Three ways to upcycle wood furniture for a modern look

Upcycling wooden furniture doesn’t seem to be a trend that is slowing down anytime soon, and why would it? It’s a relatively cheap and easy way to breathe life into old possessions or vintage finds.

Turning old into new doesn’t have to mean giving a chair a lick of chalk paint in one colour all over, there are many quirky patterns and designs you can easily incorporate to make your furniture stand out in your home and here are our top three.

1. Dipped furniture

Dip-dye or colour dipped furniture is a super easy way to spruce up chairs or tables. The idea is to leave original wood areas of the piece of furniture exposed so that pops of colour really stand out in the room. If you’re feeling adventurous, you could always give it a go on a chest of drawers or larger cabinet too.

We particularly love chair legs that look like they have been dipped in a host of pastel colours or spray painted in metallic hues. Simply apply masking tape around the area you’d like to paint, ensuring you have prepped the wood beforehand by sanding and priming.

Reverse dipped furniture is a trend too, this is where you paint most of the piece of furniture but leave the original wood peeking out at the end of the chair legs.

2. Ombre drawers

Ombre is all about creating a colour gradient that goes from lightest to darkest and is easily replicated with a chest of drawers. It’s a really simple concept and all you need to do is order a colour chart from our range of furniture paints to decide on colours and you’ve got the colours already planned out! Our range is availalbe in small pot sizes which is perfect, as you will only be painting each drawer a different colour.

Image Natty by Design Image Elizabeth Dot Design via Blog and Buy Sale

3. Geometric shapes

With an artistic eye and a little more time adding a splash of paint in geometric shapes can add the personal touch to any upcycling project. We think this design works really well on pieces from the 60’s and 70’s and adds to their retro edge. Spend time using different colours or add a stencilled pattern.

If you are looking to reduce your carbon footprint and up your design game at the same time, we recommend Porch's article Recycled Furniture: Not Milk Cartons and CInder Blocks Anymore. It includes some really helpful tips and explores the differences between recycled, upcycled and sustainable furniture!