There comes a time when the furniture ceases to harmonize with the design of the room. The cupboard becomes a tasteless box, disturbs you. Tired furniture can be replaced or given a new style.
There are several simple techniques that allow you to update old wardrobe with your own hands. We will tell you how to repair vintage furniture or create an original piece of furniture from it.
Wrapping or stickers
To make an outdated chiffonier fit into the updated design of the room, add ornate flower patterns. Unusual geometric ornament created with self-adhesive film will breathe into old-fashioned furniture new life.
They are:
- standard: matte or glossy surface with a variety of patterns and colors;
- furniture for the facade, with a touch of wood or metal.
Step-by-step instruction work with self-adhesive film:
- Prepare the façade: remove dust and stains with water and chemicals.
- Level the surface with plaster and primer.
- Mark the self-adhesive film from the inside in advance, not forgetting to take into account the allowances.
- Remove the protective layer from the inside by 2-4 centimeters.
- Stick sticky surface to cabinet
- Using a rag and spatula, smooth out the sticker.
- Carefully peel off the protective paper.
Beautiful pictures will create a positive atmosphere in the room.
Watch for bubbles. To avoid their occurrence, attach the sticker carefully, straightening the film.
On a note. If the bubbles that appear do not smooth out, pierce them with a needle.
Photo printing and photo wallpapers
Technique suitable for restoration kitchen cabinet or buffet. Wall mural can be bought in the construction department or contact the printing house.
Print Centers will help:
- enlarge the image without losing the quality of the picture;
- make a collage of several photos or pictures;
- to apply the image on a film for gluing on a specific type of surface.
Toning
Decorate boring furniture can change the color of the facades. Instructions for tinting a wardrobe:
- Clean the surface of dust with a dry cloth.
- Also treat the inner walls with an antiseptic (vinegar will do). It will get rid of the musty smell.
- Use wood putty to eliminate defects. The color must match the details.
- After the composition dries, sand sandpaper processed areas.
- Coat the closet with a structuring wood stain. It should be darker than the color of the furniture.
The tinting technique is suitable for decorating a closet in the bathroom, in the kitchen or in the hallway.
Remember that this method is only suitable for natural wood surfaces.
Slate surface of doors
This decoration is becoming very popular. Slate doors are in vogue, on which you can write or draw.
Before and After - the transformation of an ancient chest of drawers
There are 3 ways:
- Sticking of a slate film to a door or a facade.
- Buying a finished board.
- Covering the door or inner wall with special paint.
Painting technique:
- Sand out bumps and scratches.
- Apply primer in two coats.
- Using a roller, treat the surface with slate or chalk paint.
- After drying, apply a second layer.
A cupboard or sideboard will shine in a new way.
Mosaic decoration
To create an art deco atmosphere, decorating with the help of various small parts. Finishing base:
- pieces of colored glass;
- ceramics;
- shells;
- beads;
- sea pebbles;
- artificial flowers.
You can attach the elements to the cabinet with colorless rubber-based glue.
Expert opinion
Victoria Chernikova
Decorator
Before starting work, draw a sketch of the future composition. Arrange items on flat surface to present a visual image. So the drawing will turn out neat.
Mosaic decor will add brightness and elegance to the interior. This design is suitable for any closet, if the style of the furniture matches the design of the room.
Aging
Cabinets painted with a dry brush will look elegant, which leaves behind only a part of the paint, creating the effect of time (only for wooden furniture).
Artificial aging method:
- Paint the surface a color that is a few shades darker than the original. Choose a shade according to color scheme rooms.
- Wax some areas. You can use a regular candle.
- Paint the closet a light shade such as cream or beige.
- Wipe the surface with sandpaper, so scuffs will appear.
An easy way to give an antique look to a cabinet is craquelure. The varnish of the same name is applied to the surface. After drying, small cracks appear on the facade paint.
Kitchen drawers aged craquelure
Decoupage
The peculiarity of this design is smooth transition from the picture to the color of the cabinet.
Use patterned napkins as materials for decoupage, so you create the feeling of painting on furniture. The composition can turn out to be clear, with watercolor gaps.
For cabinetry:
- cut out the image or use the whole napkin;
- divide it into layers;
- paste the picture;
- cover the dried surface with varnish.
Decorative rivets
To add brutality to old furniture, you can attach metal parts to the cabinet. For lovers of loft design or steep punk, it is recommended to decorate the doors and the facade of the cabinet with rivets or nails with decorative hats. With such accents, even standard IKEA furniture will look like a pirate treasure chest or a cabin on a ship.
Glue the metal parts to the facades. If the surface is upholstered in leather or thick fabric, nails will be required to securely attach everything. Align metal fittings with other decor methods (paints or fabric) to give individuality.
Inlay
This is not gemstone decoration, but furniture decoration with overhead elements:
- vinyl napkins;
- embroidery;
- lace.
The apartment has a Soviet-era wall, made of high quality natural wood. But over time, the facades warped, the fittings failed, appearance became unrepresentative. It is a pity to throw away this piece of furniture, so many people have the question of how to update the old one. furniture wall with their own hands and they study the photos before and after the restoration.
Before starting any work, you need to prepare everything you need - buy material, tools. The list consists of the following:
- Furniture fittings;
- Putty material for wood;
- Facades, if necessary;
- Paint or stain (preferably spray);
- Construction knife;
- Building hair dryer;
- Screwdriver;
- Sharp scissors;
- Iron;
- Film furniture self-adhesive;
- Wax for furniture of different consistency;
- Candle;
- spatulas;
- Rags, clamp;
- PVA glue;
- Varnish for wood;
- felt-tip pen;
- Edge for processing end faces.
This is not the whole list of materials and tools, since there are several ways to update old furniture, each option has its own, specific set of necessary tools.
Update types
If you don’t know how to update an old furniture wall with your own hands, before and after photos can be found on the net. In addition, we present several ways, by applying which, you can give a second life to any furniture.
Restoration of an old wall
If old furniture is dear to you as a memory, but its appearance has suffered greatly from time to time - chips, creases, deep cracks have formed on the plane - it can be restored. After spending a minimum of time, you will receive an updated piece of furniture. For repair work use a standard set of materials and tools. For quality repair just do the following:
- The working surface must be cleaned and washed with a solution of soap and water, dried well - this will help increase the adhesion of the material to the wall facade;
- To rid the plane of deep scratches, they are poured with melted wax. After the fill has hardened, you need to take a felt-tip pen to match the wood, put strokes on the wax that will imitate the structure of the wall material. This is not difficult to do, it is enough to continue an existing drawing. After that, a clean rag is taken, which is carefully carried over the hardened wax, smearing the dashes a little. As soon as the desired result is achieved, the plane is covered with furniture varnish;
- If strong scuffs are visible on the facade, they are painted over with varnish of the desired shade from a can;
- If there are cracks and delaminated sections on the facade, you can update the old wall with the help of elementary means - PVA glue, a medical syringe and a fixative. It is necessary to draw glue into the syringe, inject the required amount of the composition into the crack. Then press the split and remove excess glue. Using a clamp, press the area, leave to dry for 24 hours;
- Are there many chips on the facade? The same melted wax will help to cope with them. First you need to trim the edges of the chip with a spatula, and fill it with wax. Once the wax is dry, sand the area well with a clean, dry rag. Then perform the same steps as when repairing scratches and varnishing.
After such processing, the wall will not change its design, but its appearance will become much more attractive.
Removing dirt and dust from coatings
We process cracks with wax
Repairing chips with glue
We paint over scuffs
Transformation of the wall with furniture varnish
If the interior in your apartment has changed, and a simple restoration does not suit you, then you can radically change the old furniture with your own hands. There are several ways to update furniture, the choice of which will depend on artistic skills, preferences and the amount of free time.
The easiest way is varnishing. The process is not complicated, subject to the procedure and restoration technology.
The set of tools is standard, but for a good result, you need to follow the following algorithm:
- Take a picture of the wall before work begins. This will help in the future to collect it after the update without confusion;
- Disassemble the structure. It is necessary to remove the fittings and doors;
- Wash the wall and all components with soapy water;
- Remove dust, soot deposits in the corners with a toothbrush or toothpicks. This stage should not be ignored, since the quality of the final result depends on the preparation;
- Check the condition of the facades. If the surface is not badly damaged, then it will be enough just to cover it with varnish;
- If the facades are in a deplorable state, they have a lot of chips and deep scratches - the old coating is removed without residue. To make the work go faster, you can use special compounds that help remove varnish, or use a regular spatula;
- As soon as all the exfoliated areas are removed, the old varnish is removed, you can proceed with the restoration with wax - how to do it is described above;
- Sand the surface with fine-grained sandpaper and remove dust;
- Cover the facade of the wall and all components with 3-4 thin layers of furniture varnish. It is worth remembering that when applying a thick layer, streaks may form that will spoil the appearance of the wall;
- As soon as the varnish coating dries, the wall should be assembled, the fittings should be replaced with new elements.
By updating old furniture in this way, you can add a few more years of life to the wall in your interior.
Removing dust and dirt
We remove cracks
Removing old varnish
Lacquering in several layers
Installing new handles
Application of self-adhesive wallpaper
Today, there are a lot of materials that can be used for restoration. Renovating old furniture with self-adhesive wallpaper is one of the most simple options. It is easy to work with this material, and it is inexpensive. In addition, the range is so large that you can choose the material for every taste. The film is waterproof, so it can protect the wall from impacts environment. The algorithm for performing work is as follows:
- Prepare as in the previous method - remove the fittings and disassemble the structure;
- Clean the facades, wash, after drying, treat the surface with white spirit, for degreasing;
- While the facades are drying, we cut the material. Film sheets should be 10 mm larger than the original size on each side. This is necessary in order to eliminate gaps in the finish;
- The surface on which the material is planned to be glued must be moistened. Attach the film to the upper edge, carefully separate a small strip of the protective layer. The film is glued gradually, slowly moving down;
- After gluing, you need to level the material with a soft rag, moving from the center to the edges;
- As soon as the entire wall is pasted over, you need to heat the iron and iron the plane through the fabric - this will help the film to adhere tightly to the surface;
- Return the doors and fittings to their place, stick the edge tape.
It is not necessary to use a film under the tree, you can choose any color. A competent design combination of different shades will help to make a real masterpiece out of an old wall.
Dismantling furniture
We clean the surface
We moisten the coatings
We glue the film
Collecting back
Restoration with staining
Repainting the old wall will change its appearance beyond recognition, while the main outlines will remain unchanged. You do not need artistic skills, as well as a special tool. The work is not difficult to do, just follow the basic rules:
- The wall is completely disassembled and the fittings are removed - this makes the restoration process much easier;
- The old coating must be completely removed, obvious flaws must be repaired with wax;
- Sand the surface after it dries with sandpaper or a soft cloth;
- Staining is done in several layers, while you need to make sure that there are no sagging and smudges. As soon as the staining is completed, we leave the structure to dry, after which the wall should be assembled.
If during the work an influx formed, which was detected after drying, it should be cleaned with sandpaper and additionally covered with paint. For a complete understanding of the staining system, see the master class for beginners on updating furniture with your own hands.
Work technology
Carrying out work for any type of restoration has one common technological sequence- preparation and updating.
Preparatory work
Before you decide to remake old Soviet-era furniture, you need to understand that such a process is justified only if it is made of wood. It is not advisable to update old furniture made of chipboard, since the service life of these structures is not long, and perhaps the wall is no longer suitable for restoration. So, there are preparatory measures that must be carried out before any restoration:
- Clean the surface of dust and dirt, while dismantling all the decor and accessories;
- Must be removed old layer paintwork. This can be done with a sandpaper with a large grain, or with a grinder. A solvent solution can also be applied;
- Grout deep cracks with a special material;
- Fill chips and dents with wax and sand;
- Prime the surface with wood compound. It is desirable to use acrylic compounds that fill all microscopic cracks.
The preparation stage is very important, since the final result depends on the quality of surface cleaning.
Removing dust and dirt
Removing old paint or varnish
We overwrite deformations
We prime the surface
Update instructions
Before restoring old furniture, you need to decide on the design that you want to get. Consider the most popular update method at the moment - decoupage. Preparatory work carried out successfully, you can start the restoration. The algorithm for performing the work is simple and will not cause difficulty even for a beginner:
- Cut out the desired pattern, or take special napkins for decoupage. If you are working for the first time, take pictures of medium size relative to the surface on which they will be superimposed;
- Apply PVA glue to the plane, you can apply the composition for the blend. Do not smear the entire wall at once, as the glue may dry out while you are pasting over one area, so you need to work in stages;
- When gluing a picture, you must strictly monitor the fit of the edges to the surface. Drawings can be glued overlapping each other, so the decor will turn out to be voluminous and original;
- If you have to paste over the corner, then the material just gently bends around the corner, you do not need to cut anything. Smooth the picture with your fingers, or rubber spatula to remove air bubbles and leave to dry;
- The next step is varnishing. Apply a thin coat of clear furniture polish with a brush or lint-free roller and allow to dry. The process is repeated 3-5 times;
- After the last layer of varnish has dried, you need to rub the surface to a shine, this can be done with a soft cloth. Polishing should be done without pressure in a circular motion.
In the photo before and after you can see how to update the old furniture wall with your own hands. If you follow the instructions and apply design methods for decorating furniture, you can get an excellent result that will become the pride of the apartment owners.
The new review has collected some great examples of how you can take and easily transform old furniture, turning it into something completely new and immaculate.
The most important thing is that each of these ideas can be implemented independently. We watch and remember.
1. Sofa in the hallway
Sofa from an old bedside table.
An old Soviet-style cabinet can be turned into a comfortable compact sofa with a soft seat and a place to store shoes.
2. Stylish chair
New life for an old chair.
Careful painting and bright upholstery of the seat will allow you to breathe new life into an old dilapidated chair and turn a burden into a stylish piece of furniture.
3. Bright stool
New stool design.
The decoupage technique will help transform an old dilapidated stool, which will allow you to transfer a bright pattern or a whole picture to nondescript furniture.
Video bonus:
4. Floral chair
New upholstery on an old chair.
Breathe new life into an old nondescript armchair with a slight painting of some of its details and upholstery of pillows with a thick fabric with a beautiful print.
5. Dining table
Transformation of an old table.
Incredible transformation of an old shabby table into a white dining table with round tabletop, decorated with a floral print, made using decoupage technique.
6. Desk
New desk design.
A simple transformation of the faceless wooden table, which was produced with the help of careful painting in White color and original fittings.
7. Bright cabinet
Redesign of an old cabinet.
A stunning transformation of an unnecessary Soviet-style cabinet into a bright new piece of furniture, which was made by removing the door and carefully painting.
8. Chest of drawers
New facade of an old chest of drawers.
Careful painting and decoupage drawers allowed us to give this shabby and eye-catching chest of drawers a new, modern look.
9. Exclusive locker
Charming wardrobe with a bright print.
Decoupage of the door in combination with bright painting made it possible to turn this useless locker into an exclusive piece of furniture that will perfectly fit into the interior of a country house.
10. Desktop
Desk from an old dressing table.
New fresh color, drawer decoupage and dismantling large mirror made it possible to transform this bulky and outdated dressing table into a charming writing desk.
11. Sideboard
New stylish design old sideboard.
The old sideboard acquired completely the new kind thanks to the slate paper pasted on the doors.
Video bonus:
12. Play kitchen
Toy kitchen from a sideboard.
A little imagination, paint and accessories will turn old sideboard into a wonderful toy kitchen, which, of course, will appeal to the young hostess.
13. Sofa with a locker
Sofa from an old chest of drawers.
The dismantling of some elements, careful painting and soft furniture cushions made it possible to turn a gloomy chest of drawers into a charming sofa with storage space.
Did your grandmother leave you antique Soviet furniture from the 1930s? Did your parents reward you with an old closet from the 60s? Do not rush to get rid of them! In this article, you will learn how to do the restoration of Soviet furniture with your own hands, or rather, how to update old furniture so that it becomes pleasing to your eye again. Photos of successful experiments are attached. So…
Stage 1: replacement of furniture fittings
Most of all, in old furniture, poorly closing doors are annoying. If you are going to take on such a thing as reworking Soviet furniture with your own hands, then first you will have to buy new fittings, find material for sealing loose holes (you can use putty, dowels or corks), get a screwdriver and a screwdriver, and then work hard on fixing doors.
We advise you to also take a closer look at the rest of the fittings. Sometimes simply replacing old-fashioned handles can be enough to make a big difference in a piece of furniture. As for the staggering legs of chairs and tables, they can be put in order in any workshop.
Stage 2: furniture cleaning
Before proceeding to the alteration of Soviet furniture, it should be thoroughly cleaned. Do-it-yourself restoration of Soviet furniture begins with the removal of dirt and soot, which is recommended to be done using an ordinary sponge, soap made on the basis of any vegetable oil, And warm water. To clean the most problematic places - corners and cracks - use a soft toothbrush, for narrow gaps - a wooden dowel, pointed at one end.
Stage 3: Renovation of old furniture
Worn and upholstered surfaces of Soviet furniture must be put in order. For grinding, use sandpaper or a special grinding tool (whoever has what). Any cracks can be carefully repaired with putty, after which this place has dried, this place will need to be sanded again.
Advice: before puttying and painting, the surface should be treated with a primer - then the adhesion will be better, and the applied paint or putty will lie more evenly.
Stage 4: decorating furniture with your own hands
The fourth stage of the restoration of Soviet furniture with your own hands is decorative trim. Coloring, varnishing, painting, decoupage of furniture, decoration with stickers - here you will have to dream up and choose the most suitable option. You may be inspired by the ideas in this article.
How to update old furniture - furniture painting
Let's start with the most popular and easy way update old furniture. Here you will learn how to paint Soviet-era furniture.
Painting furniture should only be done if it is made of cheap wood (pine, etc.). If your Soviet furniture is made, for example, of oak, then painting it is highly discouraged, as this will permanently reduce its value.
Do-it-yourself restoration of Soviet furniture is usually carried out with oil paint. How to paint furniture correctly:
- Apply paint light movements in a thin layer along the wood fibers.
- Let dry for about 12 hours.
- Clean the surface with sandpaper, wipe off dust and apply a second coat.
If you are restoring Soviet furniture of the 50s-70s, which was made in minimalist style, then black is perfect for painting it, as well as pastel bright hues. With this finish, it will be a great accessory for a modern interior.
If you want to be more creative in painting furniture, but you don’t own hand-painted, then use templates. They are sold in stores, they can also be printed from the Internet and cut on thick paper. Before applying the pattern to the furniture, the stencil must be fixed with adhesive tape.
Painting furniture - photos of old furniture before and after:
Do-it-yourself chest of drawers restoration:
Also read: 
How to update an old wardrobe: 
How to redo an old bedside table and chairs: 
It has become very fashionable to paint furniture with thin lace. Just fix the lace fabric on the surface of the Soviet furniture, then apply the paint. The result is amazing!
Alteration of old furniture through varnishing
If Soviet furniture is made of precious woods, then, as we said above, it is better to cover it with a fresh layer of varnish than paint over it. How to update old furniture through varnishing?
Firstly, when reworking or restoring Soviet furniture with your own hands, it is best to use oil varnishes. They are suitable for all types of wood and form very strong, shiny and moisture resistant coatings. The only negative is the long drying period (up to 12 hours). For comparison: shellac varnish dries in 1-2 hours, and nitro-varnishes in 30-40 minutes.
General rules for reworking old furniture:
- Varnish can be applied with a brush or piece thick fabric lint-free, folded 2-3 times;
- The varnish is applied in 3-5 layers, and after applying each new layer, the drying time should be increased;
- Excess varnish should be squeezed out on the edges of the jar, the brush can sometimes be washed in an alcohol solution.
How to update old furniture with craquelure varnish
We also want to give you an example of a special varnishing method, which is performed using a special varnish - craquelure.
To remake old furniture today, there are many varieties of craquelure varnish: with the effect of patina, gilding, etc. The most common one is applied in a thick layer on top of the main layer of paint, after which it is covered with a different color to highlight cracks. Also, craquelure varnish can consist of two components: the first is applied to age the treated surface, the second to create decorative cracks.
Restoration of Soviet furniture with the help of craquelure is perfect for lovers of antiquity and country style. As, however, our next method is decoupage.
Mastering the decoupage technique will help you turn old Soviet furniture into a real design masterpiece. Decoupage of old furniture is performed using the following tools:
- Sandpaper fine grit;
- Alcohol;
- Primer;
- Brush and glue for decoupage;
- Roller or sponge;
- Decoupage material - newspaper clippings, old postcards, letters, drawings, book pages, etc.
In search of inspirational ideas and materials for decoupage, the Internet will help you. For example, we especially like these 2 examples of how to update an old chest of drawers with the decoupage method:
- Surface preparation with sandpaper;
- Cleaning with a cloth soaked in alcohol;
- After the surface dries - applying a primer (3-4 layers);
- If decoupage materials will be used only in places, then the furniture must first be painted to make the background;
- If the furniture will be glued completely (for example, with newspapers), then immediately after the primer dries, you can start applying glue;
- Thin paper can be immediately applied to the glue, while thicker paper should first be thinned with sandpaper and soaked in water;
- Wet paper is blotted with a towel on both sides and applied to the glue;
- After gluing all materials, you should walk on the surface with a roller or sponge to remove glue residue;
- The last step is to apply varnish to the dried surface.
Original furniture in Provence or vintage styles is ready!
Photos of old furniture before and after decoupage:
How to update an old wall
Those who are interested in reworking furniture with their own hands - here are ideas for you on how to update an old Soviet wall with decoupage and new paint:
Liked? Then read: !
Do-it-yourself Soviet furniture restoration updated: October 27, 2015 by: Margarita Glushko
Often people do not even think about how many items of furniture that are amazing in beauty and performance are nearby. Dilapidated chairs, tables, a chest of drawers left in the inheritance or bought for a penny, old sofa or an armchair never fit into the interior modern apartment, so they often become a burden and go to the country. At the same time, a relatively simple reworking of old furniture, which takes a couple of days off at most, will allow the rarities to return to their former brilliance and beauty. Unless, of course, you know how to properly handle such items.
What can be done with old furniture
Until quite recently, only connoisseurs, collectors and professional restorers were interested in old furniture. Today, the alteration of interior items has become a colossal business, the existence of which many do not even know. Therefore, before throwing away or sending old furniture to the stove in the country, you can try your hand at restoring and reworking old items, at the same time increasing their cost by an average of 10 to 50 times.
It goes without saying that for high-quality alteration and restoration, considerable knowledge, work skills and special tools are needed. Nevertheless, even for a non-professional restorer, remaking furniture with your own hands is quite an affordable activity, but in a somewhat abbreviated version:
- If the old structure has retained its strength and the main details of the cladding and load-bearing elements, you can restore the paintwork, re-upholstery and alteration of upholstery and replace wooden details hidden from view;
- If the items being restored are in a terrible state, the missing elements of the cover, cladding, legs, drawer fronts, countertop surfaces can be restored and reworked using modern materials. In this case, you get antique furniture, with clear signs remake, but retaining the features of old rarities;
- Complete refurbishment of old stuff. From old tables, chairs, chests of drawers, cabinets, only frames and drawers are preserved, everything else is radically subject to alteration into stylish and modern furniture.
Any work on the restoration and alteration of old interior items requires a separate, dry and well-ventilated room where the wood can be varnished and dried without the risk of harming the health of the household.
Important! The most difficult step is the stretching upholstered furniture, upholstery of chairs, sofas, padded stools. Such work is best entrusted to an experienced master.
The simplest version of furniture alteration is known to almost everyone. This is a plywood surface of old cabinets, sideboards, furniture walls, kitchen furniture Soviet-made laminated films. old lacquered surface furniture boards from chipboard has long faded and lost its attractiveness, so reworking with a film will significantly refresh the appearance. It is enough to buy a self-adhesive film “for water”, stock up on a clerical knife, a set of rulers, a spray bottle, a dry napkin and a place for cutting the film.
We remake the cabinet in the following sequence:
- We release furniture from drawers and accessories;
- For each item, we cut out our own pattern of the film, with an allowance of at least 3-4 cm per side;
- We wipe old surface from dust, spray from a spray bottle and carefully paste the film;
- With a napkin, carefully squeeze out air bubbles, as when gluing wallpaper.
For the most persistent bubbles, the film can be pierced with a needle. After drying, install the handles, fittings and return the cabinets and doors to their place. This way of reworking old furniture will take a maximum of one day off.
Options for reworking old furniture
The easiest way to work with the old lacquered furniture, perform alteration and restoration of the chest of drawers, coffee table or old chairs are much simpler and more affordable than you might imagine. To work with old paintwork, you only need a wash of the old varnish, polishing sandpaper, high-quality varnish or paint, and sometimes repair compounds for veneered surfaces. It is worth making a reservation - only furniture made from solid wood, or prefabricated structures lined with natural sawn veneer, is subject to cardinal alteration. Any type of furniture Chipboard restoration are not subject, the maximum that is possible is to paste over with a film.
We restore old wooden furniture, chairs, cabinets, countertops
First of all, it is necessary to carefully disassemble the piece of furniture, remove any contaminating residues of paint, varnish.
The easiest way to remove old varnish is in three ways:
- Chemical wash, most often a mixture of acetone, alcohol and 647 solvent;
- Clean with sandpaper;
- Heat with a hair dryer and carefully scrape off with a sharp knife, then manually sand with sandpaper.
For your information! As a rule, old furniture for long life exposed to repeated painting, so the most difficult thing in such an alteration is to carefully remove the old paint and varnish.
If everything is done carefully, then the further part of the alteration will be within the power of even a child. It will be necessary to cover the wooden surface with varnish, preferably under mahogany or ebony.
When restoring countertops, the most common defect is a chip on the edge of the polished surface. In the old days, the defect was filled with acrylic paste and painted with alkyd enamel. It is clear that such an alteration is tantamount to destroying the table, so it is easier to restore the old polishing with a special tool.
Often, during the rework, you have to replace some of the old rotten, cracked or lost pieces of furniture with new parts. For example, for an old dresser or wardrobe, you can make new drawers.
To make the details look old, it is necessary to apply traces of bark beetle with dots with an awl, and traces and abrasions are imitated with a bronze brush.
After reworking, the wood of the box is bleached and painted to match the old furniture.
Advice! If you do not have the opportunity to choose the right coating during the alteration, then it is better not to paint the old furniture, but leave the natural, cleaned wood texture.
Sometimes, during the rework, you should not strive for the complete authenticity of the restored copy, this is within the power of professionals. If the old furniture is in extremely poor condition, then instead of an unsuccessful alteration, it is better to make an adapted version of the new furniture from it. For example, a very good idea is to convert an old chest of drawers into a new sofa.
To do this, cut off the worn-out upper part - the lid and the front part, leaving only the frame with legs. After installing the stand and stacking soft pillows it makes a very nice sofa.
The most successful examples of reworking old things
Not everyone can handle the time-consuming cleaning, varnishing and polishing of wooden pieces of furniture. There are two ways to simplify the rework process - pick up unusual style for new coverage or refuse to use paintwork materials at all. Restorers, who are rightfully considered trendsetters of style and rules in matters of furniture rework, have the most bad decision it is considered ordinary coloring with paints, no matter what, acrylic or expensive powder compositions.
For example, old wooden furniture- a wardrobe or chair that has the style and beauty of lacquered wood, after painting, turns into a dull monochrome trash.
The exception is black and white varnishes. If you like painted furniture, use glossy, non-translucent white or black paints. This alteration will give style and a spectacular look to old furniture.
Sometimes several colors are required to enliven the space of a room and interior, in this case good decision there will be painting, drawing on the countertop or front part thematic drawings. This will not only not spoil the item, but also make it original. True, its price, as a rarity, will decrease several times.
The option of reworking an old bedside table with the help of pasting with newspapers and varnishing can be called ingenious.
Such a product can be safely put up for auction of old things - demand and positive feedback are guaranteed.
Separately, it is worth mentioning a very special category of old furniture - chairs of the author's work with elements of carving and faceting. If you still have such items, know that they are worth it to go through alteration and be restored by the hands of the master. Firstly, walnut chairs are very beautiful in any setting and are highly valued. Secondly, any author's furniture of a famous master of the beginning of the last century can cost very good money.
Often, the owners, starting with the alteration and restoration of one chair or table, collect entire sets of restored furniture. Interestingly, the results of a relatively simple alteration every year will only grow in price and value.
It is clear that it is possible to restore and remake not only old wooden objects. An ordinary office chair after a reupholstering can also become part of an antique setting.
Conclusion
Restoration of old furniture does not require special equipment or technology. This is the case when the main decoration of a table or an old chest of drawers is not the ideal shape or color, but the visible labor invested by people in the manufacture and restoration of the item. If you are lucky and the furniture has been preserved with minimal damage, then it is best to leave maximum amount original parts, paintwork, fittings. Furniture will only benefit from such a rework.
