Managing old furniture has always been a dilemma for nearly everybody. Most people start out as a young couple with a few things to fill up a huge space, with the passage of time the number of things increase and the space seems to shrink. In such a case it is usually the old furniture that gets the stare. Most of the stuff we kept for its emotional value seems to be mismatched with the LCD TV or taking up space in the living room. At this point in time, we have only two extreme options; replacing “this” is going to be costly and it will sell for scrap! Or “this” is falling to pieces and taking up useful space so it has to go.

Furniture with sentimental value

Furniture to some people is milestones they have collected as reminders of periods of their lives, like the first dining table, a baby cot or television cabinet. Once these things out live their useful life, the person attaching too much emotional value to them is usually left the odd one out.

The beauty of wooden furniture is that in a humid city like Karachi; it has a reasonably longer life. It can be also easily redecorated with just a tinge of creativity. You don’t have to sacrifice style in you choose to work in a limited budget. Something you can do with just about any piece of furniture is to first use sand paper to scrape it back to bare wood. You can have it polished to match the rest of the furniture or be a little more creative and have it painted in glossy colors and patterns. Antiques and heirlooms are tricky to work with and better left to the professionals to handle. For these first determine the condition the wood is in, check the nuts and bolts and replace them if they are rusted. Once the piece is repaired, you can have it sanded and polished.

While working with an old sofa, consider getting it reupholstered, to match your new room. The foam in the sofa can also be replaced to give it back its bounce. An inexpensive solution would be buying a colorful throw or decorating it with trendy cushions of varying sizes. The bed is a piece of furniture which can maintain its dignity over extensive fashion fads. Changing the polish and mattress can help. Coffee tables can be utilized in a variety of ways. If the legs are in good shape the top can be replaced or decorated with tiles, glass or mosaic pieces. A table top with solid wood can be converted into a dart board or a painting frame. A very simple technique I used with a table top is to make check patterns with the help of masking tape and spray painted the rest.

Furniture that is falling to pieces

Old furniture that is depreciating, can be reused it in a variety of ways. A very basic way is to relocate it or utilize it for a different purpose. Wooden chairs and tables that seem unfit indoors may be moved outdoors in the patio or garden. Just have it coated with weather resistant paint. An old chest of drawers can be converted into a shoes rack. A strong wooden chest is ideal for storing bed sheets or can be converted into a toy storage box.

A friend gave new life to her old cupboard by just adding complete floor length mirrors to the doors. Wood from chest and cupboards can easily be reused to make shelves for storage. Handles and knobs are now available in many varieties and styles, so a rusted handle can be replaced with a trendier one. Old sinks and tubs have drainage holes in them so they can be used in the garden for making ponds or growing plants.

Furniture that is just taking up space

For furniture you don’t like anymore or are wondering what you were thinking when you bought it in the first place, here are a few suggestions. After making consistent attempts at remodeling or relocating a certain piece of furniture, and it still fails to appeal to you. Consider giving it to a friend or relative who might have a better use for it. Young couples who are newly getting settled are generally looking for bargain buys or a generous elder. You can also skim through advertisements in newspapers and sell it in specialized shops that deal with used furniture- in this case, leave the sentiments behind! If nothing else, give it away as charity, this furniture after leaving your house would make you and a deserving person very happy!