance of Upcycled Furniture
Whether you’re upcycling picture frames, performing headboard updates, or repurposing wooden furniture like tables, proper care and maintenance make a real difference in caring for the piece. Nontoxic products by the Real Milk Paint Co. help you keep your repurposing projects in tip-top condition over time, preserving the finish you add and enhancing the overall beauty. For instance, regular conditioning with our Wood Wax prevents wooden items from drying out and cracking. Alternatively, Soft Wax helps you maintain longevity and easily change the hue of your piece.
Create Your Next Upcycled Project Using Real Milk Paint Co. Products
Upcycling furniture using different techniques showcases your creativity and resourcefulness. The Real Milk Paint Co. supports your quest for a more sustainable future with eco-friendly products that take you through every step of the repurposing process.
