REPURPOSED / REFURBISHED
Upcycled Projects
Turning old furniture into something new
At Snug Woodwork, we believe in giving old hardy furniture a new lease of life. Although there is much hard work to be put into refurbishing old furniture, the potential of what it can become, keeps us going.
Why not keep a piece of heritage, a story, all while reducing waste at the same time.
Repurposed modular desk drawer, shelves and flip up cabinet
We made the drawers without drawer slides as it takes up more height to the already shallow space.
A little knob was added so the drawer doesn’t slide out fully, but when twisted, can be removed entirely!
Enjoyed making these items without the use of hardware.
Just wax, glue and screws.
Something beautiful about furniture being “analog”, just like how we made the cabinet doors flip up and slide without the use of hardware.
Repurposed Side Table and Shoe Cabinet Bench
Repurposed some solid oak wood from old kitchen cabinet doors and created a Shoe Cabinet bench as well as a Side Table.
The clients wanted an organic shaped side table, so we designed it in a way that could showcase birch plywood by its plywood edges - in the table leg.
We then added chamfers around the edges of the repurposed oak for a more polished look as a table top.
For the shoe cabinet bench, we topped it with a butcher block of the reclaimed Oak, and carved a recess to hold small items like keys and coins. We also designed custom made handles that goes onto the doors too.
Using the same reclaimed Oak, we carved the integrated pulls for the door panels and finished them off in a natural hard wax oil to maintain the natural tones of the wood.
Lastly, to match the shoe cabinet bench, we recessed a smaller block of oak and mounted it to the wall together with pegs for hooks, so the clients could hang their bags or coats by their entryway.
Repurposed Foldable Table
From an old solid wood door
Dirty Supper, 78 Moh Guan Terrace, #01-19
To open up the space in the little shophouse restaurant, the clients wanted to remove the existing doors and toss them out.
We thought, why not repurpose this perfectly good door into something they needed. Just as well, because, the clients required a long table to fit the shop front that could fit 6 people.
We trimmed down the doors and kept the joints exposed, showing the little history of what it was before it became a table. We also took out and kept the door handle and lock-catch, to be tucked away in corners of the table.
The clients also wanted the table to be foldable so they could tuck them away during the day when the restaurant is opened with the elder aunties selling their noodles and coffee.
Repurposed Shelves
From a solid wood table
When our clients swapped out their old solid wood dining table for a new blobbed shaped one, it felt wasteful to toss the old one away.
Turns out, they needed wall shelves for the bedroom and so we repurposed the solid wood table for them.
We kept the look of the old table with the sloping edges,
and trimmed the wood down into 4 pieces.
Covered the exposed edges in wood veneer to match.
Lastly, we installed the aluminium shelf poles and shelf brackets
(so the shelves can be adjusted to different height as needed)
Our clients had removed one of their original (1950s) door and we decided to repurpose this solid hard wood into a functional furniture item that suit their needs. We paired it with Birch Plywood and became extremely fond of how the two colours complimented each other.
This piece of furniture is a movable laundry trolley that comes with shelves and baskets, where the home owners could sort their laundry for the family of 4 straight from the washing machine. When not in use, it could be rolled away into a corner till there is a need for it again.
The old mortise and tenon joints held strong while screw holes hint at bolt locks that were once fitted to the timber. We stained Birch Plywood with a tinge of white to mute the grain slightly, then added wheels at the bottom corners to make the trolley easily portable.
Repurposed Laundry Trolley
From a solid wood door
With more 1950s door panels, the solid timber was perfect for making bench legs. We had to strip away all the paint and take out any screws or nails left behind.
Next, we cut the pieces up and glued them together before we started on shaping them. Finished the legs with a hardwax oil and found that they matched the dining table legs we created using veneer too!
Topped the bench off with birch plywood. shaped to complement the organic dining table.
Repurposed
Dining Bench Legs
From a solid wood door
Repurposed Wall Mural
From a bed headboard
Repurposed an old bed frame headboard from the client’s matrimonial bed into a display piece. We took out the headboard and cut them into slats, laid them out in intervals and pasted on a veneer skin to match the client’s current home. Upholstered a wooden back piece and stuck the slats of wood on!
This mural was commissioned for the couple’s 25th wedding anniversary, which corresponded with the number of slats on the panel- 24 upper slats and 25 lower slats, symbolising their 24th year going into the 25th
The mural was mounted on the wall using French cleats
In this particular project, we repurposed an existing wardrobe by placing it horizontally to form a long storage block. However, due to this transformation, the vertical elements of the furniture were angled at approximately 87 degrees, causing issues with aligning the doors. To address this, we incorporated small offset pieces on the lower hinges of each door, propping them slightly to achieve a 90-degree angle. We owe our thanks to the woodworking community on YouTube, as their shared knowledge and tips played a crucial role in solving this challenge.
By flipping the tall wardrobe system on its side, we created the long storage solution, albeit with added complexity due to the change in orientation. However, the satisfaction of repurposing and salvaging one less wardrobe from the incinerator made it all worthwhile. Although not immediately noticeable, our initial plan was to align the facade and door lines with the spacing of the blinds above. This attention to detail exemplifies the philosophy that small nuances can greatly impact the overall design.
Repurposed
Wall Unit
From a tall cabinet
Our clients came to us with an extendable table, unfortunately it’s extension was missing and so we made one out of birch plywood according to the length that the table could hold.
When the table came to us, it had water stains and bugs living in the crevices. We sanded them down, stripping off the laquer and stains left behind. Soon, it began to look good as new!
Finding latches to replace the old ones took a while but we managed to find the perfect fit for it. Covered the old metal bits in wood veneer too, and you’d never tell it was an old piece of furniture.