If you don’t want to splash out a lot of cash to revamp your home, upcycling and customising old pieces of furniture is the perfect solution.
Debra Buchanan, of Willow Cottage, an interiors shop located in Ellon, gives us inspiration, top tips and trends in upcycling old furniture
Upcycling is a thrifty, creative and affordable way to revamp your home and breathe life into old, discarded pieces of furniture. Our passion is transforming unwanted furniture so that it can once again take pride of place in a beautiful home.
1. Finding your furniture
Picking the perfect piece to upcycle is the first, and often most important, step. If you have old pieces around your home that you want to revamp – perfect. But if you don’t, they can be very easy and fun to find, and hunting around your local charity shops or car boot sales can often be successful furniture finding trips.
My top tip is to not discount a piece of furniture because of its condition; that is the last thing you should be thinking about, yet some people cannot see past it.
I think shape is the most important thing to consider. I particularly love traditional furniture with cabriole legs, as they are very delicate and you can achieve that modern-antique look. Furniture with carvings and nice handles are always a good find too, and can look exceptional with a lick of paint.
2. Perks of painting
Painting is one of the best ways to upcycle as it can cover stains, hide blemishes and completely transform the colour of furniture to give it a modern or shabby chic finish.
Choosing your paint colours is the most challenging step. At Willow Cottage, our favourite paint is the Autentico chalk range, as it creates a smooth, matte and very classy finish, and we are the only stockist of this paint in the north-east. But this range has over 150 colours, so you could spend ages pondering over anything from Thunder Sky to Antique Rose.
Shades of grey were extremely on trend last year, and now warm colours are becoming popular additions to complement grey while adding warmth to people’s homes. Mauve, lilac and wine colours also work very well with grey.
My top tip when selecting paint is to not match everything, or it becomes very monotonous. Experiment with a mix of warm colours, and select at least three or four that complement each other to add some life and vibrancy to your home.
3. Reupholstering
Reupholstering antique furniture is also a cost-effective and on-trend way to revive your home. My great love is old chairs, and this is an excellent way to give them new life.
At the shop, the majority of our customers are reupholstering with tweed fabric, following the huge popularity that we’ve seen over the last couple of years. However, we’re now seeing people moving towards a more subtle choice – perhaps material with simple checks instead of full-on tweed.
Linen mixed with velvet is also becoming extremely fashionable, and again there is a focus on bringing warm colours into your home.
Willow House is exhibiting at this year’s Scottish Home Show in the Interiors Zone.
