WARWICKSHIRE HOUSEBUILDER’S TOP TIPS FOR UPCYCLING FURNITURE

Making the house a home is one of the most exciting things about moving to a new property and putting your stamp on the décor is important to make settling in a lot easier.

B&DWNM – BNM-4669 – A typical kitchen in a Kingsville style home at The Long Shoot in Nuneaton

Buying all new furniture can be costly and personal taste can make it difficult to find furniture that fits the vision. According to the British Heart Foundation, just under a third of people (30%) have thrown away furniture, electrical items and homewares in good enough condition that they could have been re-used, sold or donated.

Therefore, leading housebuilder Barratt Homes is helping new homeowners add a quirky twist to their décor with a guide on how to upcycle furniture. Whether it’s a minimalistic and modern look or a completely unique theme that’s the aim, the homebuilder is on hand to offer advice.

Jan Ruston, Sales Director at Barratt Homes North Midlands, said: “Whether you’re buying your first home or a property to last you a lifetime, it’s extremely important that you make it your own and turn it into somewhere you can settle down and feel comfortable.

“The advantage of a new home is that you have a blank canvas to work with and you can easily personalise everything to your own taste, so we’ve come up with our top tips for upcycling furniture for a truly unique style.”

Finding the furniture of your dreams

The first step is finding a piece of furniture that fits the purpose you’re looking for. Whether it’s for storage, decoration or simply to fill a blank space, there is an abundance of ways which you can sniff out a good deal.

Facebook marketplaces is a great place to start as they are regularly updated with various furniture pieces – many of them advertised as less than half of the retail price or in some cases for free. Websites such as Gumtree and Preloved are also good ways of finding furniture for sale in your local area.

For a more modern look, go for simple and clean lines such as straight legs and flat-front drawers. Look out for solidly built pieces and make sure that the furniture you’re putting your time into painting is worth upcycling.

Prep the furniture for painting

Before going all in with the repainting, it’s important to prep the furniture so your upcycling efforts last and there is no need to redo it in the future.

Be sure to start any painting project by sanding the area, whilst being careful not to gouge the surface, so the paint has something to adhere to.

Find design inspiration

If you need ideas on how you’d like your furniture to look, visiting mood board sites such as Pinterest is the best port of call as there is a plethora of home décor and design ideas for a range of different home styles.

If you have neutral walls, maybe consider painting the furniture in a striking colour to add a focal point or choose a softer muted tone if the wall colour is bold.

Finish off with some final touches

The little touches can make a huge difference to furniture, such as replacing door, dresser, cupboard and wardrobe knobs.

Matching these to colours in the room is a nice way of tying everything together or mismatched doorknobs of different colours and patterns can create a farmhouse shabby chic look.

Barratt Homes is building in the county at Deram Parke in Coventry, St James’ Gate in Weddington and The Long Shoot in Nuneaton.