How To Upcycle Furniture

When an organised home is a must and your budget is limited, look to secondhand or forgotten furniture. If they aren't to your taste, you can simply give it an upcycle. You’ll be surprised what some sanding, a lick of paint and hardware switch-up can do 🔧

MERCURY in Sage Green pops against these freshly painted kitchen cabinets 🌸

Why upcycle furniture?

Being a home-owner or renter is no cheap lifestyle. A budget-friendly way of furnishing your home is to upcycle a secondhand piece of furniture. You'll find plenty of dated pieces in the local charity shop or listed on Facebook Marketplace, all looking for a new home. They'll either end up being your next DIY project, or at the landfill site – we’d opt for the environmentally friendly option ♻
Your Nan’s forgotten dresser can also work well for your next upcycling project. You won’t even be able to recognise the piece, after you transform it with a design that better complements your interior scheme. Whether it’s a simple lime wash, a full-blown layer of paint and wallpaper or just a hardware refresh, there are endless ways to add personality to dated furniture 🖌

How to upcycle furniture

Whether you’re looking to upcycle pine furniture into personalised bedside tables, or hacking an IKEA PAX into a built-in wardrobe, we’ve a helpful guide to get you through it. We went all out with step-by-step instructions, plus tips and tricks you can’t miss.
Just select your upcycling project to find our words of wisdom 👩‍🏫

Kitchen cupboards 🔪

Is your kitchen pending a makeover, but you’ve not got the time or budget to gut out your kitchen cabinets and start from scratch? Try refreshing your kitchen cabinets and drawers with some paint and trend-inspired hardware. That's bound to revive your space, no matter what type of kitchen cabinets you're working with.

Wardrobes 👕

Your prized possessions deserve to be stored in a wardrobe that looks the part. Whether the paint is chipped or the colour of your wardrobes just doesn’t complement your bedroom scheme, a quick DIY will fix it. Here’s our guide to upcycling a wardrobe, covering everything from sanding and priming to installing new hardware.

Bedside tables 🛏

Bedside tables are an essential in every bedroom, both for practicality and style. If your bedside table isn’t adding to your design scheme, you’ll want to re-think its appearance. Get upcycling your dated bedside table with the help of our step-by-step guide.

Pine furniture 🪓

Remember all that pine furniture you saw in your local charity shop, the forgotten pine sideboard in your own home? They’re not unusable – their warm, traditional style just feels a little outdated. A sturdy, hard wood that is simple to stain and paint, it’s really the perfect furniture for upcycling. With endless creative possibilities, here’s our advice on upcycling pine furniture.

IKEA furniture ⬜

We’ve all got a piece of IKEA furniture that could do with a little more personality. Whether a BESTA or PAX wardrobe, here’s a run-down of our favourite IKEA hacks to inspire your next upcycling project. 
Once you’ve found inspiration for your IKEA furniture, head back here to find a guide with step-by-step upcycling instructions 📖

Our community is known for their can-do attitude when upgrading furniture. Head to our Project Inspiration page to see their latest projects 🧰
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