Picking up second-hand furniture from charity shops and car-boot sales can be a purse and planet-friendly way of kitting out your home. But often, this means dated MDF, which can look a bit blah. We give you some tips how to upcycle MDF furniture to match your style and decor.
What is upcycling?
Upcycling is a fun and relatively thrifty way of giving furniture a refresh and unleashing those creative juices. This applies to giving old MDF furniture you’ve had in your home for years – and are now bored of – a bit of a style update too.
“In the past, MDF furniture has been a popular option for people wanting to furnish their homes on a budget. However, it can easily become tired-looking and outdated. But people shouldn’t get rid of it and replace it with something new. Instead, they can upcycle and give their furniture a new lease of life,” says Cato Cooper.
She’s the co-owner of The Emporium Somerset in Wellington who began restoring furniture as a hobby before turning her craft into a profession. “Upcycling is a great way of saving money – and it’s good for the environment too, as it minimises the amount of discarded materials and waste being sent to landfill each year.”
Where do you start with upcycling MDF though? Surely working with those glossy coatings is going to be a mammoth job?
“One of the biggest challenges I face when advising people on reusing old furniture is that they think it’s huge task, and things can get over-complicated. This mindset can easily put people off and good furniture is thrown away that could have otherwise been used for something else,” says Andy Baxter, home and garden furniture expert.
How to upcycle MDF furniture
Getting started
If you’re new to upcycling, make sure you’ve planned out the whole process before you start. This isn’t just a question of deciding on the methods and colours you’ll be using. You also need to make sure you have all the appropriate tools for every stage and enough time and space to complete the job.
Think about how you’re going to protect any surrounding items, and your clothing, from getting splashed or dusty while you work. Also, ensure you’ve got a well-ventilated suitable area sorted out before cracking open those paint and varnish cans.
Do your prep
There are some paint products that promise to cut the groundwork, but if you’re going the traditional route or want more control over your finish, you’ll need to do some prep. This usually means some thorough sanding (you want to create a rough surface to ‘grip’ the paint so it holds), plus using a suitable primer before you get going with the painting.
“A coat of undercoat or primer will need to be applied to the piece of furniture first. Once dried, you’re ready to go with your new colour of paint. If painted on plain MDF, you will need to give the furniture a gentle sand after the coat of primer/undercoat, and before applying the paint,” says Cooper.
“The majority of my restoration projects are done using Autentico Chalk Paint, which allows me to rejuvenate an old piece and give it a fun and bright coat of paint. It can be used on MDF too, as long as a primer is used first and the Autentico paint is sealed after application. Alternatively, you can use the Autentico Chalk Paint ‘Eggshell’ range without a sealer.”
We love this shade of Autentico Chalk Paint Vintage in Warm Grey for a chic, modern look, available on Amazon.
Baxter adds: “You may find that some paints won’t always stick to surfaces very well, even when the surface been sanded down and primed. As a quick tip, acrylic paint is best in these scenarios. As it’s made of acrylic, this paint sticks far better to a whole host of materials, including plastic, glossy and shiny MDF surfaces. A quick varnish after painting will also stop any paint coming off afterwards.”
Create a ‘distressed’ or textured look
“To get that aged, distressed look to furniture, it’s best to use a slightly darker shade as your undercoat, and your main colour as a second layer,” says Kasia Wiktorowicz, marketing communications manager at Valspar. “Then you can use sandpaper to lightly scuff certain areas, such as corners, to reveal the colour underneath and bring the texture of your furniture to life.
“Try out different brush strokes to create a texture you love,” Wiktorowicz adds. “Once the paint has dried, you can rub gently with sandpaper over the areas you want to expose. Valspar’s Premium Blend v700 Wood & Metal will give even the thinnest piece of MDF a beautiful finish. It’s long-lasting and withstands those everyday knocks.”
Think about your finishing touches
The best thing about going to all this effort is you have free reign to create whatever you fancy. “Upcycling gives you the chance to create one-of-a-kind furniture that’s completely your own, adding a real personal touch to your home.
“In recent years, we’ve experienced the ‘flat pack culture’, which people are currently turning away from. It’s now more important to have an element of craft and storytelling within the home, and this is exactly what upcycling offers,” says Wiktorowicz.
So, be creative with colours – this might mean colour-blocking with drawers in different colours, for instance. Think about adding extra finishing touches, such as stencilling or replacing knobs for extra style. Of course, you can always go for classic and understated, too.
Check out a cheat’s option
And if you don’t have the space, time or tools to go full-on restoration mode, you can always try some of the paint products that promise to do the job in one or two simple steps.
Ronseal Chalky Furniture Paint (English Rose, available on Amazon) – just two applications on un-primed MDF will give you a chalky, matt finish. Rust-Oleum also has a paint range that can be used directly onto un-primed wood, including MDF – such as this one in warm taupe, available on Amazon. If you’re after a gloss finish, try the Rust-Oleum Gloss Finish Furniture Paint – go all out with a gold finish, available on Amazon.
Best-selling upcycling kits
Stuck for inspiration? Check out our list of best-selling Amazon products!
- Kit includes: 25mm round brush, 1"/25mm flat brush, 2"/50mm flat brush, 2.7m x 3.6m dust sheet, 1 x fine sanding block, 1 x coarse sanding block
- Different brushes for trim, detail, large and small areas
- Suitable for all paints, including chalky paints
- 【4 Piece Wax Paint Brush Set】- This furniture paint brush is practical for all of your artistic needs, including 1 piece flat brush,1 piece pointed brush, 1 piece round brush and 1 piece wide flat...
- 【Professional Grade Paint Brushes】- Natural pure bore bristles create a more traditional, textured look and hand painted charm for your DIY paint projects. Oval shaped head of chalk paint brushes...
- 【Leather Hanging Straps Design】- The wax brush have leather hanging straps, helping you to hang them after using, convenient storage and quick drying after washing, wonderful tools to bring...
- 🖋️【Portable USB Recharging】Our engraving pen is rechargeable,come with USB cable. Crdless using will be up to 30 minutes idling after full charge, easy to help you finish better engraved...
- 🖋️【3 Levels Adjustable Speed】Our rechargeable micro engraver has 3 levels speeds can be adjustable from 5000-18000 r/min for different materials.Press once, 5000r/min. Press twice,10000r/min....
- 🖋️【Smart Power-off Protection】Built-in safety protection circuit board and intelligent overload protection chip.When the working resistance is too large,it will automatically cut off the...
- Pink Tool Set:Home tool kit comes with all the most useful and necessary tools for home maintenance and daily use.A great choose for those easy and fast diy and repair jobs in the household, office,...
- Anti-Corrosive:All the household hand tools are made of CR-V steel with a chrome plated finish which protects against corrosion. Our tools are characterized by anti-rust, durability,and can be used...
- Home Tool Kit:Come with 23-piece set of tools,including long nose pliers,flashlight,measuring tape,cutting plier, 10pcs bits, 4pcs sockets,2pcs precision screwdriver,screwdriver bit...
- Keeps paint out, keeps lines sharp
- For use on fresh paint (24 hours minimum)
- Helps prevent paint bleed
Last update on 2024-04-09 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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Love the ideas for my cabinet never tried chalk painting before but definitely going to give it a go