1 minute read
Fancyafurnituremakeover?
Fancya r t rema eo er
ilary lice afurniture up cyclingand restoration businessin iss haveworked on hundredsof piecesof furnituresincethey openedin 2016.Theirethosis to reduce land llof oldfurnitureby giving it amakeover creating one o statementpiecesand bringingtired oldfamily inheritanceitemsbacktolife. illage eople asks owners amand mandaabouttheir business.
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What areyour favourite pieces to workon?
We love working on oldpieces offurniturewhich have been inherited or passed downthrough families.Thestory those pieces tell –survivingwars,performing di erentrolesin homesover theyears, remindingpeople of theirchildhoods –makethemso special.The piecemaynolonger fit in today’sstyle of home,but we canturnitintoa show-stopping featurepiecein aroom.
Isthereany furniture youcan’tup-cycle?
Notreally!If woodhasbeenwet andswollen itcanbedi cult to repair,andoldpiecesoften have woodworm, whichcanbetreated andfilled repaired, or oncethe wormhasbeenkilledtheholes can addama ing character.Ifyou think youmighthave inherited a pricelessantique,it’s worth getting aprofessionalopinionon its valuebeforewepaintit!
What isthehardestpartof thejob?
ldfurnitureishandmade and solidand canbequirkyinits construction!Bits only fitin certain places, oldhinges don’t like beingmessedwithandutility furniture wartime is varnished in alacquer thatbleeds abrown sludgecolourthrough most paint. ver time, doorscandrop, drawersswellandhinges break –allofthesethingscanbe really trickyand timeconsuming to fix!
Howare youhelping theenvironment?
Foreveryitem offurniture we paint,it’s onelesssent to landfill or burnt. We’vepainted hundreds,possibly thousands,of pieces!Italso reducestheneed formanufacturing,albeitina small way ifpeople aren’t buying new,they arereducingtheir carbonfootprint.It’sabout doing ourbit to reduce waste.
Can Idoitmyself?
Absolutely!Westock allthe preparation equipment,paintand decoratingsundries forpeople to startpaintingtheirownfurniture. We’realso on handtoo erhelp andadviceand willberunning more workshops to gethands-on experiencein 0 .
If you’ve gotapiece of furniture you’dlikethe H&A team to paint,send them apicture viaemail
hello@hilaryandalice.co.uk
or Facebookfor aquote. Hilary &Alice isopenMonday–SaturdayinMereStreet, Dissand online(including onlineshopping)at
