In order for a piece of furniture to be upcycled, it needs to be stripped back to its original form. This is to ensure that any paint, adhesives or decorative elements used adhere to the surface properly.

Typically, upcycling a piece of furniture will involve the following stages:

• Sanding and/or stripping – the removal of any paint, wax, varnish or lacquer.
• Wood repair –filling superficial holes or cracks, sanding off splintered or rough edges or gluing/joining any loose/detached parts.
• Priming and painting – The number of layers required may depend on the type of wood, surface quality, and the colour of the paint.
• Decoration – decoupage, pyrography, stencilling, embossing, gold leaf, resin, mixed media, (eg pressed flowers).
• Finishing – bare wood may be oiled, waxed, stained or varnished in order to achieve the desired appearance. The final layer of paint may also be waxed, oiled or varnished as necessary.

A creative collaboration! A commissioned piece can be designed and created according to your individual taste and style – bespoke, one off and unique!

Absolutely! There may be practicalities to consider eg condition and age of the furniture but please do get in touch if you have a piece you’d like to transform!

Very possibly! This is something I frequently do for customers and I have a large and varied sleuthing ground!

No! Some customers have a very clear vision of what they want. Others have more of a feel or idea. Often ideas start to develop and evolve once discussions begin! I am able to offer as much or as little advice/ideas/inspiration as you like – from sourcing furniture to suggesting colour schemes and finding wallpapers for decoupage. I view the upcycling process as a collaboration and once a project has begun, it is very normal for emails with thoughts, ideas and ‘work in progress’ photos to be pinging back and forth!

It’s difficult to provide an exact quote until I know exactly what will be involved. Factors to be considered include the size and condition of a piece of furniture and how long it will take to prepare for painting, the cost of materials chosen (wallpaper for decoupage can cost between £2 and £300 a roll!) and the hours of labour involved. I am usually able to provide a rough idea of cost during initial discussions and then a fixed quote once the design has been agreed.

As a VERY rough guide, most single pieces of furniture can be completed within 2-3 weeks. However, it also depends on how full my commission diary is eg if I have 10 pieces already commissioned. I will always be upfront about anticipated timescales however and keep you informed throughout.

I use several different couriers and can usually arrange pick up and delivery of furniture to most places in the UK (although this does incur an extra cost). Your new furniture will be packaged securely to protect it throughout the journey.