If you’re anything like us, then you might be totally obsessed with the recent trend in not just upcycling, but upcycling old furniture in order to transform it into brand new pieces that can be used in your home! We have access to plenty of old pieces thanks to farm sales and local antique shops and we’re in need of some new furnishings since moving into a bigger home, so we’ve been on the lookout lately for fantastic tutorials that will help us save old furniture from the dump and give it a new lease on life in our home.
Just in case you adore the concept of upcycling old furniture pieces into new ones just as much as we do, if not more, here are 15 of the very best ideas that we’ve come across so far in our search for inspiration and guidance!
1. Console TV to bookcase
Big, old wooden console TVs might be wonderfully old fashioned and nicely vintage to look at, but most of them don’t actually work anymore with the channels and network types provided. That’s why we really appreciate the way Infarrantly Creative turned this fantastic old piece into a lovely bookcase by removing the television and giving it a nice coat of coloured paint.
2. Old patio table to lovely coffee table
It’s not just inside furniture that can be upcycled in order to be used for even more years to come inside your house! We’re actually kind of in love with the way Your Modern Dad refurbished this fantastic old wicker patio table into a coffee table by adding, sanding, and staining a new top and affixing it solidly for everyday family room use.
3. Decoupaged rocking chair
If you’re going to transform an old piece of furniture to make it into something new, would you prefer to really transform it and add all kinds of new personality? In that case, why not add lots of personality and some pops of colour to the design as well? That’s precisely what My Heart DIY did here when they put their decoupage skills to work on an old rocking chair!
4. Bedside tables from an old desk
Have you always loved the idea of having two matching bedside tables, one on each side of the bed, but you’ve never found a store bought design you liked enough to buy two of? In that case, we’d definitely suggest taking a look at how Sugar Bee Crafts cut an old desk in half and turned each side into a table with some slight alteration and a bright coat of paint! The drawers will be so useful for each person.
5. Old dresser to bathroom vanity
Once you start looking into it, you might actually be surprised by just how useful different styles of dresser can be when it comes to turning them into different things. This larger, wider design, for example, makes a fantastic vanity once it’s been altered! Luckily for all of us, Beneath My Heart is here to show you how to make that happen.
6. Old door to a headboard
We’ve always loved just how many ideas there are out there that involved turning other things into headboard, just to keep your bedroom interesting and enjoyable to be in, so it’s no surprise that we couldn’t resist including a headboard idea on this list too! We love the way Infarrantly Creative made a fantastic headboard out of an old door but still finished it up nicely to look brand new.
7. Cabinet to a kitchen island
Just because you’re transforming something doesn’t mea you have to change its design so much that it sits in a completely different room or serves a totally different purpose. This fantastic kitchen island featured in detail on Sawdust 2 Stitches is the perfect example of what we mean! Check out how they made it using an old wooden cabinet reclaimed from a local farmhouse.
8. Old door to photo coat rack
Are you quite intrigued indeed by the concept of transforming an old door into something new but you’ve already got a headboard you like and you don’t feel like changing that? Then perhaps you’d prefer to make something decorative instead! We’re obsessed with the way Photog Mommie turned a glass paned door on its side and printed pictures to the right size in order to turn it into a large photo collage frame with coat hooks so it can hang in the entryway.
9. French style bench from old chairs
We’ve already talked about cutting something in half to make two things, but what if we told you that you can also combine two old pieces of furniture in order to make one new one? Well, that’s precisely what An Oregon Cottage did here when they attached two old wooden chairs in order to make a lovely French style bench complete with a new cushion!
10. Bed set to beautiful bench
Old wooden chairs aren’t the only thing you can make a vintage looking bench out of! Just in case you’d like something a little more rustic chic but with a bit more detailing, here’s a fantastic tutorial from Hometalk that guides you step by step through the process of turning an old bed stand set into a lovely bench with an opening chest seat. The finished product looks rather grand indeed!
11. Old dresser to a bench with drawers
Are you actually still the most intrigued by dresser ideas because that’s the kind of furniture piece you have access to and what you want to work with, but none of our previous ideas quite caught your eye? In that case, we’d absolutely suggest taking a look at the way Photokapi altered the top of their dressed but kept the bottom drawer in place in order to turn it into a bench with a bit of storage!
12. Drawers to side tables
What if you’ve taken the top off a dresser like we showed you above and made it into something beautiful but you still have some perfectly good dresser drawers left over that you’d rather no waste? In that case, we really think you’ll get a kick out of the way Hometalk flipped their drawers onto their end, added legs and a coat of paint, and turned them into little bedside tables!
13. Bunk bed to coat rack
Perhaps you adored the idea of making a simple coat rack because you’re pressed for time or a little bit new to the crafting game, or maybe that’s simply what you need most, but you’re not sure you’ll find a door like the one we showed you above? In that case, we’d definitely suggest taking a look at how My Repurposed Life made this simple coat rack from pieces of bunk beds!
14. Old door to leaning bookshelf
Did you actually find an old door with glass panels after all but you’re still just not sure a coat rack is the project for you? In that case, we’d absolutely suggest taking a look at the way Sortra removed the glass, turned those spots into shelves with some added wood, and turned thew whole thing into a leaning shelf that looks beautifully weathered and rustic!
15. Play kitchen from an old nightstand
Have you actually been scrolling through our list and wondering whether you might get your kids in on the idea of making an old furniture piece into something new, even if the actual creation process is still a little too hard for them to help with? In that case, we’d definitely suggest checking out how Refresh Living turned their old nightstand into the cutest little play kitchen!
