Upcycling

As one of my key passions is that of the conservation of the environment, I find it incredibly important to not waste matter but rather to explore new purposes for the object or even to develop its aesthetic appeal to something more current. During the past year I have found myself gathering a large amount of pins on pinterest surrounding the matter of upcycling, and how the reusage of a product is far better for the environment than recycling.

As my parents were thinking of buying a brand new kitchen, I suggested to them that a far more environmental solution would be to sand down the current kitchen cupboards, add some rusticated chalk paint and add new handles. From this moment an extreme case of upcycling occurred.

In order to gather the correct colour and coverage for the cabinets tests were conducted. From this it was decided that the old white would be used, as it had the strongest coverage and thus less paint needed to be used. The colour was also much more suiting that that of the creams, as they appeared somewhat yellow. 

After around 15 hours the kitchen was complete with two coats being used, as well as a wax in which protects the paint, allowing it to be cleaned (a highly important factor as kitchens contain grease etc). One factor I discovered when painting was that cheap brushes are not effective as they often leave hairs, and thus it is worth investing in an more expensive brush. The first coat was conducted with a roller in order to save time, whereas the second was completed with a brush, ensuring all the fine details of the cupboard were covered, as well as adding rustic brush marks into the paint. 

From completing this, I decided to re-ventate other areas of the house including my bedroom furniture, and the fireplace. 

Wardrobe

The above images show the process of painting the wardrobe. Again a roller was used due to the mass flat surfaces, thus allowing for a quicker process. Around 3 coats were given to allow for a finished matte look. The handles were taken off to ensure maximum coverage, and where then replaced. My Dad showed me how to take off and replace a handle, and thus this is now a skill in which I have.

Finished wardrobe

Chest of drawers

Again all handles were removed, and the drawers were opened at different angles in order to ensure that all areas were covered. The roller was primarily used, with fine brushes being used to fill in details. When using a roller it is important to ensure too much paint isn't placed upon the roller or else movement is locked. It was also discovered during this process that you must not leave a roller with paint on unwashed as it hardens and you have to buy a new roller. 

The side of the drawers were not painted in order to give a cottage feel towards the design. The sides are also not seen when the draws are closed. 

The final product.

Mirror

A mirror was also painted in order to fit into its new surroundings. Masking tape was used to ensure mass paint was not collected upon the glass, although this can be cleaned off. Compared to the other projects this one was the most difficult as the mirror contained lots of small angles whereby small paint brushes had to be used.

Fireplace

The original colour of the fireplace 

 The fireplace was also painted, with my dad's help. As the fireplace was originally made from wood multiple cracks were present and thus around 5 coats had to be applied, a time consuming job in which left me never wanting to paint another object again.