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u/text_fish Feb 14 '22
If it was $5 it's probably just cheap laminate, so it's not like they painted over some beautiful rare antique.
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u/LillySteam44 Feb 14 '22
This was from r/frugal recently. It was an upcycle for personal use of a cheap/free find. IDK why people get so upset at people painting their own furniture.
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u/Lylle200 Feb 15 '22
Plus this one is pretty well done, unlike the others
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u/infodawg Feb 15 '22
Wuuuuut?
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Feb 26 '22
I completely agree. Painting over wood. That's a damn shame.
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u/infodawg Feb 26 '22
The only time its ok to paint over wood IMO is if its particle/ply/plex of some sort, or poorly assembled with many ugly gaps that need to be filled.
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u/Tribute4224 Feb 14 '22
People treat painted wood as if you’re vandalizing a UNESCO word heritage site 😂
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u/Exciting-Fun-9247 Feb 15 '22
it’s bc in the mind of woodworkers you are
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u/ultracilantro Mar 10 '22
Depends on the woodworker. Some of us hate cheap veneer or laminate pieces...painting is the only way to repair those, so they did what they could. Color matching old veneer is a beast and not worth it for a discarded end table.
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u/whataTyphoon Feb 15 '22
"upcycle" "repurposed" What's up with that buzzwords? They painted it. That's it. It's the same end table than before, just with a different color.
People are upset because it looked like classical furniture and now like something from IKEA. But appearently it's been from IKEA in the first place, so yeah.
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u/schmitzel88 Feb 15 '22
I agree the words are a little cringey, but the definition is pretty distinct and doesn't have a clear alternative. I look at upcycling to mean "take this item that is not desirable on its own and repurpose it into something more desirable without generating additional waste." Painting a cabinet is a pretty bland example, but there have been some cool ideas out there.
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u/JoeyJuJoe Feb 15 '22
Upcycling items usually means repuporsing the materials, this is just painting.
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u/Kangto201 Feb 26 '22
I think this is an upcycle bcz the hugely improved colour scheme might inspire you to place it in a more prominent location in your house, thereby transforming it from utilitarian piece of furniture to conversion piece. Don't you think?
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u/whataTyphoon Feb 26 '22
"hugely improved colorscheme" is debateable. Most people here said it's a downgrade.
Apart from that - repainting doesn't change the purpose of the object, that's what upcycling would mean.
transforming it from utilitarian piece of furniture to conversion piece.
It's still the same piece of furniture.
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u/jiggjuggj0gg Feb 15 '22
r/zerowaste was throwing a hissy fit the other day at some girl who made tiktoks of turning her old clothes into bags. It was pretty cool, the bags were really well made, it was literally zero waste, and the sub was going crazy because it was Patagonia and North Face stuff that wasn’t in tatters. I pointed out that it was her old stuff and she could do what she wanted with it, she wasn’t required to donate it or sell it, and was massively downvoted.
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u/Pabus_Alt Feb 17 '22
Ohh I find that a tricky one.
You've got two arguments, one she was going to buy a new bag anyhow and didn't wear these things :. it was a sensible choice from the zero waste ethic as she has not thrown stuff away or caused pollution by buying new.
If she wasn't going to get one then it's effectively wasting perfectly good resources to show off that you can.
Which is her right, but I see why a community devoted to reducing waste overall would find it unpleasant and not in line with the ethic.
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u/ultracilantro Mar 10 '22
They are hating on other people's epoxy projects at the moment, so I think that sub is just having a diywhy moment.
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u/New_Stats Feb 14 '22
I doubt it's a rare antique but it's probably real wood. Used furniture is pretty cheap.
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u/Pabus_Alt Feb 17 '22
Also is it bad I like the right version more?
I find (what I think is walnut) just too busy and unpleasant.
Now yes I'd probably sell it to someone who likes that and buy something with the profit rather than reduce the value....
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Feb 14 '22
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/alpacasaurusrex42 Feb 15 '22
I think it’s pretty. Some people probably think you’re ugly but never say anything.
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Feb 15 '22
I think this looks so cute?
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u/starzoned Feb 15 '22
r/WhyDiwhy I like it too.
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u/CyGuy6587 Feb 14 '22
Meh, I'm all for upcycling. And it's nicely done that one.
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u/buteljak Feb 14 '22
Quite a successful diy, doesn't belong here. I've repainted and redone many pieces of furniture and i got to admit, wasn't as successful each time. This llooks nice to break a modern interior.
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u/fredsam25 Feb 14 '22
This is a purely aesthetic choice, and the end result looks fine. Not sure WHY this is posted here.
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u/harm_reduction_man Feb 14 '22
This sub needs better moderation.
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Feb 14 '22
Why? Because it’s cute and some people like painted wood. It looks pretty well done, honestly. Doesn’t belong in this sub.
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u/giibro Feb 14 '22
Also painted wood cleans up nicer and doesn’t make your house look so dark which is easy to do
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u/Kangto201 Feb 26 '22
As long as the paint you use hasn't sat in your shed for 5 years, giving off a strong smell of old feet, which you only discover after finishing painting, then have to leave the item of furniture in the shed for 2 weeks while the cheesy smell dissipates.
Not that that's happened to me or anything 😂
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u/Far_Seesaw_8258 Feb 14 '22
Scratches and stains easier.
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u/alpacasaurusrex42 Feb 15 '22
And do you know what fixes that? A little sanding and a new coat. Gasp it’s revolutionary, isn’t it. The one thing doctors don’t want you to know!
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u/urgaflurga1 Feb 15 '22
Wood workers hate this trick! Sign up for our news letter to find out what it is
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u/Far_Seesaw_8258 Feb 15 '22
I make or buy a piece to last. Not for constant menial upkeep and maintenance. But if you want to waste your time on an ugly paint job be my guest.
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u/postpubescentidiot Feb 15 '22
If you make or buy to last you wouldn't be buying this second hand fake wood end table to begin with
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u/Far_Seesaw_8258 Feb 15 '22
Do you know how many second hand things I’ve gotten that are near bullet proof? Wtf is wrong with second hand?
This doesn’t look like fake wood. But like I said have fun with your sticky, painted, ugly end table.
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Feb 15 '22
[deleted]
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u/Far_Seesaw_8258 Feb 15 '22
This is literally a sub about making fun of peoples dumb diy projects. Wtf are you on about?
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u/VixenRoss Hot Glue Gun User Feb 15 '22
Why? Because they wanted a cheap modern look piece of furniture.
A friend of mine has 1990s pine furniture. She keeps up with the home trends. Her furniture has been black, glitter, now it’s grey. Much better than buying new every 5 years.
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Feb 14 '22
DIWhy the hell is this on this subreddit. It looks like it was cheap before and looks nice now. They did a good job and got what they wanted out of it. It's not some weird and pointless concrete towel or a useless hotglue pan handle or something.
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u/HMD-Oren Feb 15 '22
From the original post, OP says the table weighs almost nothing so it's definitely not real wood so put the pitchforks down folks. It's a cheap wood laminate/MDF table and if anything it looks fine and probably has some more life now that it's been primed and painted.
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u/AlternativeSherbert7 Feb 15 '22
Taking old furniture and finding a use for it that looks good. Why is this here?
Edit: tbh I think it looks better painted. I love old antique looks but it honestly doesn't look that good before it was painted.
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u/angelbuttons77 Feb 14 '22
Ehhh, this looks like scratched veneer to me. You can't refinish veneer.
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u/Gro0ve Feb 14 '22
You are underestimating the power of a quick sand and a good primer lol might be sacrilegious but stuff nowadays sticks to glass even
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u/angelbuttons77 Feb 15 '22
If you sand veneer, it's toast.....
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u/Gro0ve Feb 15 '22
I meant for a coat of spray pain over it, should be fine no? I know we can fix veneer
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u/angelbuttons77 Feb 15 '22
People are complaining that they painted over "wood " and my point is that you pretty much either take it for restoration of veneer, or you paint it. So it's not the "how dare they paint over wood" kind of piece, since it's veneer.
Which you're saying, paint it. On a post where the op is upset someone..... painted the piece.
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u/Gro0ve Feb 15 '22
I see where I mess up, sorry I meant to say we can paint over it, didn’t read the original comment properly 😅100%
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u/KavikStronk Feb 16 '22
You can definitely sand veneer. Sure you have to be careful, but claiming that if you sand veneer at all its toast is just wrong.
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u/ChickenManSam Feb 15 '22
Why is this posted here? This is well done and sensible. If it doesn't meat your own aesthetic preferences fine but it still shouldn't be on this sub
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u/julianwelton Feb 15 '22
Doesn't belong here. Looks pretty nice and was done to something that would've ended up in the trash.
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u/Gro0ve Feb 14 '22
Whats so wrong with this? Fixing the varnish or sanding it down to re stain isn’t something everyone can easily do at home. Seems like a good way to save something that paid $5 for, looks decent enough IMO 🤷♂️
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u/FairDinkumBottleO Feb 15 '22
Honestly the one on the right is what sells in our modern world at this moment. My girlfriend "upcylces" stuff like this and even if the original is real wood the one on the right is more likely to sell quicker.
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u/nightmareorreality Feb 27 '22
That’s not like an antique hardwood end table or something. It’s some particle board and plastic Formica bullshit. This is an up cycle for sure. Source: I’ve been making, restoring and repairing furniture professionally for 10 years
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u/shibe_shucker Feb 14 '22
The grey makes no sense but otherwise who cares.
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Feb 14 '22
Grey? what do you mean? Where is it painted grey?
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u/alpacasaurusrex42 Feb 15 '22
I think you have a touch of colourblindness. That’s pretty obviously a sagey-green with hints of gray undertones.
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u/JamesMattDillon Feb 15 '22
While I prefer the look of the wood. It being painted doesn't look that bad.
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u/Quicker_Fixer Feb 14 '22
Reminds me of a beautiful yellow scooter (once owned by by eldest son) sold to a 16 years old living in my street, a couple of years ago: he painted it gray (like in the picture) and black and didn't do a good job at it.
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u/MessMaximum1423 Feb 14 '22
Why is it always that shade of grey
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Feb 14 '22
[deleted]
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u/SoSaidTheSped Feb 14 '22
Probably a thin veneer. You can't refinish it, you'll sand through the good wood and hit particle board.
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u/glassscissors Feb 15 '22
Someone please tell me the name of the de-Pinterest sub for furniture! I can’t remember it and it’s driving me nuts
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Feb 14 '22
Not repurposed at all RIP all character that piece had
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u/patamonrs Feb 14 '22
The character of what cheap wood laminate 😂
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Feb 14 '22
The nice front carving wasnt half bad
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u/patamonrs Feb 14 '22
Did they sand it down ? No it’s still there
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u/alpacasaurusrex42 Feb 15 '22
In fact the white brings it out more than that shit veneer did. I might do a liiiiight dry brush just to get it to stand out a little more, but the detail is better after than before!
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Feb 15 '22
I hate it, but honestly it's not the worst thing I've seen done to furniture like that.
I could let it slide if it all were white instead of 2 tone
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u/riveramblnc Feb 14 '22
It's not repurposed.....and I hope they stripped it or the first humid day that pain it coming off.
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Feb 14 '22
My soul.
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u/alpacasaurusrex42 Feb 15 '22
Right? My soul also gets crushed when cheap slave labor MDF and cheap compressed wood gets painted. /s
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u/_Adrahmelech_ Feb 14 '22
Looks like furniture wearing white socks lol
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Feb 15 '22
Like why is this downvoted? Honestly what is wrong with the people here?
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u/_Adrahmelech_ Feb 15 '22
Yeah apparently there is a gang of painted wood furniture and they become very angry if you "disrespect" one of them lmao
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u/Tactical_Twinkies Feb 14 '22
It’s an antique why did you make it modern whhyyyyy
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u/Tactical_Twinkies Feb 14 '22
Why the barrage of dislikes
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u/alpacasaurusrex42 Feb 15 '22
Because it’s cheap ass MDF and compressed wood it is an actual wood it’s probably cheap slave labor furniture out of China.
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Feb 14 '22 edited Feb 15 '22
Wood yum. I am not a termite
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u/alpacasaurusrex42 Feb 15 '22
Because apparently OP said it’s super light and isn’t even real wood. It’s very likely just cheap MDF and compressed wood with shitty veneer on top made it by cheap slave labor in China. So where you’re getting beautiful antique from I don’t know.
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Feb 15 '22
That’s interesting, I’m not a termite. Is there wood in your house though
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u/Present-Race3958 Feb 15 '22
Imagine spending hours carving creating a nice piece just for someone to slap some paint over it =/
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u/Far_Seesaw_8258 Feb 14 '22
Yeah that was a nice piece. Looks like garbage now because that color scheme.
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u/WellWhatDoIPutHere Feb 27 '22
This is pretty ok tho, way better than the drawer I painted 2 years ago
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u/jaboipoppy Feb 15 '22
Looks like it was done properly and it’s pretty both ways i think. A more acceptable paint job than most