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Learn with Juliette Goggin

Upcycling Furniture

Learn how to upcycle a chest of drawers, recover a seat, make vintage cushions and more.

Course overview

Project 1 Decoupage is a fun and creative way to transform anything from an old jewellery box, or toy trunk to an entire cupboard. The item can be themed by the choice of paper, such as vintage children’s comics, or story book illustrations for a toy box. Ordnance survey maps, or postage stamps work well for an old trunk. Botanical illustrations from second hand books work extremely well on drawer fronts or any kind of storage box. The course begins with some general advice on simple repairs which can be carried out to fix damaged furniture, following on with a guide to stripping varnish and paint before either repainting, or adding wax to protect the surface and enhance the grain of the wood. Tips are offered for getting an authentic antiqued and weathered look for your chosen piece and advice on individual, creative touches such as unusual handles and drawer pulls. The technique of decoupage is illustrated in several options, adding decoration to some wooden drawer fronts, papering an old filing drawer and recovering a folding card table. Project 2 Drop-in seat chairs are very easy to come by, and the seat covers can be made in less than 30 minutes with just a few simple tools, transforming the most unpromising charity shop, auction or car boot find. Furthermore, the chairs can be reupholstered with a different fabric whenever you fancy a change of look. Juliette will inspire you with a variety of options so that you can choose a modern, woven wool textile for a contemporary Scandinavian look, a vintage linen tea towel, ideal for a kitchen chair, or even an old oil painting for something really different.Juliette takes us through the process of selecting fabric through to completed chair. Project 3 The original chesterfield sofa used for this project is a perfect example of a piece of furniture that has become rather sad and down-at-heel through years of use. However, its traditional solid construction means that it still has plenty of life left. All that is needed to restore the sofa to its former glory is a revamp with new cushion covers - this final project takes you through how to create designer vintage cushions. With a choice of textiles from tweedy patchwork, to repurposed vintage grain sacks, accented with a blue piped edging, the finished result is both eye catching and entirely rewarding. Furthermore this technique is adaptable to many other projects within the home

Meet Juliette Goggin

Hello, I'm Juliette Goggin. Crafting has been a way of life for me since I first became inspired by the infamous sticky back plastic and other assorted odds and ends featured on BBC television’s Blue Peter. As a child I was never happier than making something. A career in product design and development, where I have worked with fashion designers such as Cath Kidston and Julien Macdonald has helped me to understand and appreciate both the creative and the manufacturing process. This in turn led me to create my own fragranced gift and home collection, Juliette at Home, which reflected my love of all things recycled and vintage. It became a great success with independent retailers and department stores who loved the upcycled cake stands and candles in repurposed cups and vintage glassware. It also gave me the excuse to spend a lot of time scouring carboot fairs and second hand shops in search of all manner of things that I could repurpose into my own quirky range. I was thrilled to be asked to take part in Super Scrimpers on Channel 4 where I shared this love of crafting with the show’s participants, whilst also giving lots of money saving tips. At the same time I also co wrote my first book, Junk Genius, with my talented friend Stacy Sirk. The book featured endless ideas for repurposing everyday objects and encouraged anyone with a creative flair to have a go at lots of simple, step by step crafting projects in their home. I have just completed my second book Hand Made Beauty which is designed to encourage the enthusiast to create their own home made skincare products using natural materials and even plants from their garden.

Course description

Learn how to upcycle your furniture with expert upholsterer and upcycling professional Juliette Goggin.

This furniture upcycling course will include using decoupage to transform anything from an old jewellery box to a chest of drawers into beautiful new pieces of furniture for your house.

Plus you'll discover how to recover a drop-in seat chair to transform a piece of second hand furniture. Lastly you will learn how to create designer vintage cushions.

Juliette will teach you how to look out for furniture at auctions, second hand shops, car boots fairs and street markets. And how to transform inexpensive second-hand (or pre-loved) furniture

You'll learn:
  • how to find furniture to upcycle - from auctions, markets or your own home
  • decoupage techniques to cover old furniture
  • where to find upcycling inspiration
  • repairing old furniture
The course includes:
  • 1 on-demand video lesson - presented by Juliette Goggin
  • lifetime access to the videos, notes and interactive class
  • flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
  • downloadable lesson notes
  • practical furniture upcycling projects (with tutor feedback available)
  • access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
  • small interactive online classroom - chat online to students from around the world and share your creative ideas
Time to complete the furniture upcycling course:

Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 3 hours 20 minutes to complete including:

  • Video lesson: 20 minutes in total
  • Course notes: 30 minutes per lesson
  • Your furniture upcycling projects: at least 2 hours
  • Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson
  • Tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes per lesson
Ready to get started?

Just add the course to your basket above - choose the 'Expert' option for personal feedback from Juliette on your furniture upcycling project and questions.

Any questions? Contact us by clicking on the orange speech symbol - we'd love to hear from you.