Up-cycling an eBay find

I have been asked to enter the best competition EVER!  I’ve been given £100 by Direct Blinds to buy and renovate a piece of furniture of my choice.  Amazing.

I want you to see the ‘before’ shot of the piece I have bought from eBay for £30. I wanted to buy something that I need so this is going to be perfect in my new home office for craft storage. It’s a great shape (love the legs), I like the glass doors and it’s a very practical size. However, in this space, particularly as it is next to the window, it seems to suck every ounce of light from the room. If it were in the sitting room or hallway, I might keep it as it is but it is not the lovely teak you might think it is from the photos; it is actually quite a nasty dark, orangey veneer.

So, it needs to be lightened, a little dash of character and some pegboard to go above the cabinet. This is going to be storage heaven!

Entries close on July 15th so check back to see what the piece will eventually look like.

Up-cycling an eBay find www.apartmentapothecary.com

Up-cycling an eBay find www.apartmentapothecary.com

I’d love to know what you would do to this piece too! Leave me a comment 😉

Katy x

 

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11 Comments

  1. Penny
    3rd July 2014 / 6:55 pm

    Possibly sanded down then a distressed grey wash?…if you want it to be brighter?….Good luck.

    • katy
      8th July 2014 / 11:41 am

      Not sure about sanding, Penny. The veneer is very thin but the wood underneath is not very nice at all – I think it’s some sort of composite wood so there’s no grain. Also, I HATE sanding!!!

  2. Courtney
    5th July 2014 / 10:16 pm

    I’d paint it a really bright colour – yellow or pink! 🙂

    • katy
      8th July 2014 / 11:42 am

      I thought about yellow too!

  3. Sammy
    6th July 2014 / 6:54 am

    Mmmm. I have no idea what I’d do to it! Whenever I see a piece like that with the horrible, cheap veneer I always think it’s not worth my time because you can’t cover the colour unless you sand the whole thing which is a nightmare! I’m intrigued to see what you do.

    • katy
      8th July 2014 / 11:43 am

      I totally understand. I’ll see what I can do…:)

  4. Andrea
    6th July 2014 / 6:41 pm

    I would first strip the piece. This could be time consuming, but without the orange color of what is probably a failed finish, you may feel differently about the vaneer vs. the wood. A great light stain on the outside with a chalky interior would look awesome with the glass doors giving a peak of color.

    • katy
      8th July 2014 / 11:44 am

      Such a lovely idea, Andrea. It would look totally gorgeous. However, the wood is a composite of some sort so there’s no grain 🙁 I wish there were!! Thanks for the great ideas x

  5. 7th July 2014 / 3:35 pm

    Excited to see how this turns out Katy!

    • katy
      8th July 2014 / 11:44 am

      Thanks girls xx

  6. Gigi
    9th July 2014 / 9:02 pm

    Paint it a mustard yellow on the outside and teal blue inside. Or olive green.

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