Upcycling furniture is a fantastic way to save money. You might already have some furniture that you can breathe new life into or maybe you’re thinking about looking for some bargains to transform. Upcycling allows you to do a little bit of work and turn a tired-looking piece of furniture into something more up-to-date that could last longer too. If you’ve never upcycled any furniture before, you might be unsure about where to stay. But it’s not difficult to start doing, especially if you’ve done a little bit of DIY before. Take a look at these upcycling tips to give it a try.

Look Out for Furniture with Potential

If you want to try an upcycling project, you might already have something in your home that you think could do with a bit of work. However, if you don’t, you’ll have to watch out for things you could transform. Fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities to get cheap or even free furniture to upcycle. The important thing is that it needs to be in good enough condition that it doesn’t need a huge amount of work. It needs to be fairly solid and shouldn’t require so much work that it would be cheaper and easier to just buy something new.

Set Up an Area Suitable for DIY

Upcycling can get a little messy, especially if you need to sand, paint or varnish anything. So it’s smart to have a space that’s suitable for DIY, where it’s ok to make a mess. You might have a garage or maybe a space outside. Another alternative is to set up a tent or even an inflatable booth for painting to keep all of your mess contained. If you have no choice but to do your work inside, put some old sheets on the floor. Make sure you work in a well-ventilated space.

Know How to Treat Different Materials

It’s important to take a look at the material you’re working with before you paint it or do any other work to it. If it’s untreated wood, you can paint straight onto it. If it’s varnished or treated wood, you’ll need to sand it down first before you can paint it. It’s a little trickier if you’re dealing with melamine or coated MDF, but you do have options for painting it. Just make sure you know what materials you’re handling before you start to do any work. That goes for fabrics and other materials too.

Learn How to Do Repairs and Upgrades

Painting furniture is a quick way to give it new life, but there are other things you might want to do when upcycling furniture too. You might sometimes need to make some minor repairs or you might like to upgrade some features, from replacing handles to re-upholstering. Some of these things are easy to do while others require a little more skill. As you complete more projects, you can build your skills and take on more challenging projects.

Upcycling furniture can be a lot of fun and it’s a great way to furnish your home for less. It also allows you to turn furniture into whatever you want.