An upcycling project is one of the simplest ways to ease yourself into DIY decorating. One of the easiest to learn first is how to upcycle a wooden chair.
If you’re worried about ruining your furniture, don’t be – beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all. However, if you would like to get some practice in first, visit your local car boot sale and charity shops for pieces to practice on.
Let’s start with what you’ll need.
Materials:
- Old wooden chair
- Cleaning materials
- Paint primer
- Spray paint or furniture paint
- Cleaning cloths
- Clear finishing wax
- Dust sheets
Tools:
- Latex gloves (if using spray paint)
- Safety goggles
- Dust mask
- Paint brushes
- Small paint roller
- Masking tape
- Electric mouse sander
- Newspaper
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Read our DIY safety tips and manufacturer instructions
Before you begin any DIY work, we recommend you read our DIY Safety Tips guide along with your power tool manuals to keep yourself and others safe and protected while completing this How To guide.
It is recommended you only complete this upcycling project if you can do so outside or in an open garage for maximum ventilation.
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Prep your surface
Grab your safety goggles, dust mask and electric mouse sander, and sand the chair all over. This will help create a good, even surface for the paint to cling to. Once completed, wipe and dry everything down.
Top tip: Don’t add too much pressure while sanding or you’ll score the wood.
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Protect the wood
Once you have decided on the design or pattern you wish to create, brush your wood wax onto any wood that’s not going to be painted to protect it.
After the wax has dried, use your masking tape and old newspaper to cover parts of the chair you want to keep natural. Going slow and steady with the masking tape to create nice straight edges.
Top tip: This step is only needed if you plan to leave parts of the chair in their natural state.
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Prime your wood
Using your painting brush, paint your primer onto the chair to create a good base for your furniture paint or spray paint. Leave it to dry the recommended time.
Top tip: Try paint on your primer in one direction and remember to take your time.
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Painting time
Evenly spray or paint your chosen colour onto the chair and allow it to fully dry. Then gently remove the newspaper and masking tape.
If you want a more saturated colour, you may need to apply multiple coats. But don’t forget, each coat will need to be completely dry before doing the next one.
Top tip: Follow the same brush strokes and direction for the paint that you used to paint the primer on with. And wear your dust mask and safety googles if using spray paint.
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Waxing time
Once everything is dry, brush your finishing wood wax over the whole chair to seal it and complete the look.
That’s your upcycling project complete.
Don’t forget to upload an image of your new upcycled wooden chair to social media and tag us @Homebase_uk
