DIY Home : Homemade Ways to Recycle Old Furniture

What to do with old furniture: A guide to upcycling or selling

Recycling to showcase your creativity is every DIY enthusiast's dream. It's easy to create something new using new materials, but making the most of scrap or old materials is where the challenge lies. And with the rise of environmental awareness and sustainable living, recycling old furniture to create something unique and custom-made has become the norm. Recycling old furniture reduces the substantial amount of furniture that ends up in the trash. It also prevents trees from being cut down to make more wooden furniture. Lately, upcycling old furniture and repurposing furniture ideas have become so popular that even professional designers have started recycling and repurposing old furniture professionally.

What does it mean to recycle old furniture?

Although beginners often use the words "recycle" and "reuse" interchangeably, there is a difference between them. Recycling old furniture means restoring the material to its original properties and creating something new from it. This allows for the freedom to create a product entirely different from the recycled material. Recycling old furniture means adding new value through creativity, innovative design, and modifications, whether small or large, to enhance its aesthetic appeal and value without spending a lot of money, while preserving its sentimental value.

To reduce waste and contribute to a sustainable future, I've brought you a simple DIY recycling tutorial on how to recycle furniture or how to reuse old furniture at home to give it a new life.

Here we go!

Materials:

Drawer
Wooden legs
Sandpaper
Drill
Screws
Gloves
Varnish
Brush

Step 1: Take an old drawer

Take an old drawer from your dresser or wardrobe that you want to refurbish. If you don't have an old drawer at home, you can get a discarded one from a thrift store or scrap metal dealer for a very low price.

Bonus tip: Why look for repurposed furniture ideas?

Upcycling furniture means giving your beloved pieces a second life instead of simply throwing them away. Social media, TikTok stars, Instagram influencers, and countless Reels have taken DIY furniture creativity and ideas to a whole new level, making them accessible to everyone. So, it makes sense to give your furniture a second life by repurposing it, and in the process, you'll add something new to your home decor and contribute to a healthier environment.

Step 2: Remove the drawer handles and sand them.

Remove the handle or any decorative pieces from the front of the drawer. Remove the drawer front from the drawer itself. Sand the drawer smooth.

Step 3: Put it back in place

Image- dreamstime.com

Once properly sanded and cleaned, secure the facepiece in place. However, while reattaching the facepiece, adjust its position towards the middle, forming the top of a table.

Extra tip:

On a drawer, the drawer front tends to extend at the bottom to align with the drawer sides. So, when you reattach the drawer front, adjust it accordingly to give your repurposed furniture the function you want.

Step 4: Take some legs to attach them to the drawer

You'll need four wooden legs to fix the drawer and turn it into a TV stand. You can take the legs from the dresser whose drawer you're using for this upcycling project, or get them at a local furniture store or thrift shop.

Bonus tip:

If you're a woodworking enthusiast, you can make the legs from leftover pieces of wood from other projects and attach them as legs for the drawer that will become a TV stand.

Step 5: Attach the legs to the drawer

Place the drawer with its bottom facing up. The bottom of the drawer will be the opposite side from where you attached the drawer front. Now, using a tape measure, measure the distance and mark the position for the TV stand legs. Make sure the legs are positioned correctly to keep the TV balanced. Using a drill, drill holes to attach the four legs.

Step 6: Varnish the furniture

Varnish the TV stand you made from the drawer. Varnishing wooden furniture is a great way to protect it and also add shine to the piece.

Extra tip:

The different types of varnish you can choose to varnish your wooden furniture:

Oil-based varnish: Applying this varnish requires skill as it must be mixed with paint thinner, such as turpentine, before applying it in layers and should only be applied outdoors or in well-ventilated areas.

Acrylic and water-based varnish: It dries faster than oil-based varnishes and is suitable for beginners. However, the varnish is not durable and will require periodic touch-ups.

Spray varnish: It is easy to use but can only be applied outdoors or in well-ventilated areas.