How-to Upcycle Furniture - Tips & Tricks

Transform Your Decor

Do you like to turn trash into treasure? Are you frequently at thrift stores looking for furniture and home decor to upcycle? Then you are in the right place! Here at Plaid, we LOVE upcycling furniture and home decor. It is a simple and affordable way to make your furniture pieces stand out. We make it so easy to refresh your decor with a variety of products that are versatile and simple to use. From chalk paint to paint sets to tools, we've got everything you need to make your DIY projects unique and personal. 

In today's blog, we have gathered some very helpful tips and tricks from our expert crafters to share with you! These tricks are what they use when they craft and are sure to make your next crafting experience easy and fun. 

How do you upcycle? Keep reading to learn how to make your DIY projects stand out!

Upcycling Products

Before you get started make sure you stock up your craft supplies with these products! 

  

  
 

Tips for Upcycling Furniture and Home Decor

We asked some of our crafters and DIYers to give us their best tips and tricks they have learned from years of upcycling. Here's what they had to say!

1.  Always try and look for solid wood pieces of furniture or home decor 
   • Look for solid, sturdy, heavy pieces that can easily be painted or decoupaged to give the piece a second life. By picking a piece that is quality made, it will ensure that the piece will last even longer after you have upcycled it. This can also include plywood as long as it is high grade such as birch or oak. These are easy to sand and repair.
2.  Make sure to clean your surface with a good cleaning solution
   • Always use just soap and water to clean your piece before beginning to craft. Removing all dust and grim will allow your paint, stain, or glue to adhere to your surface more easily. Once clean fill in any scratches or dings with wood filler. Once the wood filler is dry, hand sand it with a high grit sandpaper. 
3.  Don’t pass up a piece of furniture because it is badly damaged.
   • Just because it may have pieces missing or is covered in dings, doesn't mean that a piece is no good. It just means it needs a little more love. Start by cleaning the piece like mentioned in point #2. Then use epoxy wood filler products to mend almost anything such as dings, scratches, or even huge chunks that are missing from the piece. Depending on your skill level you can even re-sculpt and embellished areas to cover imperfections.
4.  Easily add accents to an old piece of furniture with products like FolkArt Treasure Gold or FolkArt Home Decor Chalk.
   • After basecoating your piece, use bright, shimmering paints to accent your piece with a personal touch to make your piece truly one of a kind. It can really add an upscale look and unique touch to your home decor. Need an example of what we are talking about? Check out this furniture flip we did with an old cabinet. We painted it blue, then gave it a gold accent for a fresh modern look. Read the blog now!
5. Always think outside of the box when you’re thinking of repurposing a piece of furniture.
   • There are many ways to bring a piece back to life other than just adding a coat of paint. For example, you can take a square end table or nightstand and add hairpin legs to give it a more modern look or take two desk drawers and some legs off an old table to create a unique shelf. And with a few cuts from a jigsaw, you can turn a headboard and footboard from a bed into a bench - learn how to make a headboard bench! Always look to combine pieces. Maybe one piece of furniture has amazing legs and another piece has a great top. You can put these two different designs together and make a new and trendy up-to-date piece of furniture. The options are endless! Let your imagination run wild!
6.  Distressing Furniture Pieces 
   • Do you love that rustic, farmhouse look on your furniture pieces? Furniture like this can get kind of expensive, but we make it so easy and affordable that you can do it yourself. That weathered look is easy to achieve with some simple layering and distressing techniques. Read our entire blog about how to layer and distress wood! Shop some of the products you'll need to distress your next furniture flip.

Learn from our experts

Learn some basic chalk painting techniques with Kirsten.

Project Inspiration

Do you need some inspiration for your next DIY project? Check out some of our favorite furniture and home decor projects. Click each project below to get supplies and instructions. 

How are you upcycling?

What is your favorite piece that you have upcycled? How do you now use that piece? Share your DIY creations with us using #PlaidCrafts! We want to hear your stories and your tips & tricks for upcycling.

Happy Crafting!