We get asked a lot of questions about easy ways to update pieces of furniture and how to upcycle.
Bloom in the Park with Cuprinol gave us the perfect opportunity to demonstrate some of these ideas as well as answer questions for people. Each day at Bloom in the Park, Roisin, as part of her judging role on RTE’s Supergarden, held interactive talks and live demonstrations.
The KLD and Cuprinol team’s were on hand each day to help showcase the full range of colours and how they can be utilised to inject colour into your garden.
The main focus was on upcycling furniture. Using once loved pieces of furniture, in a new way, gives them a new lease of life and adds colour in the process with the vast array of colours available from the Cuprinol range. After each talk we held informal Q& A’s where people could get tips and advice on how to tackle their own DIY projects.
As part of Bloom, Cuprinol asked their facebook followers to send in items of furniture for the KLD team to upcycle during the talks. Below is step by step ‘How To… Upcycled Sideboard’ for you to follow, to recreate the sideboard we upcycled for one lucky Bloom visitor.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
- Paint Brushes and small rollers
- Frog tape
- Cuprinol paint (we used Gated Forest & Frosted Glass)
- Undercoat
- Scissors/Blade
- Pencil HB or lighter
- Dust Sheet
- Sandpaper
- Tape measure/Ruler
- Filler
- Knobs (by Zara Home)
PROCESS
Step 1: Choose your Sideboard
Select a piece of furniture you feel could use some TLC, this is the starting point we selected a side board.. Think outside the box here, it could be an old piece of furniture you found in a skip, an interior piece that no longer has a home or a garden piece that you would like to update. Any piece of furniture can be transformed, it is all in the preparation! Selecting a unit with drawers create more visual interest and they can double up as planter adding an extra element to your upcycled piece.
Step 2: Prep your Sideboard
Ensure you sideboard is free of dust, dirt. Remove any loose or flaked pieces of wood or varnish. Sand down the piece of furniture to remove any varnish, wax or oil ha is on the surface. The step is really important, I cannot stress this enough! Sanding gives a good key for the paint to stick to. Pay particular attention to the feet as these may be damp and need to dry out before painting. On this piece of furniture we filled some holes that were in the units and sanded them down for a smooth clean surface.
Step 3: Undercoat
Undercoat your sideboard. This will make painting easier and will ensure a lasting finish for the table. We recommend Dulux Wood Primer Undercoat. Make sure to undercoat all parts of the table, sides, underneath and any parts you can’t see as doing this, while it may take a little longer, will give a lasting finish that is protected from the weather outside.
Step 3: Select your colours
Select the colours you would like to use from the Cuprinol Colour Range of exterior wood paints. You can use as many colours as you like to create your desired pattern. Start by painting two coats of your base colour allowing to dry between coats. We used Gated Forest and Frosted Glass for this piece.
Step 4: Draw and tape your arrow
Using a pencil and ruler mark out the arrow pattern, remembering to continue the pattern on any drawers, legs the pattern covers (don’t forget about the back). Tape off your arrow shape outside of the outline. Use a good quality tape to not to pull the base coat off the wall. We recommend the yellow frog tape, lower tack for freshly painted pieces.
Step 5: Paint your design
Press the tape down thoroughly to avoid the paint seeping under the tape. Paint your first coat and allow to dry. Apply 2-3 coats of paint until you achieve the desired effect, keep in mind some colours may require more coats than others depending on the depth of colour and what colour the base coat is.
Step 6: Remove the tape
Remove the tape while the paint is still wet to avoid the paint being pulled off.
Step 7: Attach the new knobs
Once the paint has fully dried you can attach your new knobs. If there is already a hole from previous knobs, pop the new ones in and screw into place. If not drill a small hole and screw the knobs in position. IF drill yourself make sure to measure so they are all in the same position.
Step 8: Enjoy the result of your hard work
Handy Tips
Add plants to your sideboard unit to give it more depth and create an unusual and unique planter for your garden. Use plastic liners in the drawers for long lasting planters.