Whilst my last blog was all about upcycling for the garden and in all honesty, I will probably return to that particular subject again and again as I find upcycled garden items totally enthralling, this week I am having a look at upcycled items for the inside of the home.
With modern furniture and household items being quite cheap and not being built to last, many end up in landfill once their use-by date is up. Repairing furniture when it is cheap to replace may not seem worth the effort. A visit to a garage sale of a deceased estate sale will often turn up beautiful, well-built pieces of furniture that, with a bit of work can be unique and will last a long time.
I have a beautiful old dressing table that my Grandfather bought for me at a deceased estate sale when I was a teenager. He paid $5.00 for it. I sanded it back and refinished it and have used it ever since. It has moved with me from Tasmania to Western Australia and finally found its home in New South Wales. I had a drawer repaired once when I couldn’t get it sorted by myself, the cabinet maker who repaired it was loathe to touch it as he thought it was probably quite valuable. The craftsmanship is fabulous with fabulous dovetail joins all made from Tasmanian Oak. I have no idea how old it is but I imagine it is beyond vintage and into the antique range and it remains a beautiful and functional piece of furniture.
I am lucky enough to be surrounded by incredibly talented people who do all sorts of creative work with an amazing array of items. Their talents go way beyond sanding and refinishing a dressing table. I wish I had half their talent and was brave enough to try some of the projects they have undertaken.
The gorgeous cabinet below was given a new lease of life by Bron. What a difference a good paint job with a couple of different shades makes. With handles that match the era and feature work on the glass in the doors, this piece would look at home just about anywhere.
If you’re superstitious a broken mirror means seven years of bad luck. When my friend Kathi had a broken mirror, she took the pieces and used her incredible talent to make two new mirrors that are unique and pieces of art.
Kathi also made this coffee table using reclaimed pallet wood and black tiles. If you have ever tried pulling a pallet apart without damaging the wood, you will have the same level of admiration for Kathi as I do.
Another coffee table made into something very unique with the use of mosaic skills with broken china.
Need to keep the dog food off the floor? Simply find some old chairs, cut down the legs, add a hole in the seat the size of the food and water bowl and voila!
I don’t think this coat rack is made from reclaimed pallet wood, but you could use the same principle for a bespoke piece of furniture.
These pieces from Lovekin Designs are made using reclaimed items from old cameras and clocks. How beautiful are they?
Once you have seen some of the things that can be achieved through Upcycling you won’t look at old pieces of furniture, broken china or mirrors in the same way again.
We would love to see some of your upcycled pieces. If you would like to share photos, please add them in the comments on our Facebook page and share their story.
Photographs that are not credited and named are used with the permission of UPcyclity the UPcycling community on Facebook.