Over time your furniture starts to show signs of wear and tear. Rather than tossing the pieces out and buying new high end furniture from luxury furniture stores, there are several things you can do to give your old pieces extended life on your own, or with help from a friend who is comfortable working with a variety of tools, saws, and other equipment. Eventually, once pieces are no longer reusable and have fully worn out, check with home furnishing stores to see if they participate in furniture recycling, rather than having it hauled away to the local trash dump.
Convert High End Furniture into New Pieces
You can take existing furniture pieces and convert them into new ones with a little work. For instance, if you have a dresser with long leg supports, saw off the legs and convert this into a bench for your bedroom with a cushion, or a sideboard for your dining room. You want to leave about an inch or two of the leg on the bottom for floor support. Measure from the top of the dresser to ensure each leg is the same. After removing the legs, sand the bottom and seal the exposed wood using the same color stain or paint. Put felt furniture pads on the bottom if the piece is going to sit on hardwood or laminate flooring to protect the floor.
Change the Appearance of High End Furniture Pieces
Another dresser conversion project for full sized dressers without long leg supports is to use self-adhesive wall paper or vinyl shelving paper and apply it to the front of each drawer. Remove any handles before applying the paper and sand any rough sections on the drawer front before attaching the paper. Make sure to measure and cut off excess paper so it wraps slightly around, under, and behind the drawer front to fully cover it. You can also install new drawer handles to fit with the new pattern or color theme.
If you grow tired of stained furniture pieces, consider painting them with a high end cabinet paint. Avoid using interior or exterior house paints, as these do not last long and are not meant to be used on furniture. Before painting the furniture, you may need to remove the stain using a stripper. At least two primer coats should be applied before the paint color you want to use. Depending on the color of the stain, it might be necessary to apply a third or fourth primer coat.
These are just a few simple ideas for breathing new life into high-end furniture pieces used in your home or office. Remember, you are only limited by your own creativity. Do not limit yourself to how the piece is currently being used within the home. Try to think of other uses for the piece, like taking a decorative bowl and converting it into a bathroom sink.
For additional ideas or when it is time to replace worn out pieces, contact us, here at Safavieh, by calling 877-919-1010.