Why Recycle Old Furniture ?
We all love nice stuff
Trouble is, it usually comes with a hefty price tag!
But with a little bit of imagination (and a few hours scrolling through Pinterest and eBay!) it’s possible to save money with upcycling and create the most amazing – never seen before (or again) items that will be real conversation starters should we ever be able to invite people into our homes ever again!
The Parker Knoll Project
This particular chair was on my to do list for an age but I’m so glad that I finally got around to doing it.
As some of the more informed amongst you may recognise, this is a Parker Knoll arm chair which these days can be quite pricy, however I was lucky enough to acquire this one through a friend.
It doesn’t have to be anything special, any old furniture will fit the bill so long as its frame is sound. Repadding can be a bit time consuming too, so if that’s intact – it’s even better.
Luck aside, if you spend some time scrolling through the local facebook marketplace, ebay or craigs list listings (depending on where you are in the world), these kind of finds come up more often than you think., even if they might not really look like much of a find at first – like this one.
Save Money With Upcycling
I must admit at this point to being somewhat of a cheat when it comes to re-upholstering.
Whilst i could have spent many hours measuring and sewing removable covers for this, I didn’t.
I resorted instead to a staple gun, a needle and thread and some upholstery tacks as I have no intention of selling it and simply want it to look good in the corner of my bedroom for many years to come.
The key in my mind is to:
- Have the right raw materials – in this case a very well designed and robustly made antique chair.
- Have the inspiration and imagination be create something special
- Take your time, enjoy the process and don’t be afraid to experiment
- Use the best materials you can find to cover, sew, staple or stitch your creation together – in this case, very high quality, perfect thickness and texture of fabric plus heavy duty staples (and gun) and strong upholstery tacks.
Finding these things does not have to cost the earth either.
Your go-to marketplace might be different from mine, but after countless projects and a great many house renovations, eBay is absolutely my favourite!
Furniture Upcycle Costs
Fabric: £ 5.27
Upholstery Tacks: £ 2.25
Staples: £ 1.95
TOTAL: £ 9.47
Staple gun, needles, thread, and other misc tools used are items that I already had so I have not included them in the costs
Whether you like my personal style or not, can you imagine how much this would cost if you wanted to buy it from a trendy retro style shop? Not wishing to blow my own trumpet too much – But I expect that it would be a great deal more than £10.
Saving money with upcycling doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming. There are so many videos on you tube that you can follow for paint effects, upholstery techniques, preperation methods, DIY spray booths…………the list is long, constantly growing and progressivly interesting as more and more people add value to this niche.
I also found this blog post which you might find helpful
As we move out of 2020 and into the next few years of what is sure to be quite challenging for most of the planet, the ability to save (or even make) money by reusing, recycling and upcycling items that might have previously gone to landfill will become more and more valuable.
If you are looking at ways to budget or save on existing debts, have a look at my free budgeting spreadsheets and printables HERE.
If you want to see more ideas about how to save money by recycling old items (or houses!!) please consider subscribing to my list as I will be documenting loads more of my money saving projects!