Remaking old furniture with your own hands: materials, tools

In the arrangement of any room, furniture plays an important role, which must meet the requirements of functionality and practicality.

Over the years of use, scratches and chips may appear on individual pieces of furniture, the upholstery may become dirty, and even the design itself may become obsolete.

By looking at the photos of hand-made furniture and transformation techniques presented in this article, you can choose the best ideas and solutions.

By choosing simple and accessible techniques for implementing your plans, you can give new life to furniture designs that will fit perfectly into the interior design.

The need to remake furniture and restore it

Do-it-yourself remodeling of old furniture is necessary for both old and relatively new interior items.

If structures made back in Soviet times are characterized by increased strength and reliability, then the simplicity of their configuration does not allow their use in modern interior design.

Modern furniture, although an example of style and sophistication, is often made from affordable and insufficiently high-quality materials.

Using simple restoration methods, you can update the appearance of old and relatively new furniture, giving it originality and complementing the overall composition of the interior with such furniture.

Living room, study

The living room is considered to be the most important room in the house. Actually, this is where we mostly spend our time, relax, meet friends, and get together with the whole family. If you decide to make repairs or change the interior, take the matter seriously. The environment should be comfortable and multifunctional. If desired, set aside a space for a study. At first glance, this seems to be impossible, because the rooms are small and it is difficult to allocate space for an office. If you work from home, you need to ensure that there are no distractions from your work, and that the conditions correspond to a fruitful, smooth atmosphere. Designers advise to fence off the work area.

You will give things a unique look.

To do this, use partitions. They can serve as racks. To avoid spending significant sums on purchasing furniture for your workplace, use old interior items. You can reconstruct them:

repaint;
cover with wallpaper or self-adhesive film;
change accessories;
decorate with various objects and attributes;
arrange books, indoor flowers.

By restoring interior items, you can save a significant amount of money than by purchasing new furniture.

So that the furniture does not take up much space, it can be converted into a transformer or made on wheels. It is compact, moves, folds and unfolds with ease. The remade furniture will completely match the overall decor in the room.

You will delight not only your relatives, friends and acquaintances with amazing things, but also fulfill orders.

In a small living room, it is important to save more space. Therefore, it is better to use a table-shelf for a work office. It will be more suitable for the overall setting. Convert old furniture into wall shelves, racks, bedside tables, where you will store everything you need for work.

Many houses have old chairs.

Remodeling technologies: original ideas and solutions

High-quality and carefully prepared alteration of Soviet furniture with your own hands does not require qualified skills.

To implement various technologies, a home craftsman may need certain tools, materials and accessories; furniture remodeling can be carried out in the following areas:

Painting and opening with varnish for high-quality restoration of the paintwork, removal of small and deep scratches or chips.

The use of self-adhesive film, offered by manufacturers with imitation of different surfaces, a huge range of colors.

For upholstered furniture, the technique of reupholstering a textile or non-woven covering is used, using materials of different densities and textures.

Craquelure or artificial aging of surfaces and elements giving furniture structures an exquisite and noble appearance.

Decoupage is used as the final stage of decorating furniture with the possibility of transferring different designs and patterns to the surface of structures.

It will not be difficult for an experienced craftsman to carry out a combined renovation of furniture using several techniques at once.

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Depending on the general concept of interior design and the style used, you can give all the furniture an original appearance or emphasize the design theme of a certain functional area.

Renew old Soviet furniture in a few steps: 20 interesting ideas

Soviet furniture is often of good enough quality to serve its owners for years. You can throw it away only because the interior has become old-fashioned or boring. Many items are made of natural wood and could serve their functions for a long time, but this design! Fix the look of grandma's dresser or mom's wall by getting something really interesting.

There are several effective techniques that will completely change the appearance of a Soviet headset and allow it to last longer. Choose one, or combine them all.

Repair and preparation for refurbishment

If the table or chest of drawers you received was not particularly popular, its design can be left unchanged. After all, it will not necessarily be furniture that sets one’s teeth on edge, and in combination with modern furnishings it will look quite appropriate. But it will hardly be possible to do without repair work. Over time, the furniture dries out, and some parts will have to be re-adjusted to each other.

Be sure to pay attention to the following operations:

Cleaning furniture from dirt, dust and soot (pay special attention to corners);
preventive lubrication of locks;
adjustment of parts (if the furniture has dried out or is warped during transportation);
grinding and puttying of damaged surfaces;
change of furniture fittings

In some cases, restoration of damaged surfaces and major repairs will be sufficient. If you decide to completely change the appearance of a particular item, this stage will be preparatory.

Restoring damaged coatings or applying new varnish

The least radical method of alteration, which borders on restoration. You can slightly update the damaged coating, or completely change the type of furniture. It all depends on the type of varnish and processing methods.

It is most appropriate to use in cases where furniture made of good wood species is subject to restoration. A classic design that will be appropriate in any interior needs to be treated delicately.

Some useful tips:

The easiest way is to use oil-based varnish; this is what was used to treat old furniture. In some cases, you can do without removing old layers.
Apply the varnish with a sponge rather than a brush, this will prevent the formation of streaks and lint on the surface.
Dry each layer for at least 12 hours.
If you want to completely change the appearance of the furniture, use a two-component craquelure varnish. It will create a cracking effect on the surface and make the furniture look like an antique.

Some pieces of furniture should not be completely remodeled. It is enough to restore the old layer of varnish and slightly restore the fittings.

Craquelure varnish goes well with painting, decorative painting and decoupage.

Painting old furniture

Choose this technique if you want to completely change the design. Be that as it may, natural wood furniture can look a little bulky and heavy. And while this may be a plus for a spacious office, in a small apartment you want lightness and air. Repainting will help make the design more democratic.

Some useful tips:

Use this type of remodeling also where the wood is severely damaged, or where we are talking about inexpensive wood species.
Be sure to remove the old coating from the surface.
Sand the wood thoroughly, then apply putty and a coat of primer. This way you will significantly reduce paint consumption and achieve better results.
After applying the first coat of paint, dry the furniture and go over it with a sander and sandpaper. This process may seem ineffective, since a significant part of the paint will be removed. But with repainting you will achieve the perfect result.
It is easier to work with matte paints; they hide surface defects better.
Use artistic painting or ready-made templates to apply interesting designs.
Combine painted details with natural wood.

Light shades and laconic fittings will make the furniture more democratic.

White color and weightless fittings completely transformed the old chest of drawers.

Plain paint that hides the texture of the wood looks light and modern.

In some cases, a light background combined with contrasting fittings works great.

Bright accents can be applied using masking tape.

You can use an old curtain with an ornament as a stencil for applying paint.

Another option for “lace” painting.

Master the decoupage technique

This type of finishing has long been adopted by needlewomen. But why not apply it on a more serious scale? Use ready-made images and apply them to a painted or sanded surface.

Some useful tips:

Be sure to prime the surface before sticking images onto it.
As a material, use any drawings printed on thin paper, napkins, or even newspaper clippings.
Thick paper must be soaked in water or decoupage solution before gluing;
Do not limit yourself to surface treatment with glue. After the decoupage coating has dried, coat the furniture with durable varnish.

Decoupage works great in combination with matte paint.

A large drawing can be printed on thin paper.

Decoupage combined with craquelure varnish and painting.

Replace individual parts with more modern ones

Reupholster old chairs with new, more technical fabric. Completely change the fittings, or even add panels from modern materials. Finally, cover the surface of the furniture with film. When you have nothing to lose, the results can be pleasantly surprising!

Mirror surfaces can transform any furniture.

Film combined with metallic paint.

When choosing a film for processing, give preference to high-quality material. It will last longer and give the furniture a decent look.

Painting

To apply a new paint coating, the master will need a primer and putty, paint of a certain color and a varnish base.

To work, you need to stock up on a spatula and fine sandpaper, several brushes and a tray for diluting paint and varnish; it is recommended to think through the upcoming alteration in advance.

Stencils for furniture decor

Unfortunately, not everyone can decorate furniture by decorating it with original drawings: not everyone is given the gift of being an artist - not all home craftsmen know how to draw, but there is no reason to be sad: drawings can be applied using ready-made or homemade stencils with various ornaments. The patterns are applied with paint using a template, and they can be fixed with a special varnish.

Using paint is one of the ways to decorate furniture.

Templates can be made:

from thin plywood, having first applied a pattern to them, and then cut them out with a jigsaw, manual or electric;
thick paper;
plain film.

If a home master has the skills of an artist, then his creative imagination will turn an ordinary cabinet or table into a work of art.

In addition, you can use self-adhesive film on which a pattern is applied. It can be cut out along the contour and outlined with a pencil, and then carefully painted. Furniture painted with plain paint with a white openwork pattern applied to it using a stencil will look impressive.

Typically, acrylic paints are used to decorate furniture, which are absolutely harmless to health, bright and rich.

The procedure for decorating using a stencil is as follows:

the surface of the product is cleaned; if there are irregularities, it is polished;
all elements are painted over, after which they need to dry completely;
make a stencil, carefully attach it and paint it with the appropriate color or several colors;
Carefully remove the template and let the furniture dry completely;
To ensure that the restored product retains its appearance for as long as possible, it can be varnished.

And even if the figures turn out to be not entirely geometrically accurate, they will look very perky.

Decorating old furniture is a great chance for a home craftsman to show his creativity and save the family budget.

You can take several colors and decorate the facade in the form of multi-colored stripes of different sizes, squares, triangles, circles, ovals - this does not require much skill.

Self-adhesive

Adhesive-based film is actively used for gluing individual furniture elements or all surfaces, which is due to the remodeling project.

This material is great for cutting out patterns and geometric shapes that can be used to decorate furniture, imitating a certain style of its design.

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Decorating facades with acrylic paints

Using paint is one of the ways to decorate furniture. This is not just “refresh”, as some put it, but an opportunity to ennoble it and breathe new life. In this case, you can not just paint the surface with a single color paint, but paint it with different patterns and apply any ornament. If a home master has the skills of an artist, then his creative imagination will turn an ordinary cabinet or table into a work of art.

Many people will find the method of decorating old furniture with wallpaper unacceptable, but this is not so.

Typically, acrylic paints are used to decorate furniture, which are absolutely harmless to health, bright and rich. But you can also use plain paint so that any piece of furniture will look elegant and impressive. To do this, you can take several colors and decorate the facade in the form of multi-colored stripes of different sizes, squares, triangles, circles, ovals - this does not require much skill. And even if the figures turn out to be not entirely geometrically accurate, they will look very perky.

Many home craftsmen use craquelure to help achieve a cracking effect.

The procedure for decorating with acrylic paints using templates is as follows:

the surface of the furniture must be cleaned to a perfectly smooth state; if there are any irregularities, sand them;
paint and let it dry completely;
attach a stencil and paint it in the appropriate colors;
carefully remove it and let it dry completely;
To make the surface of the furniture shine, it needs to be varnished.

But the most impressive look are cabinets, a large surface of which can be decorated with wallpaper with a spectacular bright pattern.

Decorating old furniture is a great chance for a home craftsman to show his creativity and save the family budget.

Aging

A simple do-it-yourself remake of polished furniture involves using the technique of aging furniture structures.

For such processes, several technologies can be used using different aging compounds, tools for cleaning the surface being treated, varnishes and paints.

Decorating furniture by aging

Aging is one of the ways to restore furniture in a vintage style. If you plan to decorate it in this way, you need to prepare the furniture as follows:

sand: first with coarse-grained sandpaper, and then with fine-grained sandpaper;
You can even not completely wash off the paint on certain areas of the surface, which will enhance the aging effect.

Using paint, you can decorate any surface, including furniture, regardless of whether it is made of wood or glass.

Vintage furniture doesn’t fit well with the current decor of most apartments, and this is something that home crafters need to take into account. Therefore, modern design finds can be included in its design, which will allow it to harmoniously fit into the existing interior.

You can create a drawing within half an hour after applying the mixture; otherwise, it will freeze and it will be impossible to “draw”.

Padding

A simple and quite effective conversion of furniture from old to new with your own hands is carried out by reupholstering soft structures.

For this procedure, you will have to draw up a pattern yourself, which can be easily done by removing and copying the outlines of the old upholstery and choosing sealing materials.

Original edging

This original cabinet is also covered with film, but not monochrome, but colored. That is, you must act as described above. But after pasting the wall you will have to work harder. Prepare decorative edging. In our case, these are narrow gold stripes. Apply markings to the film and carefully glue the edging.

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There is another option. You still have the decorative beads that decorated the wall! Clean them of old varnish, degrease, prime and cover them with gold. And then glue it in place or nail it with tiny furniture nails. In the photo below you see a cabinet with the “original” decorative finish, only updated.

Decoupage

An interesting and easy-to-implement technique is quite easy to implement, but to implement it, you should select a design theme in advance.

To decorate furniture structures, you can use special designs for decoupage, ordinary multi-layer napkins with the decor you like, and ordinary pictures printed on a printer.

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Decoupage of old furniture

One of the most interesting decoration options is decoupage. It makes it possible to decorate household items with a variety of images, photographs, and drawings. But most often special decoupage napkins are used for this.

Before you start decorating, you need to decide on the design and elements of its renovation.

The decoupage technique is not complicated, but it requires attention and accuracy, just like any other work. To decorate a product using it you need:

free the furniture surface from varnish, old paint, drawings, pasted pictures;
clean it until it is perfectly smooth;
prime with acrylic paint;
dry completely;
then apply PVA glue to the surface;
carefully place the napkin or other material chosen for decoration;
To make the furniture shine, the decoupage image and the rest of the surface can be varnished;
dry completely.

Restoring old furniture will inevitably entail changing the design of the room.

Unfortunately, not everyone can refine furniture by decorating it with original drawings.

Using decorative elements for decoration

Interesting and unusual ideas for remodeling furniture with your own hands can be combined and combined to achieve the desired effect.

New fittings, replacing individual elements with mirror or glass surfaces, installing new supports or other techniques will help add originality to the updated designs.

Pasting

This is the easiest option for those who want to put old furniture in order quickly and without unnecessary hassle. The glue adheres well to the polished surface, so the work goes quickly.

To cover the façade of an old wardrobe or chest of drawers, you can use the wallpaper that was left after the renovation. Elements of the required size are cut out of them and glued to a smooth surface. First you need to remove all the fittings from the doors. It can be replaced with a new and more modern one, which will make the piece of furniture completely different from what it was originally.

An even simpler way to cover a surface restoration is to use self-adhesive paper. It is sold in rolls of various widths and colors. The main advantage of this self-adhesive is that it is waterproof. For rooms such as the kitchen, this option is ideal. Therefore, you can safely paper over your old kitchen set to make it more beautiful and modern.