Upcycling Ideas and Tips

Whether it’s a sideboard or fitted wardrobe with chipped wood and outdated paint, we all have some furniture that we’ve been meaning to replace. Luckily, you can give your furniture a new lease of life without splurging on brand new furniture. This is where Plank Hardware steps in.

Plank Hardware create stylish, affordable hardware for Pinterest-worthy DIYs and are on a mission to inspire a generation of ruthless DIY’ers. Sick of that hand-me-down desk? Hack it. Unhappy with your old cabinet hardware? Tweak it. Here, Plank shares its upcycling tips and ideas to help you transform your old furniture into bespoke, one-of-a-kind pieces.

Cocktail Cabinet

A glam cocktail cabinet done right, with some tropical wallpaper and LOVELL knobs.

Revamp unwanted furniture like an old cabinet, cupboard or desk into a modern cocktail cabinet you’ll be proud to display in your home. That means creating a piece that reflects your interior style whilst also making a statement. When thinking about this cabinet upcycle, we’ll have to think about both the interior and the exterior.

The interior of your cabinet should be as inviting as the outside. For that Gatsby style glitz and glam, use a metallic spray paint on the interior of the unit, ensuring you cover every nook and cranny. Want less of the shine, but the same amount of character? Why not add some patterned wallpaper to the inside of your cabinet?

A glam cocktail cabinet done right, with some tropical wallpaper and LOVELL knobs.

Show your personality with the exterior by painting it a new colour. If you’re into all things vintage and want to create that shabby chic feel, eggshell or chalk paint would best suit your style. Or if you’re all about making an impact with bright colours, gloss paint will do the trick.

A fancy drinks cabinet deserves equally fancy hardware. The intricate swirled detail of our Brass SWIFT Knobs or knurled texture of KEPLER Handles are bound to reflect the light and add a touch of luxury to the exterior of your cabinet. Do you prefer abstract shapes? You can count on GAUDI’s curved T-bar shape to make a modernist statement. Whatever your interior style, we’ve got a vast range of cabinet handles & knobs where you’re bound to find the perfect hardware to complete your cocktail cabinet upcycle.

 KEPLER adds an eye-catching touch to Jemma’s (@thefurnitureparlour) drink’s cabinet.

The final addition of some modern hooks can help you hang your prized copper mugs and organise your cocktail-making utensils. Take your pick from our range of hooks, including geometric shapes like our PORTER Circular Hook through to our classically stylish DAVIS Curved Hook.

Sideboard hacks

Both a practical storage solution and an elegant decorative piece, a sideboard is a long, low piece of furniture with both cabinets and drawers. Sideboards are perfect for showing off your favourite home accessories in any part of your home and it only makes sense to display your prized possessions on a show-stopping piece of furniture.

LUDLOW pairs perfectly with Melanie’s (@melanielissackinteriors) luxe sideboard.

The easiest way to transform your sideboard is by changing its colour. Strip away its old paint and add varnish for a rustic look, or prep and paint each side before painting on your chosen colour. Melanie from @melanielissackinteriors completely transformed her sideboards with panelling and a lick of paint. Melanie chose LUDLOW Handles in Brass as the perfect, luxe finishing touches to her upcycle – you can watch her full sideboard hack here.

You can get creative with paint by creating geometric patterns, like triangles or fans. Use frog tape to mask the areas you don’t want to paint, which will help you create your desired shape. Or, if you love florals or quirky prints, try making sideboard designs with wallpaper offcuts or découpage paper. Then, paint your table top a coordinating colour, or add a glass or acrylic top as a sleek touch that will also be convenient to clean.

MERCURY (left) & TURING (right) make the perfect finishing touches on these upcycled sideboards.

Installing stylish hardware will transform your sideboard drawers and doors, offering refined shapes and ease of access. Keep things subtle with our MERCURY Curved Lip Pull Handle. It’ll tuck into your drawers and add a soft and premium accent to your sideboard. Our handles are available in a variety of sizes, so you don’t have to compromise when it comes to creating your perfect sideboard. Smart and sophisticated, our LOVELL Circular Knob and HUMBOLDT Knurled Button Knob both round off minimalist pieces of furniture beautifully.

Office desk

We all deserve a study space that is both inspiring and professional, especially when working so often from home. This means creating an office desk that is functional and represents your interior style.

Think of the cabinets or drawers and table top as two parts of the project. Create a calming space that helps you think clearly by painting your desk with muted tones, like duck egg blue. Although, you can always experiment with darker colours, such as forest green.

Hannah’s (@little_edwardian_semi) home office upcycle, featuring SEARLE.

Opening and closing your drawers so often means you’ll need hardware that will stand the test of time whilst complimenting your study’s aesthetic. We coat our hardware in a protective clear matt glaze, so pick your colour preference — from classics like Brass, Satin Nickel and Matt Black — and rest safe in the knowledge that your hardware will last. When selecting finishes, here’s our tip – if your desk is painted darker, choose a bright brass or sleek, modern Satin Nickel hardware. If the paint is a lighter, muted tone, opt for a darker, Matt Black.

Textured hardware can also add a unique, ergonomic touch to any work desk. Choose our SEARLE Handles for a convenient yet curvaceous touch, or turn heads with our classy, grooved BECKER D-bar Handles.

Allie (@allie_wilson_home) completed her office desk with scaffold board and BECKER.

Then comes the table top – you'll need to make sure you either paint your table top with a light colour to open up your space, or stick on some self-adhesive vinyl to disguise any unwanted colour or damage. Is your current table top wooden, like Allie’s (@allie_wilson_home)? Why not sand it down and add a varnish to protect your wooden surface and add some warmth to your space?

Wardrobes

Occupying a large amount of space in a bedroom or dressing room, wardrobes can define an interior space. Having a dated wardrobe to upcycle is a great opportunity to get creative and redefine the feel of your room. Start off by thinking of your ideal space and what your current room is lacking. If you want a more colourful, lively space, then you can choose a bold, statement colour. Or if you prefer a traditional, minimalist look, then paint your wardrobe a muted colour and add some panelling.

Want to take on a bigger challenge? You can cut out sections of your wardrobe and line them with natural rattan, similar to Sophia (@diydoctorat49). Learn how Sophia added rattan to her drawers here.

Sophia’s (@diydoctorat49) DIY’d rattan drawers, featuring LUDLOW and Katie’s (@therowe) fitted shaker wardrobes finished with WATT & TURING.

Lucy from @homeonthewharfe turned her plain IKEA PAX into a mid-century style shaker wardrobe. She skilfully added panelling to her wardrobe by measuring, marking and cutting some wooden panels to an angle. Want to see how it’s done? Watch Lucy work her upcycling magic here.

Lauren (@fortheloveoffiftysix) DIY’d her statement rattan wardrobes and added MERCURY Pulls, whilst Lucy (@homeonthewharfe) elevated her wardrobes with ROEBUCK and some panelling.

A wardrobe upcycle wouldn’t be complete without some premium wardrobe handles. If you’re looking for an elegant T-bar that’ll match your traditional interior space, you’ll love the smooth shape of our ROEBUCK Handle. Or if you’re looking for a unique touch, try mixing and matching our distinctly shaped HUXLEY Hexagon handles with other geometric inspired pieces like our TURING Hexagon Knob or BOWIE Heavyweight Hexagon Knob.

Are you upcycling fitted wardrobes and need some heavy duty handles that don’t compromise on style? Our KEPLER Heavyweight Handles are ready to take on the challenge and add a striking finishing touch to your wardrobes.

Get stuck in

Now that we’ve shared our upcycling insights, we expect you to roll up your sleeves and get DIY’ing. If we didn’t mention the pieces of furniture you want to upcycle, then feel free to take any relevant ideas and apply them to your furniture hack. You can soak up even more upcycling inspiration by visiting our Project Inspiration page.

– Shop Hardware –

From the creative process through to the end result, we’d love to see how you get on. Tag us in your Instagram transformation reels and before and after pics using @plankhardware and #PlankProjects.