If you’re moving homes, or even if you’re just redecorating, you’re bound to have pieces that don’t fit into your new decor. Some things can be donated or sold, but others, especially hand-me-down pieces with a lot of emotional value, should be kept if at all possible.
What you don’t want to do is to just leave these pieces be, sticking out from other decor like a sore thumb and making an entire room feel sloppy or incohesive. If you can fit your decor around these pieces, that’s great! If not, it’s time to consider refreshing them to fit with your current decor.
Staining, reupholstering, and painting family heirlooms may be a daunting task, but at the end of the day all you’re doing is bringing your own personality to a piece of your family history. Chances are, whoever owned it first wouldn’t be upset about the update.
Even if you are reluctant to make that big of a change, if you want to decorate with a piece, you should at least make sure it’s in good condition. That may mean either taking it to a shop to get it repaired or getting down and dirty with some DIY furniture repair for older pieces. When repairing heirlooms, it’s important to use materials that maintain the integrity of the original piece.
If you’re stuck with a piece you have no use for – perhaps you’re reluctant to part with your mother’s wardrobe, for example, but your new home has walk-in closets in every bedroom – don’t worry, you can still use it! Look for ways to repurpose it. Maybe you could create a unique bookshelf, playhouse, or entertainment center out of that wardrobe. It’s better to alter a piece in order to put it to good use, after all, than to hide it away in a backroom or attic to collect dust.
For more tips on updating hand-me-down pieces and to see what Jenna Lafevor of the DIY Designer did with her ill-fitting heirlooms, visit her blog at: http://nooga.com/173017/the-diy-designer-decorating-with-hand-me-down-family-pieces/.
At True Built Home, we understand the importance of tradition, and the importance of using everything to its fullest potential. If you’re looking for a homebuilder in Washington, visit us to see how we can be of help at: http://truebuilthome.com/.
