Cheap Ways to Upgrade your Furniture

There are many easy and cheap ways to upgrade furniture if its no longer your style. It is no secret that buying something new is basically my last case worse scenario. if I can’t build it or alter a piece that I already have my next step is to head to my salvage yards and thrift stores. People throw away and get rid of such gorgeous old pieces in exchange for something of far lesser quality just because its “new”.

My two bedroom dressers were my Grandma’s which I painted out, the bedside tables I picked up at a thrift store and also painted it. My bathroom vanities are both pieces from my mom, a buffet and little dresser that I refinished. My media cabinet is my Grandma’s old buffet and even my island I made out of my great grandpa’s radio stand.

I literally saved THOUSANDS not having to buy any of it new and now I have absolutely custom pieces in my home that cannot be purchased and they all hold meaning as heirlooms for me as well!

(This is a contributed post, for more information about my compensation please read my disclosure policy)

Buying new furniture can break the bank and, aside from being costly, there is the problem of what to do with your old furniture.

As more and more people are now increasingly becoming aware of the problem of too many things being thrown away and the epidemic of the waste and garbage that we have on a daily basis, that every little we could do to help curb the accumulation of waste will go a long way.

At present, it is no longer advisable to buy new furniture especially if it still serves its purpose, if you want to buy one just because you do not like how it looks or because you want to change the look and design of your home or office space, this are not very good reasons at all.

Many civic groups and environmental groups now advocate for reuse or repurpose old furniture, and if you just want to change the color or theme of your interior design, there is a much cheaper and easier way to do it.

Cutting wood to make furniture is frowned upon by most states, it takes years to grow a tree but only minutes to cut it down, a cost analysis of which point out that the effect of logging is much more than having a good piece of furniture. There are also furniture that are made from different materials like plastic and metal, all of which does not harm the trees but are still damaging to the environment.

For example, plastic cabinets, chairs and tables are made from hard plastics that will not decompose for thousands of years, while metal ones are made from iron, aluminum and stainless steel. Such ones involve the mining of such materials which also threatens the environment and also has its own complications and issues.

The fastest and easiest way to upgrade one’s furniture is to actually upgrade its drawers or to put in drawers in furniture’s that didn’t have one to repurpose them.

You would be surprised at how easy it is to achieve a new look or update an old one just by replacing old drawers with a new drawer box or by having the old ones fixed and repainting them.

Cabinets that have existing drawers can be repainted, refurbished and it becomes a new furniture piece and no one would even notice that it was just the old one. If you are the do-it-yourself kind then removing and updating your drawer box will be a breeze, but if you are not, there is always someone you could ask to do it for you or just hire the local neighborhood carpenter.

All you need to do is to actually measure the old drawer box and find out if the local stores sell drawer boxes with the same dimension, and decide which look or design would you want to have and then pick drawer boxes that will match your design.

If however, the size you want is not available, you can ask your hardware store to cut wood in your specific dimensions and just assemble the drawer box yourself.

Alternatively you could pay someone who is skilled at putting boxes together to ensure that you don’t waste the materials you purchased. If you want to give DIY a try, there are also plenty of DIY videos in the internet. Just make sure to have everything that you need to build the drawer box even before you start making one.

If you want to use other materials like plastic and other metals, you probably have to go to the stores that specializes in that kind of pieces. Plastic has some major advantages over wooden drawer boxes, it is durable, no assembly instructions to follow and cheaper than wooden ones.

However, once you choose plastic drawer boxes, you have to commit to using it for a long time and disposing of it properly when the time comes. Metal ones are not really a popular choice, but for those who have important documents in their offices, a metal drawer box would ensure that it will not be exposed to heat, fire, water and mildew.

The caveat is that metal drawers are big, chunky and most of the time unattractive. But if you like the industrial look, then this could be just for you.

Aside from the material of the drawer box, an important design aspect to consider is actually the hardware, which would refer to the holder in the front part of the drawer box that is used to pull out the dressers.

More often than not, unique and metal holders are the product of choice for most people, as it is eye-catching, quirky and lends character to the room.

The most are made up from brass that has been repolished or stained to attain a certain patina or old world charm. Others are made from colorful plastics such as laminated knobs and handles. A pop of color can also be a great conversation piece, people would readily be drawn into a colorful item and so many designs and colors are available in the neighborhood hardware store that you can have your pick.

The existing cabinet or stand will determine the kind of drawer box that it can accommodate, thus it is important to consider this also.

Once you buy new drawer boxes make sure to get the contact details of the store as it may be very unlikely that you have to return it, but you will at least have the necessary information if worse comes to worse.

Drawer boxes are a fun way to inject some color, form and accent in an otherwise plain room, and this will surely give that new polished look in your house. Indeed there are more advantages in just updating the drawer box rather than to purchase a new cabinet.

Also, open shelving is one of the hottest trends in decorating nowadays, that you could put in drawer boxes in the shelves to organize stuff in the room and would give that cottage shabby chic feel.

(This is a contributed post, for more information about my compensation please read my disclosure policy)