Revive and recycle: Breathe new life into tired furniture

You don’t have to replace your old furniture simply to fit with a new decorative style in your house. Even tired looking pieces can be revived with the clever use of paint, allowing you to customise them exactly the way you want.

“It’s about using colour in unexpected ways,” explains Louise Tod, Senior Color Designer at the Global Aesthetic Center. “It might be finding a secondhand piece and giving it a new life, or painting an old set of chairs so that they become a key feature in a room.’

Which paints?

Fortune Green
Heather Solstice
DenimDrift

Using existing or secondhand furniture is a thrifty, sustainable, creative solution – and it’s also incredibly easy to do. It’s cost-effective, not simply because it means you don’t have to throw old furniture away, but you can also source unique pieces for a fraction of the price of buying new. As well as antiques shops and fairs, look out for house clearance sales in your area.

Which paints?

Palm Night

Painting your furniture is a clever way to build tone-on-tone colours to different spaces in your home. It’s also a simple technique for transforming dated pieces. A bold colour on a tired side table will give it a fun, contemporary twist.

Which paints?

Palm Night Tumbled Glass

“One of the great things about this approach is you’re using materials that aren’t necessarily expensive or highly processed,” says Louise. It’s also a smart way to give your space that on-trend, natural feel using pieces you may have overlooked. “Materials like bamboo or wicker have that boho feel to them, but are now used in very cutting edge design,” Louise explains.

And you don’t have to stop there. Try adding plants to soften the effect, placing them on upcycled tables or even strategically placed around repainted wooden chairs. “It’s about what plants can give you emotionally and physically,” adds Louise. “They just create a nicer environment and they’re good for the soul.”

Which paints?

Wild Cactus