Upcycled furniture for women's shelter

[jemma11]

Over 100 pieces of furniture, art and homewares were upcycled for a local women’s shelter, with colour choices and designs to lift mood. This was the winner of best community project in our 2023 search for Australia's best D.I.Y. projects.

• The project
• Tools and materials
• Steps
• How to upcycle a bedside cabinet
• More inspiration for your upcycling project

The project

I upcycled furniture, art and homewares for a local women’s shelter. After ascertaining what they needed, I put a call out within my local community for items. Donated items were then upcycled using trauma-informed design principles (soft, gentle colours, organic shapes, and touches of nature).

 All up, 101 items were collected for the shelter, the majority being upcycled (including the art canvasses, plant pots etc). 

It’s been a challenging but very satisfying project on many levels. Saving items from landfill, community engagement and, of course, the benefits to the shelter itself. 

Tools and materials

Tools and materials used in the project:

• Sandpaper
  
  
• Liquid sugar soap
  
  
• Microfibre cloths 
   
• Paint brushes
  
  
• Chalk paint
  
  
• Soft wax
  
  
• Matt varnish.

 

Steps

Step 1

Found out what items the shelter needed. 

Step 2

Sourced the items as donations from my community via local Facebook groups.

Step 3

Decided on a colour scheme.

Step 4

Prepped the furniture by sanding and cleaning with liquid sugar soap.

Step 5

Prepped the canvasses by sanding and priming with chalk paint.

Step 6

Prepped the pots by cleaning with liquid sugar soap. 

Step 7

Painted the items in chalk paint.

Step 8

Sealed the furniture and pots with matte varnish.

Step 9

Sealed the canvasses with clear wax

Step 10

Delivered to the shelter to provide colour and the dignity of beautiful items to the women. Such a rewarding project on so many levels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to upcycle a bedside cabinet

Upcycling a dated bedroom cabinet is a simple project that can give your bedroom a clean, fresh, modern look. Our step-by-step guide by resident Bunnings D.I.Y. expert Mitch contains techniques that you could use for upcycling many other pieces of furniture.

 

More inspiration for your upcycling project

Workshop member Leanne used sandpaper and Dulux Aquanamel semi-gloss paint on this upcycled painted buffet. 

Community member Sandy cleverly upcycled a tallboy using timber Venetian blinds.

Check out our Upcycled bedside drawers and tables, Upcycled buffets and Top 10 most popular indoor furniture projects for more ideas for your home.