Furniture Riot

Here's my latest piece! I did the prep work for this a while ago but had to wait for the handles to show up before I could finish it. This piece was in good condition but was outdated, so I got rid of the shiny cherry look and the old hardware. I'm loving the handles - they're unusual, but in a subtle, elegant sort of way. This shade of green is always a winner, and the wood came up so nicely!

Been a bit quiet the last few weeks with general life and day job busy-ness, and also it's just cold to be out in the garage. But I have some retro drawers coming up soon as well!

Another simple and quick one-day upcycle on this desk. Sanded all the old marks and shine off, rubbed on some Danish oil, and added some blue accents. I was going to get some new handles for this one but I think the originals will do just fine 💙

A simple refurbish for this lovely desk! It was in reasonably good condition but there were marks on the top and some of the paint was starting to chip off. So I sanded it back to wood, applied Danish oil, and added new handles. Often when I'm working on a piece there are things that are trickier than I anticipated or it might be more damaged than I could initially see, but this was a straightforward one with no problems whatsoever, which is nice! It looks a little orange in the photos (fluorescent lighting is great for working but not so much for photos) but it's a lovely warm natural wood colour and I'm pleased with how it came out!

Updated these drawers for my son's room! I didn't realise these had borer before I bought them, so I treated them twice and had to fill in a lot of holes and tracks. I think this is also at least the third time the handles have been changed as there was an extra hole in the middle when I took the old handles off. They're not ideal for selling with the noticeable filler, but my son needed drawers so here they are, imperfect but improved!

I really love this piece! 😍 I hope it sells quickly so I don't get too tempted to keep it 😂 Often one of the easiest ways to update or transform a piece is to get new handles or legs, but this mid-century piece was in great nick and the hardware was perfect. I love this era of furniture, it's so elegant.

Now THIS is a transformation from... whatever it was before. I don't even know how to describe the pink and blue monstrosity 😂 Such a nice piece underneath!

Built myself a new website! My favourite bit is the testimonials on the Commissions page 😍😍😍
https://furnitureriot.com/

Furniture upcycling in Wellington Kia ora! I’m Charlotte, and I upcycle, refurbish, and renovate furniture in Wellington, Aotearoa NZ. I give outdated, tired, or damaged furniture a fresh, modern look, for stunning and unique home decor. I work on gorgeous pieces you can purchase, and I also do commissions, so please get in touch ...

I got this mid century modern piece as it had good bones. I almost couldn't bear to look at it with the pinup cards glued on, but I'm finally getting around to stripping it and the wood underneath is GORGEOUS. This is going to be an incredible piece once the paint and pictures have been taken off 😂 I'm going to be keeping the original handles and legs on this one too as they are luckily in good condition and look great.

Dropped this piece to its new home yesterday - it sold within an hour of listing, which is always satisfying!

Finished this set of drawers that a lovely client gave me to do up! Love the mix of the soft green paint, the wood dowels, and the copper handles 😍

I've been a little quiet lately as I moved out of my wee bus and into a house again. But I'm picking up my works in progress again, while the weather allows, and here's a sneak peek of one of them! Can't wait to show you the final result (especially as my first attempt upcycling these drawers was a total disaster 😂). The paint is patchy as it's the first coat but I just love this colour!

The person who bought the blue and white ombre tallboy asked if I had any bedside tables I could do up to match. As it happened I did have this pair of Queen Anne style bedside drawers that were waiting for some attention, so now it's a coordinated set :) 💙

I think this is my new favourite piece. I love the rich wood grain, and all the imperfections of the vintage oak. The minimal black detailing, and the new handles are just *chef's kiss* (if I do say so myself).

Available to buy in Wellington, and I can deliver. (This dresser does come with the original trio of mirrors but they don't have frames so I haven't done anything to them - and I ran out of time yesterday to put them back on now that it's getting dark earlier. I will get a photo if you're interested in this piece!)

Gold and black, anyone? I can never get enough of this combo 😍

The rustic grain on this dresser is LUSH. I'm obsessed. Can't wait to show you this whole piece once I've got some longer bolts for the new handles 🖤

A recent client job all finished. Love how the wood on the drawers turned out! The colour was chosen to coordinate with existing furniture in the client's bedroom, the drawers stripped back and varnished, and new handles added.

Finished these drawers today! 'Before' pictures at the end. They were an ordinary set of wooden drawers: sturdy but worn and scratched and dull. Now they have an ombre paint job and these divine scalloped gold handles, and I love this transformation! I feel like these are oceanic (but not coastal-kitsch) 💙

I repainted this china cabinet in this gorgeous smoky grey-blue colour, after getting no inkling of a sale in the yellow- green it was before. I knew that colour was a bit of a gamble so I did think it was possible I'd need to redo it. Hopefully it sells in this colour! 😍

Look at this beauty!!

A classic oak china cabinet restored and updated. I was so lucky to be given this gorgeous cabinet from a dear friend, with all the glass intact and with a working key! I put a lot of work and care into this piece and I'm so happy with how it turned out 😍 Before photo is at the end.

This is for sale (Wellington) - message me for details.

I transformed old metal card catalogue/filing drawers into these unique and colourful industrial bedside tables. I'm so stoked with how these turned out! Scroll through to see what they looked like before 👀

These are for sale for $390 for the pair. I have four more of these (two sets), so if you like the style but want a different colour, send me a message and I'll make you a set in whatever colour you like! (Pick up in Churton Park, Wellington, or I can deliver for a fee.)

I am itching for the new handles to arrive so I can show you this piece in all its new glory!

Usually I get really annoyed at borer, because it lowers the value of a piece of wooden furniture, even when it's treated, thanks to the aesthetic marks and structural damage it can cause. But today I weirdly like it. I'm filling the borer holes and tracks on this piece in with white wood filler because I know I'll be painting it, and the white stuff is cheaper and easier to use than wood-toned filler. It looks like constellations and a map. Borer art 😂 🎨

I can't work on furniture when it's raining and cold, but that doesn't mean I stay off Pinterest and Facebook marketplace 😂 My plans for this vintage suitcase are really going to challenge my woodworking skills, but I like a challenge! Any guesses as to what I'm going to do?

Before + After!

I forgot to get a proper "before" picture, so the "before" is from when I was already working on this cabinet for a client, but you get the gist! There were originally four drawers but only three were functional, so we turned the top drawer slots into shelves instead. This cabinet has glass doors and a glass shelf that will be put back in once it's home. The handles are original but the legs are new.

Sharing some more pics of this piece as I just love it 💚💚💚

Some of you may recall this gorgeous vintage oak cabinet from Furniture Riot's very early days. I started work on it, got a bit stuck, kept procrastinating moving it from my small storage space to the deck outside to work on it (it's fairly substantial), and it just sat there for a few months being used as a surface to put my tools on 🤦‍♀️

Well I finally finished it... check out this transformation! 😍 It's so cute I'm tempted to keep it myself, but I live in a bus so I'd rather it went to a home where it'll be used and appreciated rather than into my storage unit 😄 I love that you can see the gorgeous wood in the back now that the doors are off. Often a backboard is just a piece of ply nailed on the back as it's rarely seen, but these planks add some extra cottagey character to the piece.

This is available for sale but I haven't staged it yet to list; if you are keen on it feel free to PM me for more details! Charlotte

Look at this little thing! This oak cabinet was gifted to me and is a great little piece, but some of the wood wasn't in very good condition. I wanted to show the oak but it wasn't going to look good without paint covering all the bits that needed filling. So I decided on this gorgeous navy, and left some strips where the wood did look nice. I love abstract geometric designs and I'm stoked with how this one came out 💙😍 Before photos at the end 📸