What is upcycling?

Upcycling is the reuse of an existing object that is out-of-date, damaged or would otherwise be thrown away. This might involve a creative upgrade that can be as simple as a lick of paint or making significant changes that give the piece a new purpose entirely. 

With the world increasingly focused on safeguarding the environment for the future, a trend for eco-friendly organisation in the home such as upcycling is rising amongst homeowners across the globe.

Upcycling ideas

Wooden furniture

From coffee and dining tables to shelves and cabinets, wooden furniture is durable and useful but can quickly become dated or scruffy with wear and tear. 

Painting wooden furniture in a trending shade is an easy way to bring old-fashioned pieces into the 21^st century. Those more skilled at DIY can experiment with cane cut-outs or glass panels as a way of modernising bulky cabinets. Versatile equipment like a cordless multi-tool from Milwaukee is worth the investment for all-in-one cutting, shaping and sanding capabilities. 

Using fabrics

Are you more comfortable crafting with cloth than working with wood? Using fabrics is a great way to give old seating a new lease of life, creating new seating options and decorating the home.

With just a few tools like a staple gun and fabric glue, you can follow a step-by-step guide to reupholstering chairs or add a seating top to an old trunk. Just as with painting wooden furniture, it’s an easy way to modernise old pieces and allows you to improve the stuffing at the same time.

More simple ideas for upcycling with fabrics include sewing scraps of old clothes into blankets and rugs or cutting out squares to use as coasters.

Ornaments

Do furniture upgrades seem beyond your current skill set? Keep things simple and make upcycled ornaments instead! 

There are endless ideas to explore, from seasonal crafts like door wreaths and decorations to using clean glass jars to display candles, store dry goods and create miniature terrariums. Broken plates and mugs can be repurposed into mosaics to frame mirrors or act as unique table mats.

Garden projects

Give your garden a new lease of life in time for the warm days and light nights of summer with simple upcycling projects.

Fashion old wooden pallets into planters, climbing frames and flower displays or coffee tables and cabinets to supplement garden furniture. You can even small planters out of kitchen pots and tin cans which bring instant brightness and cheer when painted in vibrant colours. 

When creating pieces for the garden out of old timber, remember to treat the wood to protect it against wet weather. Use a stain like Ronseal to prevent moisture from seeping into the wood and causing rot.