Take a glimpse into the living room of your average broke 20-something and you'll likely find one thing they all have in common: Ikea furniture. Now, lest anyone jump to conclusions, I have nothing whatsoever against reasonably priced Swedish home goods. I myself am the owner of not one, but two Ektorp sofas. And a trip to Ikea for me is essentially the adult equivalent of a trip to Six Flags (everybody get in the ZipCar! We're going for meatballs!).
However, there's something disheartening about walking into your friend's apartment and seeing the same particle board dresser, the same coffee table, the same end table, and even the same measuring cups that live in your apartment. An apartment is a sign that we're adults! That we're making in the world on our own! That we're independent! That we're capable of making choices! Just because we have entry-level jobs and debt doesn't mean we don't deserve nice things (or is this literally why we can't have nice things?).
My solution: found furniture. Finding abandoned furniture - especially the right furniture - requires a little extra loving and a little extra time, but you probably would have spent that time getting lost in the Ikea warehouse anyway. A unique piece of found furniture can help you say, "This is mine and I love it!" about your home without causing a fight between you and your bank account. Read on to see how I did it!
My living room features a coffee table and side table that my roommate and I discovered on the side of the road. We found them each on trash day no further than 2-3 blocks from our apartment. After inspecting for wobbly legs, signs of rot or decay, and other obvious damage, we deemed them ready to bring home! Each piece has definite "character" and is far from perfect, but that's what makes them so unique, so we weren't too discerning about the condition of the furniture. Sanding and painting can make a big difference!
Speaking of which, the next step was to sand down the furniture. We had to sand off some varnish from the coffee table, but otherwise the process was pretty easy. After that, we slapped on a couple of coats of paint. The white table was done with furniture paint while the mint green side table was simply coated with acrylic craft paint.
Looking for a perfect finishing touch to make your furniture look like new? We picked out this adorable brass snail drawer knob from Anthropologie - you can add all kinds of custom knobs and handles to your furniture to make it even more "you".
Here are some tips for successfully upcycling furniture:
1. Act fast! See something you like out on the curb? Take it home before someone else does! If you decide it's ultimately not worth it, you can always take it back out to the curb to give someone else a chance to love it!
2. At the same time, be discerning. One man's trash is sometimes just another man's trash. Be especially wary of anything upholstered - bed bugs are a real thing, and you also want to avoid and mysterious lurking stains. Ew.
3. Painting a piece that already has some cool details like wrought iron handles? Use masking or painter's tape to protect the portions you don't want covered in paint.
4. Don't forget to add furniture pads to the bottom of your awesome new side table/dresser/coffee table/chair/grandfather clock. New furniture is exciting. Scratched hardwood floors are not.
5. Protect your stuff! Handpainted furniture is going to be less impervious than your standard Lack collection pieces. Invest in some cute coasters. Clean up coffee stains ASAP.
Please share your beautiful new furniture pieces with me! I'd love to see 'em!
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