How To Hack Mid-Century Modern Furniture Vol. 1
In this series we're going to show you how to turn cheap furniture into Mid Century Modern classics to sell for a profit. We started doing this as a way to earn extra income when we weren't finding the pieces we typically bought and sold. The pieces we do this too are almost always at thrift stores and viewed as valueless. We live in an apartment downtown in a city so all the hacks we do are super easy and mess free and can be done in your living room. In this edition we'll cover one of our favorites, the Mid Century Modern Tapered Leg Hack.
As I'm sure you're well aware by now almost all Danish Modern and Mid Century Modern furniture has tapered legs. This was iconic to the era. Something we've been doing with great success is storing up a few sets of various sizes of these legs and then when we come across a steamer trunk, bookshelf, cabinet, etc, that maybe doesn't look great as is and is thus priced very cheap, buying said item, attaching the legs we have at home in about 5 minutes, and selling for much much more.
First off you need to acquire these legs and build up a good supply of different sizes, colors, textures, and hardware. I usually stock around 15 different sets of legs at any given time. The reason is they take up very little space. What does take up a ton of space though is the item you're going to buy to attach them too. So its best to have these on hand and then when you come across a large cabinet and bring it home you can quickly build it and sell it, versus having to store it while you wait for the legs you just ordered to come.
For readers in the United States here are some links to the best places I buy my legs from on Amazon.com:
These ones are a little more expensive but are great if you have a nicer piece and don't want the mess of staining yourself:
If you have a lesser quality item you want to attach legs to, and wan't to save some money and stain the legs yourself then these guys are the best bang for your buck. You'll have to stain and finish them but they come in all different sizes too which is nice. Make sure you buy the metal bracket that they sell as well so you can attach it nice and easy:
Also Hairpin Legs are another great iconic mid-century modern look you can add. Sometimes the piece just wouldn't look right with wood legs and thats when I'll use these guys:
For Canadian users here are some links to the best places I buy my legs from on Amazon.ca:
These ones are a little more expensive but are great if you have a nicer piece and don't want the mess of staining yourself:
Along the same lines but in a different size and shape I really like these:
Again if you have a nicer piece of furniture these are great and a unique color:
If you have a lesser quality item you want to attach legs to, and wan't to save some money and stain the legs yourself then these guys are the best bang for your buck. You'll have to stain and finish them but they come in all different sizes too which is nice. Make sure you buy the metal bracket that they sell as well so you can attach it nice and easy:
Also Hairpin Legs are another great iconic mid-century modern look you can add. Sometimes the piece just wouldn't look right with wood legs and thats when I'll use these guys:
Here is a project we recently did as an example. We found this cabinet at a thrift store for $19.99. At first glance it looks like its just an old filing cabinet for an office. But look at the handles, they have a very danish modern flair to them.
We flipped it upside down and screwed those metal brackets in that come with the legs when you buy them.
Next we simply hand tighten the legs into the brackets.
Heres what it looks like all done.
We literally put this together in 5 minutes and sold it for $440. Hacking furniture to make it look Mid Century is a great way to turn nothing into something. Buy your legs now! More hacking tutorials to follow. If you enjoyed this article please give it a share!
Cheers,
MCP
