Upcycling furniture and home decor is super popular right now, and there’s a lot of great stuff out there!
I’m a bit of a collector myself, of course, so I love mixing and matching antique pieces for an eclectic vibe. My style is obviously more dark-boho, but you can find a ton of different pieces with different aesthetics if you look hard enough!
Instead of buying expensive new furniture or cheap, mass-produced stuff, why not get some beautiful vintage pieces and give them a bit of a revamp? It’s a great way to update your space without spending lots of money, and it’s also better for the environment because you’re recycling and going GREEN!
The problem is, it can be a struggle to find any good pieces. If you go into an antique store, sometimes pieces are super expensive, and in a lot of second-hand furniture stores, the quality isn’t great or the pieces don’t have the right vibe. There are fewer options to upcycle newer furniture because these days, it is possible to get in some Upholstery Cleaning Melbourne companies or ones in your local area, to help restore a piece of furniture to as close to its original condition as possible. Meaning a lot of today’s furniture can be repaired! This means that charity shops and antique shops are your best bet at finding furniture to upcycle. Or of course, your own furniture if you are bored of the color or style. But most people prefer the beautifully crafted vintage furniture you can find. The good news is, you can get some amazing vintage furniture online, as long as you know where to look! Who knew?! Keep in mind though that old furniture you find may have some unwanted visitors like termites depending on the wood and size. If this is true and you bring it into your home without having it treated, then it will spread to your other furniture and floorboards. Look out for termite signs and see what has been affected, you will then need to bring in pest control and have them deal with it as soon as possible. Upcycling furniture is fun but you have got to be aware of the best way to do it.
Follow these simple tips and tricks and you can find the perfect furniture for upcycling.
Be Patient
If you spend half an hour browsing online and you can’t find anything you like, you might decide that there aren’t any good pieces of furniture out there and you should just give up. The thing is, new listings are added all the time and sometimes, it takes a while before you stumble across a real gem. So, the most important rule is to be patient, check regularly for new listings, and eventually, you will find something that you love.
Don’t Get too Caught Up With Aesthetics
When looking at a piece of furniture for the first time, it’s easy to disregard it because you don’t like the color or it looks a bit rough around the edges. But remember, you are upcycling these pieces, so the aesthetic isn’t the most important thing to consider! Think of it as a blank canvas to add your own personal style!!! Instead, you need to look at the condition of the piece. If you are looking at wooden furniture, it doesn’t matter what the finish is like, it just matters about the state of the wood. If it’s solid, you can sand it down and do whatever you like with it. The same goes for soft furnishings that can be reupholstered. You’re looking for a good basis to work from, not a finished piece of furniture! It’s all about good bones, y’all!
Something I am dying to try is chalk paint – it’s been super trendy the past few years but I haven’t gotten around to experimenting with it! As always, spray paint works wonders (I loveeeee matte black spray paint. I used it for a few pieces like mirror frames and lamps and it is just so GOOODD!)…..
Don’t Worry About Delivery
People often pass on great pieces of furniture because they’re big and they don’t know how they’re going to get them delivered. But if you use furniture shipping services that compare lots of quotes, you can quickly find a reasonable deal. Remember, you’re saving a lot of money by upcycling old furniture instead of buying brand new stuff, so it’s worth paying for something to be delivered if you are unable to collect it. If you limit yourself to items in the local area to avoid paying for delivery, you will find it much harder to get great pieces of furniture.
Tip* If you do find something you like and the delivery costs will be quite high, you could always try to barter the price down a bit to offset some of that cost.
