- Difficultyeasy
- Cost< 30 €
- Duration5 h
In this upcycling project, your old piece of furniture will gain a new lease of life – not to mention a fresh splash of colour. We show you how to repaint old furniture with a few simple tips and jazz up your home with a colourful eyecatcher. Which of your pieces of furniture could do with a repaint? We’ve gone for an old gramophone cabinet from the turn of the century.
It should go without saying that your safety is paramount throughout every step of the project, so make sure you take the necessary precautions to protect yourself. You can find an overview of the correct protective clothing you need when using each type of tool here:
Video instructions
Examine your find
One thing’s for certain – you won’t be able to upcycle if you don’t have an old piece of furniture. If you can’t find anything at home or within your family, then it’s worth having a look online. You should be able to find an array of old furniture that’s still in good condition and ideal for this project through classified ad portals.
Have you struck gold? Then it’s time to carefully examine your new piece of furniture inside and out.
Disassembly
Is anything defective or irreparable? Maybe there are pieces you no longer want? Then you’re best off removing them – this will save you time later on when you’re upcycling.
Perhaps you’ll also have to disassemble individual parts like lids or doors for the time being so that it’s easier to sand and paint them.
Give the surfaces a coarse sand
Old pieces of furniture often have stains or other minor imperfections – after all, time leaves behind traces. If you’d like to restore your piece of furniture to its former glory, then you’ll need to sand it down completely. This of course applies to all surfaces and individual parts of the cabinet.
Use a wide sanding brush for large surfaces. For smaller surfaces and details like special patterns you’re better off using a finer, narrower brush.
Fine sanding
Going over all of the surfaces with finer sanding paper is usually a good idea after giving them a coarse sand with the brush.
Paint the piece of furniture
Now it’s time to add a splash of colour. Whether you go for something subtle or a little braver – revamping an old piece of furniture in a new colour is always a great idea. How about trying something new, like bright pint on the inside? The sky’s the limit!
We recommend using a paint spray system for larger surfaces and hard-to-reach places. The inside of the cabinet, angles and corners are also perfect for spray painting. You’ll find everything you need to know about paint spray systems in our guide.
Use a roller and paintbrush for smaller surfaces.
Remember to mask surfaces that you don’t want to paint.
Reassemble the components
Have all surfaces been painted and given time to dry? Then you can get to work reassembling your piece of furniture if you took off individual parts earlier on.
Polishing
To finish off your upcycling project, you should treat your piece using furniture polish to make it shine. Use a cloth and apply it generously over all external surfaces. Make sure that the polish is applied evenly and that droplets don’t form along the edges.
Now all you really need to make the colour pop is to find the right place for the piece in your home. You can find more information on the effect different colours have on interior design in our guide.