The technique of restoring chests of drawers in various ways
A chest of drawers is an element of the furnishings of many apartments and houses. In its capacious drawers it is convenient to store bedding and underwear, things and home textiles. During operation, the appearance of the furniture loses its attractiveness even with careful handling. Product design may lose relevance in a modern interior. Do-it-yourself restoration of the chest of drawers allows you to restore furniture to its former attractiveness and revitalize the look.
Content
Tools and materials for work
There are many ways to restore a chest of drawers. Coloring, decoupage or aging is suitable. You can restore furniture from plywood, particleboard, restore the look of an old chest of drawers. Before performing any restoration option, old furniture needs to be prepared and stocked with materials for work. This will require the following tools:
- grinder to remove old coatings;
- hard putty on wood and a putty knife to cover cracks;
- a screwdriver for dismantling old rusty screws;
- metal corners with which to strengthen the structure;
- fine-grained sandpaper for sanding the coating;
- brushes and primer on wood for processing furniture for painting;
- drill for making holes for fittings, fasteners;
- paint, brushes, roller and tray for restoration at home.
Depending on the finishing option, the list of tools and materials may vary. If the chest of drawers is painted, varnish is used to fix the coating. When using the decoupage technique, you need PVA glue, beautiful stickers that will decorate the surface.
All materials and tools need to be prepared in advance, as soon as it is decided how to update the chest of drawers. In order for the furniture to serve for a long time, it is recommended to replace the fastening and decorative accessories with new elements.
Furniture preparation
Restoration of the old chest of drawers will be successful if the furniture is properly prepared for work. The chest of drawers is freed from the things and objects stored in it, and drawers are pulled out. Old pens are unscrewed - if they are antique, items can be repainted with gold, bronze or silver. Parts that cannot be repaired must be replaced with new hardware. Surface preparation is carried out as follows:
- to finish the old chest of drawers with their own hands, furniture is wiped from dust and dirt. You can use warm soapy water for cleaning;
- aggressive chemical components cannot be used - ordinary household soap is suitable;
- carved elements are cleaned with an old toothbrush, and small decorative holes with an awl or other sharp object;
- an old paint and varnish coating is removed with a grinder, hard-to-reach spots are treated with sandpaper;
- repair of furniture fasteners - the shattered legs are disassembled, reassembled, adding PVA glue to the joints;
- wooden slats on which the boxes “drive” can be replaced with modern guide rails;
- if the product has cracks and chips, they are covered with putty on wood. The mixture dries for at least a day;
- Restored places are gently wiped with fine-grained emery paper so that the surface is even and smooth;
- to increase the adhesive qualities, the furniture is coated with a primer in two layers, allowing each coating to dry;
- the soil dries from 12 to 24 hours - it depends on the type of primer chosen.
An antique chest of drawers with a long history may contain a unique brand or mark of the master on the surface - these fragments should be preserved in order to convey the charm of the restored ancient product as accurately as possible. Do-it-yourself chest restoration requires patience and skill. You can not ignore the process of preparing furniture, otherwise all the work will be in vain.
Restoration Options
To restore the presentable appearance of furniture, use different restoration techniques. The simplest option is decorative wallpapering, as in the photo presented. Some craftsmen perform tight fabrics or lace. You can use stencils to apply original ink drawings or perform complex decor with stucco. But most often, restoration is carried out using painting, spectacular decor.
Decoupage
Under the decoupage understand the use of various materials for decorating furniture. For decoration, a variety of clippings are used, which are glued to the chest of drawers. The subject can be any - floral motifs, birds, portraits, collages from photographs. To do the work, use acrylic paints and ready-made stickers. Decoupage chest in the popular style of shabby chic - drawings are combined with an aged surface:
- prepare the surface of the furniture for processing (grinding, puttying, primer), remove the drawers and remove the accessories, treat with alcohol;
- I restore the interior of the chest with white paint or ivory, let it dry for 12 hours;
- to simulate "scuffs" on the convex parts of the dresser apply a dark stain with a dry brush in a small amount;
- the outer surfaces of the dresser are covered with a primer, after drying they are treated with sandpaper;
- black acrylic paint is applied to the aged areas, after drying they are rubbed with a paraffin candle;
- do-it-yourself the chest of drawers in the base color. To make the drawings look expressive, use white, cream, beige;
- the paint is applied in several layers, each time the coating is dried until completely dry;
- decorative elements are cut out of decoupage paper. Large parts are conveniently placed in the center, small - in the corners;
- smear with PVA glue the pictures from the outside and inside, put glue on the dresser and glue decoupage, as in the photo;
- the edges of the pictures are smoothed with paint to visually erase the borders. They cover the entire chest of drawers with varnish, fasten the fittings.
Antique furniture handles are painted antique. If decoupage is done in a modern style, you can choose a new hardware to your liking. For decoupage you can use newspapers, photos, napkins for needlework, stickers.
An interesting option for decoupage in the Provence style is a combination of paper floral applications with lavender sprays. The chest of drawers is painted white, small blue or purple flowers are pasted, and then droplets of paint are sprayed with an old toothbrush from a distance of one or two meters. The larger the distance, the smaller the droplets.
Replacing metal parts
Old chests of drawers require not only decoration, but also restoration of the fastener system and accessories. Metal elements of the dresser - bolts, screws, handles, corners. They eventually become worthless and lose their external gloss. Antique beautiful accessories can be left if the products are not damaged, or painted. This is true for models in the old style and the design of shabby chic. For restoration in the modern version, furniture handles should be replaced with new products. The fastener parts of the dresser also need to be repaired or replaced. How to restore an old chest of drawers to make furniture more durable:
- carefully inspect the condition of the fasteners;
- unscrew the old cranked screws;
- wood glue is added to the holes;
- install suitable dowels in size;
- new fixing screws are screwed into the dowels;
- frame parts are connected by metal corners;
- corners need to be fixed in the inside of the dresser.
Be sure to check the condition of the legs. If they are loose, the products are disassembled and new hardware installed. To make the drawers slide easily when opening and closing, instead of mounting plates, furniture rails can be installed. The main thing is that they do not violate the harmony and harmony of the restored product. Additionally, the furniture can be decorated with metal decorative plates that simulate carvings or patterns. The main rule of restoration is to first replace the fasteners, and then proceed to decorate.
Painting
One of the easiest ways to restore beauty to a chest of drawers is to paint the furniture. This takes a little time, reliably hides the slightest defects and flaws, allows you to give the product any color. Before staining, the chest of drawers is prepared for restoration. The accessories are twisted from it, the drawers are removed and the old coating is removed. If the chest of drawers is polished, the top layer must be removed thoroughly so that the new paint does not peel off. Master class staining:
- grinding of surfaces, puttying of cracks, priming;
- applying paint with a brush on corners and in inaccessible places;
- painting flat surfaces of the dresser with a paint roller;
- drying of the first layer, secondary staining, drying;
- fixing the decorative coating with a layer of varnish.
It is necessary to apply paint to furniture at least two times so that the color is saturated and beautiful. You can cover the chest of drawers with three or more layers - this way you can repaint the dark furniture in light shades and vice versa. First, the internal parts are painted, and then proceed to the decoration of the external surfaces. Acrylic paints are well suited for painting. Alkyd enamels can be used, but they emit toxins and a strong characteristic odor.
Aging
The current trend in the restoration of furniture is the use of aging technology. In this way, the old chest of drawers can be given an original look. Aging work differs slightly from traditional staining. In addition to acrylic paint, white paraffin candles are needed. Restoration with aging effect is shown in the photo:
- furniture is prepared for work - they are cleaned, primed, and fasteners are strengthened;
- emit dark paint (brown or black) accent areas. For style Provence use a blue color;
- after the paint has dried, the places where you want to apply the aging effect are rubbed with wax;
- the entire surface of the dresser is covered with a layer of white paint several times. The places treated with wax are carefully scraped off with a knife;
- painted surfaces are rubbed with sandpaper to give the desired antique effect to the furniture and varnished.
You can achieve the old "scuffs" on furniture through the use of contrasting shades - a white base and dark accents or a black base background, painted with light paint and rubbed in some places with sandpaper. Aged furniture harmoniously looks in the interiors of houses: shabby chic, provence, country, vintage.
Solution for children's furniture
A chest of drawers in a child’s room is a useful and practical thing. It can store many children's things. To the old dresser organically fit into the interior of the children's room, the furniture needs to be decorated in a thematic style. What ideas are relevant for the restoration of a chest of drawers in a child’s room:
- painting in bright color - in the boy’s room the furniture of blue, blue, brown, green color looks appropriate. You can perform a combined design. For the girl’s room, pink, white with red, beige, yellow, as in the photo;
- decoupage decoration - plot pictures with characters of cartoons and fairy tales are applied to the furniture in the nursery, create a collage from the stickers. All elements are glued to the prepared and painted surface of the dresser, and varnished from above;
- Wallpapering is the easiest way to revitalize a chest of drawers in a children's room - apply colorful motifs on the facades of drawers of the corresponding theme. You need to choose non-woven or vinyl wallpapers - they are more resistant to damage.
When choosing an option for a children's room, you need to take into account the tastes of the child and the general design of the room.
A poisonously green chest of drawers in a relaxed atmosphere will only annoy. When restoring furniture in any way, you must comply with the measure. Excessive jewelry and the pompous appearance of the finished product do not always look attractive.
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