If you’re anything like us, you’ve probably been waiting all winter to get back into the upcycling game. Of course, we’ve been repurposing smaller things around our homes all winter, but sometimes it’s just not the same! Now, don’t get us wrong; technically you can upcycle furniture any time of the year. There is, after all no specific “upcycling season”! To us, however, it makes more sense to transform and refurbish big furniture pieces when you have the space to work outside.
Check out these 15 awesome furniture upcycling projects that we can’t wait to try this spring to give our home a new look!
1. Dresser to TV console
Do you have an old dresser that you’ve been planning to get rid of for some time now? Then why not turn it into something else you can use, probably even more than you used it in its original form? Domestic Superhero suggests removing some of the drawers to create shelves and making yourself a TV stand with built in storage! We love the bright, pop art yellow they chose here.
2. Geometric dresser drawers
Maybe you’re not quite as inclined to upcycle the actual construction of your dresser, but you’d really like to give it a bit of a facelift at least? Then let your more creative skills do the work instead and create a geometric design! DIY Network shows you how to keep things nice and even using strips of tape and paint in whatever colour scheme you choose.
3. Card catalogue credenza
Have you recently come across an old set of card cataloguing drawers at a garage sale or a thrift store? This might not seem like the most useful piece of furniture to you at first, but once you see the innovative way that Oakland Avenue turned it into a credenza for the front hallway, we don’t think you’ll find it an obscure piece to own anymore!
4. Crib to chalkboard top desk
Are your kids right at that in-between age where they don’t really need cribs anymore but you’ve still got a playroom to keep furnished with little kid-sized things? Some parents don’t want to but things like little kids’ desks because their kids will be too tall to sit at them in no time at all. Instead, A Little Learning for Two suggests repurposing your baby crib as a desk! Check out their tutorial to see how they turned the bottom that would usually hold the mattress into a fun chalkboard desktop that’s low enough to the ground for little ones to sit at.
5. Cork board to desktop
Is a desk precisely the kind of upcycling project you’re interested in, but you’d prefer one for yourself rather than your kids? Are you an avid crafter or sewing enthusiast who’s always marking up the top of your current desk or wishing it was softer so you can stick pins in it? Then check out this practical and totally repurposed chic cork board desktop from Thistlewood Farms instead! Their tutorial teaches you how to transform a regular, hard surfaced desk into one that optimizes your crafting and note taking space.
6. Faux wood finish bedside table
Maybe you’re actually quite happy with the physical design and current construction of your bedside table but you’d prefer that it look a little bit more naturally wooden? Our favourite kind of wooden furniture accessory, for example, has a subtle wood grain that not all cheaper furniture pieces feature. Rather than getting rid of a perfectly good piece and buying a new one, just add a faux but convincing wood grain finish to the surface, just like Bird and Branch Redesign teaches you how to do here!
7. Crib to bench
Were you intrigued by the idea of upcycling or repurposing your kids’ old baby crib but it’s actually been so long since it was built and used that no one in your house is small enough to need a kids’ sized desk anymore like we talked about above? Well, don’t go throwing the crib out just yet because there are plenty of other things you can turn it into! Perhaps our favourite crib transformation piece is this one by A Diamond in the Stuff that turns it into a gorgeous bench perfectly sized for setting in the front hall where people put their shoes on.
8. Floor mat ottoman
Okay, we know that floor mats don’t technically constitute furniture to be upcycled, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be repurposed and turned into furniture! That’s exactly what Upcycle That did here. Their tutorial teaches you how to transform four floor mats into a comfortable stuffed stool that’s great for sitting and resting your feet on.
9. Log and chair leg end tables
Do you have some old desk chairs or lawn chairs that still have stands or legs that are in good working order but the seats are either broken or just not to your taste? Then upcycle just part of the chair instead of letting the whole thing go to waste! DIY Network suggests attaching old chair stands to beautifully sanded and stained sections of sizeable log to create your own rustic chic side or end tables.
10. Coffee table to upholstered ottoman
Wooden coffee tables are a gorgeous feature in any room, but if you’ve lived in the same place for a long while then you might already have more than you need. Instead of getting rid of one, give the legs a coat of paint and get our some patterned fabric that suits your living room’s colour scheme, then follow the awesome tutorial on Not So Newlywed McGees to create a conservatively plush ottoman.
11. Kitchen cabinet mudroom bench
Sometimes the things you can upcycle to improve your home aren’t just plain furniture pieces, but rather things that were once actually built into the home’s layout and design. Your kitchen cabinets, for example, can still be of use to you once they’ve been taken off the walls and replaced. DIY Network suggests adding some feet and a top layer of thick wood to create a mudroom bench, giving you lots of storage space for things like outdoor winter clothing.
12. Filing cabinet to end table or kitchen island
Don’t you just love getting things at a rate of two for the price of one? We sure do! That’s actually what first caught our eye about this particular upcycling project; Upcycle That shows you two separate ways in one place to transform an office filing cabinet into either an end table or a small kitchen island.
13. Reupholstered painted chairs
Did you like the sound of upholstering things using fun patterned fabrics but you just don’t need a large ottoman right at this moment? Then consider upholstering a smaller piece of furniture instead! Sew and So suggests attaching the fabric to the seat of a chair and painting the rest a fun, bright colour that either complements or contrasts both the fabric and the room around you. We love that they look a little bit kitschy but also a little bit pop art when you get them all finished!
14. Paint and decoupage dresser
Speaking of painting furniture; we’ve already shown you an awesomely geometric painted dresser, but we know that intricate designs like that aren’t to everyone’s tastes. What if you’d like to give your dresser a painted makeover but you’d prefer a look that’s a little more whimsical instead? DIY Network suggests using your decoupage techniques to paste adorable little flowers across the front of the drawers once your paint design is finished and dried.
15. Painted upholstery
Perhaps you already have a wonderfully upholstered vintage chair and now you’re just looking for a way to embellish it slightly so that it’s got a little bit more style or something to catch the eye? Well, if you’re a very patient person and skilled at painting designs by hand, then you might enjoy using your chair’s cushions as a blank canvas for your art, just like One Creative Couple did with this stunning floral design here.
