Last summer I became hooked on up-cycling. What is upcycling? It’s where you take something old/boring and turn it into something unique. I started with a bedside table, then I moved onto a bed. My fad ended with a piano. By the time I’d finished the piano, I was all up-cycled out. I never wanted to see another paintbrush again. But it was all fun at the time and I am now the owner of some lovely looking, quirky furniture which cost me peanuts. You should try it.
Let me begin with my bedside table. I saw it on Gumtree for £12. I offered 8 and got it for 10. That’s my first tip – haggle. If you don’t ask, you don’t get and the best part of upcycling is boasting to everyone about how little you spent on your masterpiece afterwards.
This was my ten quid, solid pine, bargain…
Not the most original and stunning looking piece of furniture I had ever seen. And certainly not what I had in mind for my up and coming ‘country chic’ bedroom. So I bought some supplies:
- Sanding paper
- Primer
- Paint
- Gloss spray
- Little crystal handles from Ebay
It took me an hour to sand it down, removing any coating and then I applied two coats of primer, three coats of paint and then a good spray of gloss finish. I was delighted with the result. What do you think? Not bad for about £30, eh? 😉
My next little project was a bed. Again, got a nice little bargain on Gumtree for £30. And here it is. This is it dismantled on my garden. Try to use your mind’s eye to imagine what it could look like. That’s what I did.
This time the sanding and painting took me HOURS! I used about three coats of primer and five coats of paint. I also got sunburn from working in the garden.
Tip 2 – wear sun cream when upcycling in the sun. In fact, don’t even do it. The paint dries too quickly.
Here is the finished item…
Finally, my piano. I’d always wanted a piano so the grand plan was to find one, upcycle it and then get lessons (because I can’t actually play the piano). I needed a new hobby (yeah, right!). It took me weeks to persuade my husband to let me have one. He said that our house was too small and that it would be too overpowering in the lounge. When his auntie offered us hers for FREE, my nagging went to the max and he finally caved in.
Tip 3 – persevere in your nagging if you have a stubborn partner.
Here is the piano before…
Here it is after 12 hours of back breaking work in the garage. I even upholstered the seat. £30 total cost for this little gem. Which would be awesome if I could actually play it.
Turns out that my husband was right. It was way too big for our lounge. I ended up selling it.
Tip 4 – occasionally take your partner’s advice into consideration before upcycling a piano.
Hey ho! You win some, you loose some!
Have you ever upcycled anything? Or nagged your husband enough to get something you wanted to find that he was right about not getting it after all? Let me know in the comments box.
Keep busy mother bloggers,
Kelly x
BusyLittleMum 