Gumtree, the classified ads website, have started an #UpcycleRevolution and they invited me along to help! I was given a brief to find a piece of furniture on my local Gumtree and transform what was once loved into a beautiful new piece ready to take pride of place again. I found this lovely vintage sewing box from a local seller and chose it because it looked unusual and well made, chatting to the seller was easy and they even delivered it to me the next day for a small additional fee – Better service than your typical high street furniture retailers!
At home we struggle a lot with storage space and it always awkward when friends and family come round because there aren’t enough seats for a lot of people to sit round and have a cup of tea. I decided to kill two birds with one stone and upcycle this vintage piece into a storage occasional seat.
I sanded the whole piece down with coarse sand paper, which removed that horrible orange tinged wood stain and left the table lovely and smooth, ready for painting. It only took me an hour or so and sitting outside in the sun with a glass of cold juice wasn’t the worst way to spend my time!
I chose some outdoor paint from Wilkinsons, for extra durability, in a lovely duck egg blue which went perfectly with a gorgeous piece of fabric I bought from Liberty in London. I painted the whole table with only one thick coat as I wanted a slightly worn and vintage feel to the piece with some of the wood grain showing through.
Finally I positioned two cushion inserts from IKEA across the lid of the table and encased the whole thing in the fabric, folded like a parcel. To secure this in place I used a staple gun to pin the fabric to the wood underneath. It wasn’t as neat as I’d hoped, but with practice and more time I think this technique could become really easy and useful.
I screwed in a new drawer handle and that was it! In the end, it was quite a simple DIY and only took me a few hours and a total spend of £76, including the original vintage sewing box.
I’m hoping to move house in the next few months to my very first owned home and so I’m quite eager to continue the #UpcycleRevolution. Gumtree have even inspired me to take a run down house and turn it into the perfect home, so I can’t wait to share all of that fun with you! Loves x xx