Upcycling ideas in under a day

Get your teeth into this month’s round-up of innovative upcycling makes – tools at the ready!

Top Tip

When painting, spraying or using glue, make sure you set up outside – on a nice day of course, or in a well ventilated area so you’re not breathing in any harmful fumes.

Hooray, it’s the month of May, which means two bank holidays! And what better way to spend your well-earned days off than by updating your pad with some thrifty new additions? If you’re stuck for ideas, Juliet Bawden and Amanda Russell have plenty of inspiration for you over the next five pages. If you’ve only got a spare hour, whip up an eye-catching art canvas or a stylish storage box. Or for those with more time, try making an asymmetric coffee table or paint up a chair with a cleverly transformed drop-in seat.

p89 Bright ideas, fresh for spring

p87 Designer DIYs for less

Drop-in chair

We discovered this old chair in a charity shop for just £10. It was begging for some TLC, so we thought we’d paint it bright green, then covered the drop-in seat using a pretty patterned tea towel.

Takes 4 hours

You will need

✱ Charity shop chair, £10 Q

✱ Sandpaper

✱ Dulux matt emulsion in Tarragon Glory 4, £15.99

✱ Paintbrush

✱ Claw hammer

✱ Tea towel, £5, M&S

✱ Pins

✱ Fabric scissors

✱ Staple gun

Total £30.99

1 Remove the seat from the chair and put it to one side. Sand the chair frame to give it a key so the paint will stick to it.

2 Paint the chair with a brightlycoloured matt emulsion paint. Leave it to dry. If the wood is showing through, apply a second coat of paint.

3 Remove the tacks from the edge of the chair seat, then take off the outer cloth. If it has a calico (a plain, woven fabric) layer, leave it in place.