At FBR, we never throw away useable furniture pieces, but this dowdy wooden cabinet was on its way out the door.  Until!  Juliana transformed this trash-to-be into an adorable, enviable accent table.  You too can turn curbside trash into a piece that you’ll treasure, just follow these simple steps:

Step 1: Taking stock.  The cabinet was looking a little rough: it was smelly, the hinges were loose and in general it was just falling apart.  ”Old and nasty” said Juliana.

Step 2: The base.  Juliana removed the wooden base of the cabinet.  It was too heavy and falling to pieces.  She scrounged up some old table legs that were lying around the FBR shop and cut them to size.  The brass hardware on the bottom of the legs was tarnished & needed a little polishing up.  Juliana worked her magic with a simple home-ec. tip: toothpaste!  First, clean the tarnished brass.  Next, scrub it down with a glob of toothpaste & some steel wool.

Huge improvement!  Notice the difference?

Step 3: Get ‘er ready!  Juliana sanded the entire piece down and then prepped it with a coat of primer.  She reinforced hinges and replaced old hardware where necessary.  Some regular old interior house paint, in a lovely salmon color, provides the accent on this accent piece.  Remember: 2 coats will make sure it’s even and smooth.

Step 4: Shell-ac!  Juliana selected some cute seashell wallpaper and covered the interiors of the cabinet, including this unique pull-out tray.  The entire piece was then finished with 2 coats of spray gloss.

Ta-Da!  It looks great – totally transformed!

What can you do with an defunct traveling trunk?  Upcycle it into a side table of course!

Searching around the prop shop, Michelle (FBR’s DIY/upcycle intern) found the top of an old traveling trunk that was missing its bottom.  She had the great idea to turn it into a living room side table.

Michelle turned the trunk upside-down and created an flat table surface.  She fastened some legs and collaged the table top with images of the Caribbean Sea.  You can see more images of Michelle’s work here or stop by FBR’s RE-Gallery and pick up this piece for yourself!

Michelle Rickert, FBR’s current DIY/upcycle intern, has been creating incredible pieces from odds and ends found around the prop shop.  You can see Michelle’s photography work and prop fabrication here.  Check out this suitcase she fashioned from an old cello:

Michelle aged the face of the cello by sanding it down in certain areas.  Then, she added a hooking closure and suitcase handle.

The inside of the suitcase is lined with midnight blue velvet and decoupaged with old sheet music.

Found object extraordinaire.  Throughout his travels over the years, Joel accumulated a treasured collection of knick-knacks – a Maori bone carving from New Zealand, a piece of the Berlin wall, an antique door key from Philadelphia.  When he found this chair on the street, it looked like it had been traveling too and Joel added it to his collection.  All of his mementos, pieces of places he’d been, just seemed to fit in all the right places.  The end result?  A world-traveler, a real piece of art.

Ivy throne.  This was the first chair that Joel made, salvaged from the streets of Philadelphia.  What an incredible, wonderful, whimsical addition to any nursery, music video, secret garden… the possibilities of reuse are endless!

One of FBR’s DIY upcyclers extraordinaire, Courtney Wagner, crafted this incredible Victrola side table for the RE-Gallery.

This table was made from an old Victrola lid, the piece itself was most likely used as a prop.  As Courtney deconstructed the object, she discovered different pieces of mismatched wood holding the piece together.

After doing away with some of the excess wood, Courtney sanded and restained the base flipping the Victrola label right-side-up, creating the top for this delightful side table.

After reattaching the cover, she stained the piece and added a shiny new finish.

This one’s got great legs!

One of FBR’s RE-Workshop artist/educators Kat Roberts was recently interviewed by Crafty Crafty about her incredible upcycling endeavors – check out step-by-step DIY projects on her blog.  She cited Film Biz Recycling as one of her favorite places to find crafting supplies.  Thanks Kat!  Check out the whole interview here:

Craft Stars: Upcycling Genius Kat Roberts

Kat will be bringing her enviable upcycle skills to FBR in June for a DIY workshop that’s not to be missed!

A pivotal member of FBR’s DIY team, Juliana O’Byrne (under the moniker Fit For A King) has been working hard all month long to bring one-of-a-kind armchairs to the RE-Gallery.  This beautiful piece was once a frumpy office chair; Juliana reupholstered it with a plush grey velvet and an unexpected batik piping.  She sanded down the woodwork to create a homey, worn-in feel using materials and fabric donated to FBR!  How exquisite!

Juliana identified this particular piece as a vintage Knoll chair (original tags attached!) whose upholstery was old and decaying.  She found some fun, funky woven material here at the Shop and totally redesigned the chair into a modern masterpiece perfect for your kitchen or office.  Be sure to stop by the RE-Gallery for exciting new pieces all the time!

New in the Re-Gallery…

DIY/Upcycler Courtney Wagner transformed this old wooden dresser into a modern masterpiece.  She artfully recolored the hardware and used old wallpaper to create a contrasting pattern on the dresser drawers.  Check out before & after pics below:

Make Earrings from Recycled Umbrella Frames and Plastic Bags!

What you’ll get from this class:

• knowledge basis for “upcycling” or how to use unusual (& often free!) everyday items to create interesting and eco-friendly craft projects.
• comprehensive technique for creating original jewelry pieces
• your own pair of fashionable earring that look beautiful and have a low environmental impact

For more info on this event, click here.

Check out these upcycled vintage folding chairs new in the GALA-RE, $35/ea.

Refinished & reupholstered, they’re perfect for a summer in the city!