Recycled furniture can add character and value to any room in your home for less. Look out for pieces perfect for upcycling at thrift stores, yard sales, or even on trash day – or try searching your own backyard!
Whatever your creativity or needs may be, upcycling offers something suitable for everyone. From painting projects to complete transformations of furniture pieces into something fresh and unusual – there’s bound to be an upcycling project waiting for you!
Repurposed Dining Room Chairs
Simple makeovers are often the best way to upgrade furniture quickly and affordably. A fresh coat of paint or fabric remnants can give old pieces new life; or get creative and use stencils and fabric remnants to craft something truly one-of-a-kind!
If your chair features an attractive backrest but no usable seat, consider turning it into an interesting wall-mounted storage shelf like this one from myrepurposedlife. Or use its backrest as part of a towel rack shelf like All Things Thrifty shows!
If you’re up for an more involved DIY furniture makeover project, turn chair backs into beautiful picture frames. This project from debisdesigniary may require additional work but the rewards make the effort well worthwhile.
Repurposed Hutch
Repurposing old furniture, whether by revamping, re-doing, reclaiming, or repurposing is an ecologically responsible practice that saves both money and waste by reusing items you already have rather than purchasing brand-new ones.
This hutch was brought back to life with new paint, stencils and hardware – giving it both modern and classic styling!
This hutch has been transformed into an eye-catching entryway storage solution, featuring removable wallpaper to add visual interest and additional function to its top drawers. You could use this technique on other furniture pieces, like dressers or sideboards.
Repurposed Nightstand
Nightstands can be one of the most useful pieces of furniture. Not only are they useful for holding books and bedtime essentials, they’re also an eye-catching piece that adds balance and harmony to a room.
Reusing old furniture pieces to create stunning nightstands is easy! Take this idea from TheEverygirl to transform a crate into an eye-catching nightstand that serves its function beautifully.
Take a look at this DIY project by rogueengineer. This nightstand features both wood and concrete construction to give it an ultramodern appearance, yet can easily be customized based on personal tastes – making this an easy and rewarding DIY task that anyone can undertake!
Repurposed Desk
DIY dreams of giving old pieces of furniture new lives is what drive our DIY endeavors forward. An apothecary cabinet picked up off of the curb received a fresh new look thanks to some paint and dark wax applied by its owner.
Old sewing machine tables can be found easily at thrift stores and make for perfect desks. In this instance, one was painted and stenciled to look like expensive bone inlay; using a sponge roller speeded up the process considerably.
Transform any bookcase into a cocktail-making and serving station by cutting nonparallel 45-degree miter cuts at each shelf section’s short end. Peel-and-stick wallpaper adds style, while adhesive cork shelf liners add functionality. Secure each section to the back of the shelf using L brackets before painting and priming for final touches.
Repurposed Kitchen Island
Most pieces of furniture can be transformed into an affordable kitchen island using upcycling techniques. From old dressers that combine storage with work surface to sideboards or buffet cabinets that you convert, anything from anything can become the focal point for cooking in your own space. Add an extendable worktop and some seating to turn this DIY island into a convivial spot to cook!
Shipping pallets make an excellent DIY kitchen island base. Simply scrub down and stain a pallet before installing your worktop of choice such as wood, tile or slate; additionally you could even hang hooks to store kitchen tools and utensils.
Paint can transform even the dullest thrift-store finds into statement-making pieces, so use this creative upcycling idea to give an old wooden dresser new life as a kitchen island.