Upcycling

I'm new to upcycling having spent the last 20 years buying new furniture. I am however, totally smitten with the idea of taking someone else's previously loved item, doing some 'tarting up' and producing a revamped, personalised item for my house. It seems to me that finding a new use for unwanted items, using your crafting skills to create something unique for your home and preventing unnecessary waste fits in perfectly with the ideals of leading a simple life.
Back in August we decided to rejig Immie's room before she started at secondary school. It looks great and is so much better for storage and space, but the chair she had had before really didn't fit with the new grown up look of the room. I went trawling around the local charity shops for a suitable chair and material to recover it. I ended up, in my sixth charity shop, buying two battered and sad looking kitchen chairs for £10.

Sanded down, primed and two coats of Matt paint did the trick for the frame, but I was struggling to find appropriate cloth for the seat covers. I happened to be in a local garden centre and looked through their end of season sale, finding a quilted bag in exactly the right style of material and pattern. It had cost £30 and was reduced to £10.  I cut the bag in half, using the pink side for Immie's room and the green side for one of my other daughters, Alana's room and it was perfect!

I love the idea that those chairs have spent a previous life in someone's kitchen with chatter and family life happening and have now been saved from the tip and given a whole new lease of life. As and when we move house, I will certainly be sourcing any additional furniture we need from charity or thrift shops rather than buying cheap new furniture!