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I Upcycled My Furniture With Some New Legs
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I Upcycled My Furniture With Some New Legs

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Inspired by an article online about adding legs to furniture, I thought I’d give it a try in miniature before attempting a bigger piece.

I had a few spindles left from making my own storage daybed, so I decided to cut off the ends for the feet. Then I decoupaged the outside of the box with pieces cut out of some wrapping paper from flowers that my HH (Handsome Husband) gave me. I liked the paper, but found it a bit blah – so I painted the birds (see the video)!

Then I glued the legs to the box, painted the legs in bright colors (what ELSE?? LOL) – and Voila! A lovely planter (or something…)

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The original box. I think I’ve had it since the 1980s… can you tell? LOL

But at least it’s a lovely, solid wood box, so it’s worth upcycling

Step 1 is to paint the box with liquid acrylic paint in my favorite color – turquoise-teal

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Here are my reclaimed spindles, which I bought from a Habit for Humanity ReStore for $2 each

I used a handsaw and a mitre box to cut the “feet” for the box

They are Almost the same height! I sanded all of the pieces so that I can paint them after they were attached. (If was do another one – Note to Self! – I’d paint the feet BEFORE attaching them to the box! It was a bit TRICKY painting the insides of the legs once they were attached to the box…

This is the Super wood glue that I used to glue the feet onto the box. The Good news is that this glue is VERY strong. The BAD news is… (see next picture)…

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…it doesn’t dry either clear or flat, and is almost impossible to scrape off once it’s dry

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It was okay for this project because it’s on the bottom of the box, but I wouldn’t use this glue for any joint that would be seen!

To make sure the feet are firmly attached to the box, I piled a bunch of heavy stuff on top!

Here’s what it looked like with the feet attached

I used Modge-Podge to glue the paper to the box. A secret I learned from YouTube was to mist the wrong side of the paper with water before decoupaging. This helps prevent wrinkles!

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I originally thought to reproduce 2 of the blues that I’d used on the paper to paint the feet, but when I saw it like this, this color scheme seemed kind of blah. Needs more COLOR!

I painted the feet with turquoise, apple green, and light blue

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Once that was done, I was happy with the feet, but thought the box looked a bit unfinished. I decided to add stripes of spring green at the top and bottom of the box. I used painter’s tape to make straight lines.

I mixed this green with a bright yellow and a bit of white for the stripes at the top and bottom of the box

Finished box – 1st side

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2nd side… in case you hadn’t noticed, the 2 spindles I used weren’t identical, so the “front” feet and the “back” feet are different shapes! I used carefully-placed stripes to make them match

3rd side

4th side

Closeup of the feet. I’m pretty happy with how this project turned out. Now all I have to do is Figure Out what to do with it! (Planter, maybe??)

See the video below:

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Catherine Maven

Catherine Maven

Author, Community member

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I am an artist, writer and ESL teacher. I have wacky dreams which often lead to art or stories. Right now, I am focusing my creative energies on upcycling furniture and glass into fun and funky - but USEFUL - items!

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Catherine Maven

Catherine Maven

Author, Community member

I am an artist, writer and ESL teacher. I have wacky dreams which often lead to art or stories. Right now, I am focusing my creative energies on upcycling furniture and glass into fun and funky - but USEFUL - items!

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