Upcycling is a green and ethical approach to furnishing your home; why buy a new piece of furniture, which is probably made of MDF (considered to be carcinogenic) and isn’t made to last, rather than a lovingly made piece, that has stood the test of time, and has been upcycled and repurposed?

Victorian or Edwardian Brown furniture as it’s commonly known, looks great when it’s lovingly restored especially with new quirky handles. It is solidly made and easily given a new lease of life. With upcycling the only thing that stops you is your imagination.

But think about where the piece of furniture is going to be live. What colours are needed to help it fit in that specific room. How will it be used? Does the room have a theme you’d like to follow?

The basics

Regardless of the style of the piece and your ultimate design, upcycling involves various steps:

1. Remove any fittings (handles, etc) – even if you intend to re-use them. This makes sanding and painting easier.

2. Sand the entire item in order to give the paint or varnish a key. This will also help remove any wax. It’s important to do this properly as you want your paint to adhere to the surface and not peel or flake in a few months. It’s also important to get into every corner so the paint adheres evenly to every surface and every part of the furniture. Sanding is essential to ensure a good finish as it is the base for the undercoat.

Top tip:Make sure that you wear a good face mask. It’s important to protect your lungs from inhaling old paints and dust.

3. When the piece that you’re working on has been totally sanded, wipe it over with methylated spirits on a soft cloth.

Top tip:Don’t use white spirit because there’s always oil in white spirit and you don’t want an oily residue left on your newly sanded piece of furniture.

4. Use a good quality furniture paint and paint the item inside and out. Don’t forget to paint the back and the legs as well. Read the instructions carefully – your paint may require a base coat or primer. You will almost certainly need to give the item a second coat of paint to ensure even coverage and good depth of colour.

Now you are ready to add additional decoration and any new handles etc.

Decoupage

One of the fun and effective techniques I recommend is decoupage, a centuries old paper process where you use various different pictures to add another layer of decoration to your item. These images can be taken from magazines etc., or you can buy specialist decoupage tissue. This is available in a myriad of designs from pretty flowers to ethereal angels, from steam punk inspired to 70s glam.

Once you have chosen your images you attach the paper pictures to items and then you varnish over them a number of times. This provides a protective surface and gives the illusion that the pictures are all part of the item.

If you have a theme, such as a child’s bedroom, decoupage works really well and can be a great way to add some fun to the furniture. I recently completed a piece of furniture that was for a little girl’s new bedroom. I painted the chest of drawers in a graduation of pink and light blue, and then decoupaged it with fairies and unicorns. She absolutely loved it.

Decoupage is also a great way to involve children as they can help pick the images and cut them out with you.

The decoupage process is fairly simple:

1. Paint your item first before your decoupage it. (See above)

2. Choose your images and cut them to the shape and size needed. If you are cutting out specific shapes (e.g. birds) then precision is key, therefore it is generally better to use a craft knife rather than scissors. If you can’t cut it precisely or have a large image that doesn’t lend itself to being cut out to shape, then tear it round the edges because that way the torn edges disappear into the painted surface. The idea is to have all the new pictures merge into the background, so they look like part of the furniture – not a new sticker.

3. Next, roughly arrange all your pictures on the furniture where you want to them to be.

4. Then, using a PVA glue, stick the pictures onto the furniture.

5. Once all the images are stuck down and you are happy with the overall look start varnishing it. Work quickly but do not put too much varnish on the brush. Opt for a quick drying varnish. Give the item at least four or five coats. Generally matt varnish looks better than gloss and gives a cleaner finish.

Finishing touches

Once the item is fully dry (give it a chance to harden, so you need to wait a bit longer than just ‘touch dry’) it is time to add the finishing touches.

Consider giving your piece of furniture a light spritz of gold spray paint. You are aiming for a light dusting of gold over the paint and decoupage. Do wear a mask and do put a dust sheet over anything nearby.

New handles can make all the difference to an upcycled item. There are lots to choose from: colourful ceramics, glitzy crystals, die cast shapes, intricately carved wood, and everything in between.

Upcycling is a huge amount of fun and the perfect way to create something truly personal. I have upcycled dozens of items of furniture and each one is utterly unique – a real one-off. Sometimes the item ‘speaks’ to me and almost ‘tells’ me what it needs, other times I follow the theme of the room it will live it, and often Daisy’s Emporium clients will give me a brief to follow to ensure the item fits their aesthetic perfectly.

Remember, there are no rights and wrongs with upcycling – it’s all about what you want for your home, whatever colour or style that may be.

Odette Gibson

Odette Gibson is founder of Daisy’s Emporium Interior Design in the vibrant Harringay area of London. Odette’s unique home décor and design services ensure every project is a one of a kind. Gibson and her team of dedicated artisans and designers are committed to turning clients’ dreams into reality, through personalised services and tailored solutions, including lovingly restored, hand painted furniture; grand chandeliers and fabulous lamps; curated paintings and fine art prints; upholstery, carpets and curtains; and beautiful antiques and object d’arts. See: https://www.daisysemporiumlondon.co.uk/