15 Repurposed Furniture Ideas That Will Give Your Pieces a Fresh Look

There is no denying that bringing property a new decor merchandise is thrilling. The pleasure of repurposed home furniture that is all your very own? Yowza! Right after all, upcycled furniture is not only inexpensive, it offers you an possibility to operate on Diy assignments that allow you to exercise significant creative muscle, and it is far more sustainable than shopping for a new piece. In accordance to the Environmental Security Agency, as of 2018, there was about 12 million tons of furniture and furnishings squander created, with about 9 million creating it to the landfill. Aged home furniture produced of wood was the premier waste substance generated in the group. “It’s accomplishing your part to beat the climate crisis, but in a way that is not only sensible and stunning but experience-great too,” says Whitney Frances Falk, founder and CEO of the New York–based furniture rental support ZZ Driggs.

If you need to have a bit inspiration to get started on a home furnishings makeover undertaking, Ad has 15 stellar repurposed home furnishings suggestions from upcycling specialists who share their favourite, innovative (and easy!) suggestions for turning one piece into another.

What is repurposed household furniture?

“Repurposed home furniture is furniture presented a second lease on life—whether reupholstered, refinished, repainted, or redone,” Falk suggests. Think of this makeover as extra than anything cosmetic for a coffee table or an aged dresser, but, in some situations, a finish practical transformation. For case in point, reconfiguring a coffee table into a huge planter or introducing doors on a bookcase to make it into an structured kitchen area pantry. “It’s remodeling [furniture] in a way that provides utility and magnificence to your inside,” she proceeds. And due to the fact repurposed furnishings is often a Diy venture, it turns in a sentimental piece that’s a conversation starter.

What is it termed when you repurpose home furniture?

“Repurposing furniture is also normally known as upcycling,” suggests Grace Baena, interiors curator for utilised-household furniture market Kaiyo. “For most, it is a way to choose anything that might have observed better days and make it come to feel thoroughly custom made and exclusive.” Repurposing home furniture, irrespective of whether it’s a bookcase or a nightstand, is 1 of the most valuable, alluring, and simply just enjoyment methods to make a treasured heirloom out of practically nothing.

What can I make out of aged furnishings?

The limited solution is: Anything. If TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have taught us something is that creativity has no limits when it will come to Diy home furniture. What it does occur down to is your willingness to try one thing new and the perseverance to rummage by way of garage revenue and thrift stores for home decor. “Other preferred sites to glance for objects to upcycle are Fb Marketplace, estate product sales, and swap fulfills or flea marketplaces,” claims Wendy Smit of Wendy Smit Interiors in Nashville.

Your talent degree, of study course, arrives into enjoy. Preferred upcycled home furnishings projects include things like headboard updates, chalk paint magic on a vintage console desk, previous table transformations, kitchen island rehabs, refinishing midcentury cabinets, and lighting. So a great deal lights! “The alternatives for upcycled household furniture are limitless if you’re handy and have a great imagination,” Smit claims. 

How do you upcycle furnishings for beginners?

“There are tons of video clip tutorials to get inspiration on TikTok (#furnitureflip has 5 billion views) and Instagram,” Baena suggests. “For beginners to Diy furnishings, I suggest setting up with reupholstering, portray, or staining.” Smit suggests you start off by searching around your individual dwelling for things that no more time provide you, could use an update, or need a new function. For occasion, an previous IKEA bookshelf can be transformed into a savvy new piece. One particular matter to preserve in head is that you are currently operating with previous home furnishings and, although refinishing or repurposing gives it new daily life, if you mess up you’re destroying some thing of significant value. Go through on for some strategies to get you begun.

1. Convert a cabinet into a bar