How to Modernise Oak Furniture

Here we take a look at a few ways of modernising and updating oak furniture, so it remains at the very heart of your home.

A New Coat of Paint…

A lick of paint can really liven up an older piece of furniture that might have seen better days. Of course, oak has a glorious natural grain that looks fantastic with a bit of polish but sometimes a change of colour can really revitalise a piece. If you’re looking for furniture painting ideas, we’ve also written an excellent blog post that is ‘The Ultimate Guide To Painting Oak Furniture’ but if you just want a change of scenery without the effort of painting oak furniture, check out our painted oak collections.

…But Mix It Up

Single, block colours are all well and good if you have a very specific aesthetic you are going for, but for a more vibrant and modern feel, highlighting small features or having a juxtaposition of shades can really make a piece ‘pop’. For example, if you paint a piece white why not stain the top of it a darker colour? This works especially well for how to update an old dining room set or chest of drawers makeover ideas.

Jazz Up the Upholstery

Keep the distinguished look of oak while still giving your furniture a new lease of life by changing the upholstery to something bright, bold, or highly patterned. This means that you don’t have to touch the oak part of the furniture but simply find a nice fabric you like to cover the upholstered part. Obviously, this means the item needs to have an upholstered element to it, like a dining chair or bench.

Accessorize and Accentuate

A really simple way to bring something into a more modern setting is by accentuating certain features of it and accessorising sparsely. There’s no need to paint the whole piece of furniture but adding a gold trim on edges and engravings will bring a touch of class to proceedings, or just using a different colour to the base one on certain features will help to accentuate those lines. Likewise, some bold accessories with a bit of shine to them will contrast nicely with a more naturalistic oak look.

Change the Fixtures and Fittings

It’s a simple change but a highly effective one when trying for a new effect from an older piece of furniture. We have collections of oak furniture with very distinctive handles, such as our Hampshire ranges that have brushed metal, cupped handles. However, if you wanted to change the handles on your older oak furniture, it’s usually quite a simple job and still allows the freedom to apply your own style by choosing a handle that suits your own unique sense of style.