Easy Projects You Can Do at Home to Get Into Upcycling
When it comes to upcycling, innovation is the aim of the game. But, original ideas and buckets of creativity aren’t things many of us have in abundance. Thankfully, you don’t need to be quite as crafty as Kirstie Allsopp to give upcycling a go – here are some really easy projects you can do if you fancy dipping your toes into the world of make-do-and-mend (and make better!)
1. Wooden pallets as shelving
Get your hands on some unassuming wooden pallets – typically these store apples or potatoes, and you’ll be able to pick them up cheaply in market places. Antique and flea markets will stock them too, but because they’re becoming increasingly fashionable you might pay extra from these sources! Then, once you’ve cleaned them, paint them in whatever colour(s) you like and fix them to the wall. Storage like this makes stowing shoes, for example, easy and attractive.
2. Turn food jars into pretty vases
Empty food jars don’t have to be destined for the rubbish bin. Take a leaf out of Blitsy’s book and paint a stencil design over the top. You can fix wire to the jar too if you fancy hanging them, and we think they’d look great holding flowers. They’d also make pretty tea lights too and would be a welcome addition to any Easter table!
3. Turn a set of boring drawers into a beautiful piece of storage
If you’ve a dull chest of drawers knocking around the house, don’t just stop at painting them. Instead, remove the handles and cut some chosen wallpaper to fit to the edges of each drawer front. You could use patterned paper, or even high-quality quirky wrapping paper, sticking it to the drawers using ready-mixed wallpaper paste. Once dried, finish off by adding attractive knobs – glass, ceramic or something else altogether – it wont look dull anymore!
4. Turn old menswear into pet toys
Yep – you read that right! It’s a shame to discard fabric when a shirt is no longer worn or when a suit has become a little snug. Why not clean the fabric and turn it into stuffed mice for your cat to play with? Follow Martha Stewart’s simple tutorial and make the most of that spare wool, cotton, corduroy and velvet.
5. Turn fleece into a cosy dog bed
If you have a decent amount of fleece, or any other cosy material for that matter, repurpose it to make a dog bed. You’ll need to fill it with a pillow stuffing and can follow this handy tutorial if you think Fido will appreciate it!
6. Reupholster an armchair
Fancy something a little more challenging? Reupholstering an armchair might mean taking an evening class to learn how to strip and recover fabric, but it doesn’t stop with the soft furnishings. Add new sponge or padding to make it cosier, and change the castors while you’re at it. Use this upcycling opportunity as a challenge to source high-quality items from a source you might not expect, like these fixed castors from Tente.
1 Comments
Jemma Louise Lodge
March 8, 2016 at 2:14 pm
Ive not heard of this service before it sounds great. Great post x