Our 5 tips for giving your wooden furniture a second life

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Nateo CONCEPT

Don't throw away your wooden furniture anymore

Wooden furniture has many advantages, particularly that of being able to have a second life much more easily than other types of furniture. Robust and durable, these eco-friendly furniture pieces can indeed find a new use after a first life with their first owner. Thus, we opt for a more eco-responsible way of consuming and we can even find a way to make people happy! Discover all our advice on how to give a second life to your wooden furniture!

Choose the right furniture

First of all, it's important to note that not all furniture will be able to have a second life. Indeed, to give a second use to a piece of furniture, it still needs to be in good condition. Therefore, we recommend opting for high-quality eco-friendly furniture. We can particularly favour solid wood furniture, preferably FSC certified. We thus opt for eco-friendly furniture made with wood from eco-managed forests. We can also choose to favour made in France products, which ensures that we are opting for a piece of furniture of good quality, to which we can give a second life much more easily.

By opting for this type of furniture, we thus benefit from a beautiful, high-quality piece that we can keep for many years and to which we can easily offer a second life.

5 ways to give a second life to eco-friendly furniture

To give a new life to eco-friendly solid wood furniture, there are several possibilities depending on the condition of the furniture and what you want to do with it.

Customise and modernise your furniture

The first possibility is to customise and modernise your furniture. Whether it's recent or older, there are many ways to change the style of a piece of furniture. You can simply paint it and change the handles, and the furniture will immediately have a completely different look. Thus, a baby or children's furniture can be transformed into teenage furniture for example. An old family wardrobe can be completely modernised. The possibilities are unlimited and it's a great way to let your imagination and creativity speak.

If you don't know much about customisation, there are many online tutorials on the subject. You can even join group classes to be guided and learn different techniques.

Customiser et moderniser son meuble

Completely transform your furniture

For the more DIY-inclined, it is possible to completely transform your furniture by making major modifications to change its style or even its use. While this represents quite a few hours of work, the result allows you to create unique and very original furniture. You can thus use the wood from a changing table to create something completely different like a garden furniture piece for example. Here are all our tips for setting up your terrace for summer. With patience and the right techniques, you can imagine anything!

Donner à une association ou à des particuliers

Donate to an association or individuals

Donation can also be a very good way to give a second life to your furniture to make it eco-friendly. There are many associations that accept furniture donations. Some even offer to come and collect the furniture on site if you don't have the means to move it, like Emmaüs for example. It is also entirely possible to opt for donating to individuals. Usually, all you need to do is publish a small online advertisement stating that you wish to donate your furniture and include a few photos. Generally, the furniture will find a new owner very quickly, especially if it is of good quality and has been well maintained.

Sell your furniture

It is also possible to give a second life to eco-friendly furniture by selling it. Let's take the example of a wooden bookcase, a table or even a Montessori furniture piece for instance. Once the furniture is emptied and cleaned, you can take photos of it and put it up for sale online through classified ad sites. You can set the price freely, taking into account that it may be subject to negotiations. Don't forget to specify the terms regarding transport (available for delivery with an additional fee, to be collected on site, etc.).

Entrust your furniture to a recycling centre

Eco-friendly furniture that you no longer know what to do with can also be entrusted to a recycling or resource centre. These are places where professionals repair furniture and resell it at low prices. It's an excellent way to revalue a piece of furniture, even if it's damaged, and give it the opportunity to live a whole new life. This way, you avoid throwing away, even when it comes to furniture that has been heavily used or even broken items for example.

Confier son meuble à une recyclerie

Dispose of furniture by recycling it

If you can't find a way to give a second life to a piece of furniture, there are other solutions than taking it to the dump. Indeed, there are special collection bins dedicated to furniture collection. These bins can be found in over 5200 locations in France, which allows for a more eco-responsible approach. Moreover, if you want to get rid of a piece of furniture like a double bed for example, you can also dispose of your mattress in this type of space!

In any case, it is strictly forbidden to dispose of furniture in rubbish containers that are not intended for this purpose or to fly-tip. The last resort is therefore to go to a recycling centre and follow the instructions on site.