Upcycling & Repurposing

Lisa Duggan, deputy manager for our Learning Disability Day Service, has taken the time to talk to us about upcycling and repurposing items. Here's what she had to say...

As we are becoming increasingly aware of the need to reuse and recycle, there has been a surge of interest in upcycling and repurposing of furniture.

We live in a throw away society influenced by mass consumerism, but we want to share with you the benefits of upcycling and repurposing old, unwanted items. In doing so you can directly reduce the amount of ‘fast furniture’ entering the world, which subsequently end up in landfill.

During lockdown we all tried to find hobbies to fill the void of being locked inside. I stumbled across an upcycling page on Facebook which inspired me to start doing the same. Not only did I find this was a therapeutic hobby, I also realised this was a huge step we can all take to help save our environment!

I made a pledge to myself that I would buy second-hand, upcycle, and repurpose where I could. The best part of it, is that old furniture is often better made than the equivalent flat-packed furniture we get today and with a little bit of time and TLC you can create a beautiful piece of furniture for your home. 

Where to start?

The idea of upcycling a piece of furniture can be a bit daunting at first but it’s not so difficult if you follow the steps below. It can be time consuming but stick with it because the outcome will be worth it and don’t forget – saving the planet one piece of upcycled furniture at a time!

I taught myself how to do it and made many mistakes along the way, so hopefully I can save you a bit of time by taking you through the process.

Equipment you will/may need:

• small, medium and large paint brushes
• sandpaper, 80,120 and 180 grit
• sanding block
• mouse sander – for large pieces of furniture
• painter’s tray
• white spirits
• sugar scrub
• masking tape
• protective eyewear and mask for sanding
• piece of tarp or an old sheet to use under the furniture when painting

Upcycling steps:

• clean item thoroughly with sugar soap and allow to dry
• check for any imperfections and fill any scratches or holes with wood filler and allow to dry
• sand item to take the sheen off – this will allow the paint to stick. Start with 80 grit and then move to a 120 grit. You can finish with a 180 grit to really smooth it out
• use either a damp cloth or white spirit to remove all the dust from sanding
• now you are ready to paint!

Painting

This is the exciting part where you can put your stamp on it! Being able to experiment with colours can give a dated piece of furniture a new lease of life.

I like to use a good furniture paint that already has a primer in it – with no need for a primer or topcoat, you can upcycle furniture without upheaval. The paint is also very hard-wearing and water resistant, so the finish on your newly painted furniture will last longer.

You may need to apply two, sometimes three coats of paint for that perfect finish!

I hope this piece has inspired you to have a go at upcycling and remember the less we send to landfill the better for the environment.

My most recent little project was to give these chairs that I got for free a new lease of life!

Some more examples from our keen upcyclers from our management team: