What do people think of the current trend for "upcycling" retro furniture?
I for one hate it and can totally see myself, as a dealer, having to steam flock wallpaper and strip pink paint of beautiful classic pieces (such as the alfred cox sideboard below) to rescue/resell them once the 'upcycled' design of the piece goes out of fashion.
My personal taste doesn't...
My personal taste doesn't agree with this long standing trend. It asbolutely does prevent furniture from ending up in landfills. There's a shop in Chicago's northside Edgewater neighborhood, name escapes me, that rehabs old furniture for market. Mainly painting them black or white. On the surface, it may seem unusal, but by painting them they become preserved for another several generations. Who knows, maybe in the year 2020 "deco waterfall" will make a comeback?
I think "newing up"...
...a tired piece can be refreshing.
I slapped some red patent crocodile leather on a pair of tired vintage 1930's Barcelona chairs, and they look 1000 times better. The original leather wasn't terrible, but it had quite a bit of patina, and took away from the clean look of the chairs...
If you need any help, please contact us at – info@designaddict.com