Upcycling: It’s Good for the Soul

Posted by anitabrown3d on February 1, 2015 in Accessories, Furniture, Projects, Upcycling, Vintage |No Comments

It’s one thing to write a blog post on the merits of great design, and salivate over a few glossy interiors photographs. It’s a whole other ball game to put your money where your mouth is, roll up your sleeves, grab your ‘DIY’ paint-splattered jeans and get your hands dirty.

Yes, I’m talking about taking on personal projects. If you’re creative like me, there comes a time when you NEED to get your hands dirty. Too much theory and not enough ACTION makes Anita Brown a very restless girl (let’s ignore the fact that I’m referring to myself in the 3rd person).

Taking on design projects is a fantastic way to let your creative juices flow; they’re almost a form of therapy for the creative mind and they reaffirm that yes, you are in actual fact a DESIGN GENIUS.

But there’s one thing that adds an unparalleled sense of satisfaction when it comes to design projects and that’s taking an item that’s old and tattered and dragging it into the 21st century. We’re talking UPCYCLING here, folks.

If you can see the potential in something, why not give it a new lease of life? Kinda makes sense, right? I’ll tell you why upcycled items are so awesome in an interior:

If the upcycled item is vintage, it will have a unique sense of history

Upcycled furniture helps to add individuality to your space – stand out from the crowd!

You want ‘bespoke’ on a budget? Then you’ll want to upcycle

Upcycling helps to inject personality into an interior

YOU will feel a great sense of accomplishment

If you would like to know more about the concept of upcycling, click on the image below to read more on this glorious subject.

I’ve used many upcycled pieces in my design schemes, for example this awesome coffee table, available from Not on the High Street, has been constructed using old parquet flooring.

I know. Awesome, right? And it’s bang on trend too, with its industrial vibe.

It would be hypocritical of me to talk about the merits of taking on your own upcycled projects and NOT show you one of my own little projects, right?

Here are two chairs that I spotted in a Charity shop.

I was drawn to them instantly. Particularly because of the carving detail. They pulled on my heartstrings (one of the downsides of being obsessed with interior design: you start forming friendships with inanimate objects) and within 10 minutes they were bundled into my car.

Sometimes you’re struck like a lightning bolt with inspiration and sometimes you need to mull over your ideas. In this instance, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with these chairs. I was advised by an Interior Designer that they were mid-century (probably reproductions of the Arts and Crafts era), so I decided to transform them using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, with a distressed finish and reupholster the seating using vintage fabric.

Here they are post transformation. Look at them, standing all proud!