Five ways to repurpose furniture for a timeless look

One of the most common thing we hear from our Clients is that they want to make their home feel more modern, but don’t know how to hold onto their vintage furniture pieces with sentimental value. I am delighted when these questions come our way, as we love to give furniture a second life. Vintage and antique pieces can blend beautifully with modern or contemporary designs as long as they are highlighted correctly. Most of the time, it is the colour and heavy detailing which make people think these items don’t work well with other design styles.

In this blog post, we will review the five most impactful ways to breathe new life into vintage furniture for a timeless look, most of which can be done as a DYI exercise at home. From re-staining to changing use, you can follow these simple steps to ensure your old furniture regains its beauty.

1. Work with the material

Most vintage and antique furniture is made out of solid wood, which is very versatile when it comes to re-staining. If you own a solid wood cabinet or table with a stunning timber grain, but in the wrong colour, this solution could be prefect for you.

After you find out what type of wood you are working with, the first step is to sand the timber until you remove the old stain and varnish, leaving the natural colour of the wood exposed. You can then proceed to apply the desired stain finish and a gloss or matte top coat protection. The cabinet in the image below is a great re-staining transformation from a mid-century red tone credenza to a modern side cabinet. If you want a fun weekend project, you can carry out this whole process at home. If DYI isn’t really up your street, you can consult a wood joiner.

Tip: If your solid wood furniture has a flat grain or it was died rather than stained originally, you could opt for re-paining (see option 4).

2. Tap into your craftsmanship

When it comes to sofas and armchairs, re-upholstering is the best technique to revive old furniture. As beautiful as modern furniture may be, old sofas have a certain character and elegance which can be easily maintained throughout the years. The process involves the removal of old padding and fabric, as well as fixing the internal structure if needed. Depending on the frame construction, you can also re-stain or repaint it to suit the new décor. For a timeless style, my advice is to opt for neutral (light or dark) colours instead of bright accent tones. This will ensure you can easily pair your re-upholstered furniture with any design.

Tip: In the UK you could sign up to an upholstery course where you will be learning this craftsmanship step by step, which is extremely rewarding. Otherwise, you can appoint a skilled upholsterer.

3. Give furniture a new purpose

Sometimes, the most creative and simple way to repurpose furniture is to change its use. An old desk can become an elegant coffee table; old storage cabinets can be transformed into a modern writing desk by simply adding a glass top surface. Repurposing furniture to prolong its lifecycle usually involves cutting, re-shaping, re-staining or re-painting the original piece, or adding materials like glass or metal for tops and legs if needed.

We believe this method is particularly useful if you want to recycle vintage furniture or want to offer a second life to sentimental items. We are very passionate about finding such unique pieces and recently created a bespoke dining table from a 1940’s country house oak door for a high-end residential project (see RH image below).

4. Get creative with paint

Repainting old furniture follows a similar process to the re-stain option presented above. We would recommend this option if the timber grain is not showing through or if the furniture piece has intricate details that need to be paired back . After you sand the timber exposing its natural colour, the next step is to apply an undercoat. This is particularly useful when painting dark-toned furniture.

If you are after a classic, timeless look that will work well with different design styles, we recommend choosing very light or dark muted tones, rather than strong bold colours when repainting furniture. Light colours are ideal if you are looking to add a modern twist to vintage furniture. If you want to take this process a step further and achieve an even more contemporary feel, you can change all handles and add mirror or wallpaper to the inside of cabinet doors & drawers for example.

5. It’s all in the details

For an even more impactful transformation, look at adding textures and complementary finishes to your furniture after you have completed one or more stages from the list above. The details added should fit with your new décor and chosen interior design style. Materials like metal mesh, rope and rattan are very versatile in terms of their application and can be matched beautifully with other pieces. We would always opt for natural finishes as much as possible when restoring a vintage item.

Some of the antique armchairs and sofas have a stunning solid timber structure that you can uncover and expose to achieve a more dramatic effect. If this is not possible, you can opt for re-stitching upholstery using an oversized exposed pattern, which could transform an otherwise plain fabric into a statement piece.

If your furniture is vintage that doesn’t mean it has to look old. With some simple, but thoughtful, interventions you can transform a worn-down vintage item into a beautiful contemporary furniture piece that elevates your home décor.

If you want to discuss this topic in more detail, get in touch! We would be delighted to help you review your current design and furniture, discuss what can be reconditioned and look at a cohesive design proposal for your project.