5 Ways To Decorate With Hand Me Down Furniture (without having to do another DIY project)

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Have you ever been at a loss for how to decorate when you have hand me down furniture?  I have a few pieces in my home that I wasn’t quite sure how I could make my own. From a few quality pieces that I purchased at an estate sale, to some that I inherited, to a few pieces of quality furniture that were given to me, I’ve had my fair share of hand me downs that weren’t quite new. I’m going to share a few things that I learned to help me not only endure but embrace the oldies but goodies I own. But, before we get started, go ahead and join my FREE Decorating Made Easy Challenge. You’ll learn the tricks to easily decorate your home, even if you don’t have an eye for design. Now let’s get started.

5 Ways To Decorate With Hand Me Down Furniture (without having to do another DIY project)

1. Work with the design style – when you’re trying to decorate using a piece of furniture that’s not new, there’s a good chance that it’s not necessarily a style you would have picked on your own. But let me tell you one lesson I’ve learned….there’s no need to fight that item’s design style. For example, if your preferred style is farmhouse, but the furniture you have is more traditional, I say work with it. There’s a way to blend the traditional with your preferred farmhouse style so that it matches well with the rest of your home. The best way I’ve found is to let each design style uniquely be what it is. Don’t fight it.  In fact, a blend of two or more design styles is what makes a room more interesting if you do it right. This blend of styles can even make a room look like it was decorated by an interior designer.
2. Embrace the colors – What do you do if you’ve received a piece of furniture that you typically wouldn’t choose? Maybe the color is out of date, or it’s a color that doesn’t really go with anything else you own. I say embrace it! So, don’t be alarmed if you’re dealing with wood tones that are outdated or don’t match your current décor. Say you have an orange wood toned piece of furniture and the rest of your home is neutral gray tone. If you spend a bit of time researching what colors go with orange and gray you can make this work. A quick Google search will show you a bunch of images to help you see exactly how blending certain colors will look. This is exactly what I did to turn my hand-me-down pieces into some of my favorite furniture items in the entire house.
3. Hide imperfections – Okay, so let’s be honest. Not all of the furniture you buy or receive will be 100% perfect. They may be worn and have scratches or other imperfections. My best advice here to is to make the best of it by doing a few light repairs. If the furniture is leather or pleather, check with the manufacturer and ask for their recommended leather repair kit. If you’re dealing with fabric, consider purchasing a furniture cover. You can also strategically place throw blankets to hide any worn materials. If the furniture is wood, you may want to purchase wood filler or wood glue to fill in any gaps or missing pieces.
4. Make small updates – whenever you’re gifted furniture that you didn’t have much choice in picking, know that you can still personalize it. You can change up the color.  Either brighten it up or tone it down, by adding throw pillows and throw blankets. That’s a pretty quick update. You can also very quickly switch out drawer pulls and handles on furniture to completely change the look from one décor style to another.
5. Rearrange your space – another way to decorate using your hand me down furniture is to rearrange your room. Are you able to move this piece of furniture so it’s not the focal point of the room? If so, the quick fix would be a good way to take attention if it’s not your favorite.  If you’re working with a pair of items, consider splitting the pieces up. You can also move the furniture to a dark part of the room that doesn’t get as much light or attention.

5 Ways To Decorate With Hand Me Down Furniture (without having to do another DIY project)

We just went over several ways to decorate around your hand me down furniture.  Hopefully, you feel more encouraged that you can turn furniture that’s not your ideal into pieces that help you create a home you love.  Whether you purchased not-so-perfect items from an estate sale, or you inherited them, or you were graciously given a few items, you can make them your own without having to do any DIY. If you’re ready to take the next step to finally decorate your oldie but goodie, then go ahead and grab my FREE Home Styling Cheat Sheets. These pro-tips are a great jumpstart if you’re ready to decorate your home but struggling with where to begin.

And please, take a few minutes and leave a comment below and let me know how these tips have helped you.

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