Provence style in the interior
A distinctive feature of French country is the spaciousness and softness of colors .
When creating this style in your home, you can paint the walls and furniture in colors ranging from milky to soft lavender. At the same time, we must not forget to use artificially aged interior items. Provence is characterized by natural materials, which include wood, stone and cotton. Stylistic solutions for French country:
- The ceilings can be simply painted white, although beamed ceilings are more typical in Provence.
- The walls can be decorated with laconic wallpaper with calm tones, brickwork, and carelessly applied plaster.
- The floor should be “massive” and made of wood or stone. Today there are materials that imitate them.
- It is better to choose rich pastel colors for the interior in the Provence style.
- Handcrafted furniture should give the impression that it has been passed down from generation to generation.
When creating an antique style, you need to think through every detail of the interior .
You can use linen napkins, figurines or some plants.
The third stage - putting putty into action
In the photo of whitewashed or aged furniture in the Provence style, transformed with your own hands, you can see what an interesting texture it has, what an unusual relief. This is why we need putty. We generously cover and fill dents and cracks with it, which only spoil the appearance of the thing, and we also create volume with it. After application, it seems that the table or chair has already been covered with a dozen layers of paint - but no, there are not so many of them.
Don't forget to put gloves on your hands and take out a thick apron - you won't be able to stay clean when working with putty.
Artificial aging of furniture
You can age furniture with your own hands using home patting (grinding) and bleaching. This procedure will make interior items elegant and their surface stronger.
Home patting
To sand furniture you should prepare:
- sandpaper with grit 150–200 and 240–280;
- steel wool;
- patina;
- waterproof paints;
- varnish
Stages of work:
- The patina must penetrate into the structure of the wood; to do this, it is necessary to remove the old coating, varnishes, and paint from the surface of the furniture.
- The surface is thoroughly washed and sanded using sandpaper.
- Covered with water-soluble paint of the selected color.
- Once the paint has dried, the interior items are varnished and allowed to dry.
- The surface is sanded with coarser-grit sandpaper.
- Patina is applied by spraying.
- Treat the dried surface with steel wool. The patina should only remain in the recesses. Or, on the contrary, you can wipe only individual parts, leaving a patina on almost the entire surface.
After applying the top layer of varnish, the Provence style furniture is ready.
Furniture bleaching
Aging of furniture by bleaching can be achieved using a special paste or light sanding .
Sanding can be used to age interior items made of beech, birch, pine, and oak. The surface is treated with sandpaper. As a result, the paint layer, shining through the white paint, looks darker, and the chair or chest of drawers looks old.
Bleaching is used only for porous wood, which includes ash and oak. With the help of whitening pastes, white lines are formed on the surface.
Do-it-yourself furniture bleaching:
- Use a damp cloth to clean the surface from dust.
- Lacquered furniture is processed first with coarse and then finer sandpaper.
- Places on the piece of furniture that need to be emphasized must be painted with brown or blue paint.
- Once everything is dry, wax is applied to them. You can use a simple candle for this.
- The surface is covered with several layers of white paint. Each layer must dry well.
- Everything is leveled with fine sandpaper.
As a result of such simple steps, you can transform unattractive furniture with your own hands, turning it into a stylish decorative element .
Stage six - patination
The word “patina” even sounds noble, and the tables and chests of drawers covered with it look as if they belonged to the French king himself - and have been well preserved from those times.
It is better to choose bronze or gold shades. We apply them with light strokes and little by little, so as not to overdo it. Then we wait. As soon as the paint sets, take a dry rag and rub the treated areas. Then we coat it with varnish.
By the way, which areas are best to choose for patination? I advise you to cover flat surfaces with bronze or gold. It is better not to touch edges and other places that are often subject to mechanical stress (for example, fittings).
You can use bitumen varnish instead of paint. It should be applied with a brush, but not a regular one, but a round one. First, we put the bristles in a jar, then we run it over the paper, rubbing the varnish, and then we work directly with the wood. Movements should be careless, sweeping. The result is an instant creation of a noble texture of old furniture in the Provence style, created with your own hands.
That's all - the unusual piece of furniture is ready. It's nice to look at, it's nice to touch. In short, this is a work of art.
Working on wood products is an interesting and exciting process, but only for those who like to spend their free time armed with paint, putty and varnish. For those who are not ready to devote a day to transforming chairs, tables and banquettes, experts will help - FOREST GROUP will take on the production of antique furniture in the Provence style, so that you do not have to make an antique out of a new thing with your own hands.
How to paint furniture in Provence style?
The style combines the splendor of the sea and southern nature, so certain patterns and tones must be used to paint furniture. You can choose the following color:
- brown;
- lavender;
- light green;
- cream;
- white;
- light wood shade.
In the French country style, massive dining tables, cabinets and tables, benches, drawers, mezzanine cabinets, bookcases, chests of drawers and sideboards are painted. Their facades can be painted with floral patterns , after aging the furniture.
Painting is the most complex and painstaking way to decorate furniture. But as a result, it acquires a unique provincial charm.
Stages of work on painting a chest of drawers:
- Paint the surface in two layers with acrylic paint. The top layer should be several tones lighter than the bottom.
- Prepare stencils and apply them to the side walls or facades.
- Cover the patterns with oil varnish.
- Once the varnish has dried well, apply water-soluble varnish over it. To make the painting blurry, you can blow the surface with a hairdryer.
- To complete the decor, you can apply a little golden paint with a cloth swab or a thin brush. At the same time, the main thing is not to overdo it, otherwise you can ruin the idea itself.
- Once the finishing coat has dried, the forged handles are screwed on.
The Provence style chest of drawers is ready.
Thus, you can decorate old country furniture by first repainting it and then painting it. In this case, you can apply painting in the form of flowers, fruits, berries or vegetables.
The fourth stage - paint, but without fanaticism
We apply the selected tone, but do not forget that someday we will have to stop. Most often, 3-5 approaches are enough. Further there will be only a senseless waste of material.
Combinations of a bright base under rich dark top layers look interesting in the Provence style. It looks unusual - you can be sure that no one else will have such a piece of furniture.
Decoupage of a chest of drawers in French country style
Using decoupage, your grandmother's chest of drawers can be decorated in Provence style . To do this you need to do it yourself:
- Paint the chest of drawers in light colors.
- After drying, sand it with sandpaper, making simple abrasions and chips.
- Cover the surface with wax.
- Upholster the chest of drawers with soft fabric with images of natural patterns.
- Use forged elements in the form of handles and legs for decoration.
To achieve comfort and coziness in a room, when decorating a chest of drawers, the main thing is to use the right color shades and materials.
Some useful tips
When aging furniture, experts recommend:
- Before starting work on old surfaces, they should be covered with primer. By tinting it in the desired shade, you can reduce the number of layers of paint. Without tinting, the primer can be covered with any paint in several layers.
- It’s cheaper and easier to paint Provence-style wood with regular acrylic emulsion paint. You can take a simple emulsion for ceilings. At home, it can be tinted in any shade, besides, it dries quickly and does not smell.
- When treating furniture with patina, you can use both bituminous varnish and silver varnish. Varnish should be used for light surfaces, and silver for dark ones.
- To prevent unevenness, extra drops, etc. from being visible, it is recommended to use a matte varnish for the finishing coat.
- You can preserve and highlight the texture and color of natural wood using oil. You can also use wax or varnish for the finishing coat. But most often the wax already contains oil.
- When using old boards to decorate the interior in the Provence style, they must first be treated with an antiseptic without bleaching. You can age the boards naturally. To do this, they need to be painted and stuck into the ground at the dacha. In just a year they will look aged.
In the process of transforming old pieces of furniture with your own hands, you can get a lot of pleasure from creativity . And the updated interior items will delight you for many years.
Tips for selection and placement
You need to choose furniture for sleeping so that it goes well with the rest of the furnishings. Provence is characterized by spaciousness in the room, there should be a lot of air and light. You should not place a large amount of other furniture around the bed or clutter the room with numerous objects. After all, the bed itself, in the spirit of French provincial luxury, takes up a lot of space, looks impressive and bulky. Miniature comfortable cabinets and lamps are usually placed on the sides, and sconces are hung on the wall. It is better to place the bed with the head towards the window.
Types of beds in a modern style, children's and adult models
The colors of the furniture are selected to match the overall color palette of the entire room; these are light, delicate, monochromatic colors or an abundance of floral prints. Additional accessories will add charm and emphasize the style features of the interior. These can be antique clocks or books, knitted souvenirs, decorative plates on the walls, mirrors in carved wooden frames, as well as forged figurines, flower bouquets, all kinds of boxes and paintings. Often a favorite photo in a beautiful aged frame is placed on the bedside table.
Types of adult and children's stylish beds, their characteristics
Bed linen is chosen with embroidery, lace trim, light colors are preferred, white looks especially attractive. Fabrics should be soft, pleasant to the body, natural (cotton, linen, calico, silk, satin are ideal). For the bedspread, you need to choose durable material with a pattern (flowers, animal silhouettes, checks, stripes) or one tone. There can be many pillows. They are usually rectangular in shape and of different sizes, lush, airy, soft.
The size of the bed is selected so as to allow the sleeper to lie down freely, straightening his arms and legs, nothing should hinder his movements.
The color of the furniture is selected to match the overall color palette of the entire room
It is better to place the bed with the headboard facing the window
Do not place a large amount of other furniture around the sleeping area
Additional accessories will highlight the design of the bed
DIY methods for aging wood
Despite the variety of glossy facades, interior elements made of antique wood remain in demand. Purchasing such furniture will cost a pretty penny. If you don’t want to spend too much money, you shouldn’t give up the idea of having an aged chest of drawers or a table. You can try to age the furniture yourself. Let's try to figure out what technology is used to process antique wood with our own hands. After all, natural conditions age a tree for many years. And to get results quickly, you will have to age the wood artificially.
Why do they age wood?
You won't find antique furniture in every home. It should be used where appropriate. The design of the room must be thought out in the appropriate style so that antique products look decent.
Typically, the procedure for aging wood is performed for a specific purpose, namely:
- Satisfy the taste of the inhabitants of the home.
- Save money on antique items. It is much cheaper to buy inexpensive furniture and age it artificially.
Using certain methods of aging wood, you can get exclusive things. Both the entire product and its individual parts are processed. Particular attention should be paid to such items as chests of drawers, sideboards, bookshelves, mirror frames. They are aged most often, since it is difficult to imagine a vintage-style interior without these items.
Aging methods
The process of processing antique wood with your own hands is done in several ways. The main ones are:
- Chemical treatment – used for hardwood.
- Firing or heat treatment is a universal option.
- Mechanical processing or brushing - this method can be used to process products made of oak or pine needles.
Furniture for aging is selected to be massive, with a rough texture, so that in appearance it resembles hand-made objects of past centuries. Before processing, it is better to disassemble the furniture into individual parts. This will make it possible to treat even hard-to-reach places.
To make it easier to achieve the effect of aging wood, it is better to purchase material that has already been damaged by the bug, with minor chips, cracks and knots.
If you are doing the process of aging wood yourself for the first time, then it is better to practice a little on separate unnecessary bars. The quality of the result depends on how well the solution, stain or varnish is applied. It is recommended to carry out work outdoors so as not to harm your own health.
How to make new boards or furniture look like old products? Now you know that several techniques are used for these purposes. Let's take a closer look at each of them.
Mechanical restoration
Wood can be aged mechanically in products made from species such as pine, spruce, and larch. It is these types of wood that have a pronounced texture, the presence of layers of fibers with varying degrees of hardness.
The main task during machining is the formation of various types of chips, potholes, and cracks artificially. This can be achieved by the following actions:
1. Wooden surfaces are processed using an ax or a special grinding machine. They are randomly marked with potholes of varying depths and widths. The block is hewn, but one should not strive for special accuracy and symmetry.
2. After this, we proceed to sanding the surface using a brush with metal bristles. It will be easier to do this with a grinder and an appropriate attachment. During processing, grinding is carried out along the grain until the caused potholes and chips take on the appearance of naturally formed defects in the wood.
DIY artificially aged furniture in Provence style, home patination
When we change the interior, we often buy new furniture. However, some interior styles, such as shabby chic or Provence, require aged furniture. If you want to decorate the interior in this style, you can take out your grandmother's old chest of drawers or chairs from the attic and update them with paint. You can read more about this in the article - How to paint furniture white at home.
If there is nothing really old in the house, and you cannot afford to buy expensive antiques, then you can learn the art of aging. Distressing techniques can add different character to home furnishings and make them stylish and unique. We will advise you on how to age furniture with your own hands in different ways.
Furniture painting using decoupage technique
If you want to fill your home with new colors, try painting furniture in the Provence style. This will require only partial restoration of grandma's old cabinet. This is a rather painstaking job, during which you will have to show patience and diligence.
Many craftsmen working in the Provence style prefer to paint furniture using stencils or the decoupage method. This painting technique allows you to speed up the work process, since only small details will need to be completed. Creating an exclusive Provence style wardrobe with your own hands is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. But you will be proud to show off your creation to your family and friends.
To paint furniture, you should use acrylic paints. They are more suitable for outdoor woodworking and have a water-resistant quality. To ensure that the design is applied without streaks, brushes should be selected from synthetic fibers. Also, during operation they will not stick together.
By painting furniture with your own hands, you can decorate a table, chair, cabinet doors and cabinets. All work consists of several stages:
1. First treat the surface with a primer. Next, apply the base paint in two layers. This will avoid streaks on the wooden surface.
2. When applying a design to a surface, use stencils. With their help, the design can be repeated several times over the entire surface. To make the resulting image match the Provence style, blow the paint with a hairdryer. This will give it a slight blur.
3. To keep the picture as long as possible, open it with varnish. Once the first layer has dried, repeat the procedure.
4. If you apply a thin layer of gold paint to the drawing, you will get the impression that the room contains antique furniture.
Important! If you rub wax on wooden furniture, it will look like it has been bleached by the sun.
On video: remodeling a door in Provence style.
DIY artificially aged furniture in Provence style
There are several methods for aging wood:
- sandblasting,
- brushing,
- whitening,
- sanding and home patination.
Due to the ease of application, we will focus on two: whitening and patination at home. Both methods make it easy to achieve interesting effects. We can process not only chairs, tables, chests of drawers and cabinets in this way, but also doors, window frames and cornices. Experts advise that to age wood you should choose soft colors:
Aging your furniture will make it look elegant and make the surface more durable. If you place an aged stylized lamp or an old telephone on such a chest of drawers, then such an ensemble will be very harmonious, the objects will emphasize each other’s color and enhance the effect of aging.
Do-it-yourself aged wooden furniture using home patination method
At the building materials store you will need to buy:
- special preparations for patination of wood,
- water-soluble paints that can be applied to flat parts of furniture.
Patination sequence at home
- The surface of wood intended for aging must be clean. Remove old paint, varnishes and coatings from it, as the patina should penetrate into the structure of the wood.
- The surface must be thoroughly washed and then sanded with 150-200 grit sandpaper.
- Apply water-soluble paint in the chosen color to the cleaned surface and let it dry.
- Saturate the surface with varnish.
- When it's dry, sand the surface again with sandpaper, but this time with 240-280 grit.
- Apply the patina, preferably by spraying.
- When the surface is dry, remove the patina with steel wool - let it remain only in the recesses.
DIY furniture aging techniques
You can “age” a chest of drawers or sideboard in different ways. Let's look at the basic techniques.
Regular painting
- Preparatory stage: remove the old varnish with coarse-grain sandpaper, sand the surface with fine-grain paper.
- Painting. Pastel colors predominate in Provence. We choose the paint accordingly.
- Use iron wool (an abrasive material sold in hardware stores) to dry the surface until dark lines and spots appear.
- Paint the fittings with the same paint, dry, then clean with a wire brush.
New elements of fittings also need to be aged - after all, they can give away your trick with furniture.
Paint and paraffin
The aging effect can be achieved with ordinary paraffin. To do this, the coating is removed in some places with sandpaper. Then the working areas are rubbed with paraffin, and paint is sprayed on top using an aerosol can. It’s not scary if the coating is uneven - such negligence is quite consistent with the spirit of Provence.
The combination of a rich base and a light second layer will create the effect of faded paint.
Cleaning and bleaching
Whitening can be done either with a special whitening paste or by grinding. The paste is only suitable for porous wood. For example, oak or ash.
To consolidate the effect for a long time, coat the finished furniture with clear varnish.
Whitening:
- Thorough surface cleaning. Removing the varnish and sanding first with coarse sandpaper, then with finer-grain paper.
- The “aging” areas are covered with blue or brown paint, dried, and rubbed with paraffin.
- Paint the furniture by applying several layers of white paint.
If the base paint or wood is dark in color, use nitrocellulose varnish. For light breeds, a water-based varnish is suitable.
Patination at home
Patination can be carried out in dozens of ways and materials. At home, the easiest way is to purchase a patination composition. You can find it in any construction supermarket. First, the surface is prepared, painted, and varnished. We sand the dried furniture with 240-280 grit sandpaper. Then a patination preparation is sprayed onto the surface from a can. After this, the patina is removed with iron wool, remaining only in the recesses.
Patina appears on the surface as a result of many years of oxidation of paint, varnish or metal and is especially valued by connoisseurs.
Using craquelure varnish
Craquelure varnish is a varnish used to make craquelures. Unclear? It’s simple: craquelures are decorative cracks that create the effect of furniture cracked by time. The method is quite complicated and requires certain skills. Not for beginners.
Create an imitation spider web from cracks in an old protective coating on a dresser.
How to beautifully and simply age wood with your own hands at home
Items that have been aged artificially look very stylish and can transform any interior. Therefore, the cost of such pieces of furniture can be quite decent. To save some money and let you decide what kind of furniture you want, we offer simple techniques for antiquing wood with your own paint.
Using wet paper
This is a universal and fairly simple technique with which you can easily give wood an antique look. The wet paper aging technique can be used on both untreated and painted wood.
To work you will need:
- dye;
- paper;
- brush;
- bowl of water.
To begin, tear a sheet of paper into randomly shaped pieces. After that, moisten them with water and place them on the wood in random order.
The next step is to paint the wood in the color of your choice. This must be done immediately after laying out the wet paper, without waiting for it to dry.
After the paint has dried or dried completely, you must carefully remove all pieces of paper from the surface.
Aging in the Provence style + decoupage! You will take away with you simply GORGEOUS work!
Studio HAND-MADE5
We teach people to make beautiful things with their own hands!
The HAND-MADE5 studio hosts a Master Class “Aging in the Provence Style”. The spirit of provincial France. Decor of an item in Provencal style! We will make a gorgeous big rusk bowl!
Hurry up to sign up for the group, the number of participants is limited! You don't need to bring anything with you! Aprons, notebooks, pens - we already have everything! All materials used in the work are included in the price - as in all our Master Classes! Create a masterpiece with your own hands!
10% discount only now! 1900 rub. – 1700 rub.
"Provence" style Decoupage + aging"
Provence is the French interpretation of country style. From the master class you will take away a completely finished item that you can decorate your home with and use for its intended purpose. You will never be faced with the question of an original and memorable gift for your family and friends!
What will happen at the master class?
Decoupage and aging techniques in the Provence style, TWO techniques at once in ONE master class! You will see and repeat these wonderful techniques! You will learn the features of the Provencal style. The combination of several techniques gives originality, uniqueness, and real charm to an old thing! There will be no gaps, white spots, secrets or secrets left - you will learn EVERYTHING about aging in the Provence style! You will receive a complete overview of the materials with which you can decorate a Provencal style item. We will tell you and explain how to choose the right paints, which manufacturers, what materials and tools to use for aging. So that you can work at home and create objects in the spirit of Provence!
We are for practicality!
We love beautiful things. We love practical things. And beautiful and practical things are doubly so! After our Master Class, you will leave with just such a thing - incredibly beautiful and absolutely practical! It will be different from your everyday things! In addition, you will learn how to make incomparable handmade gifts! This gift will be welcomed by everyone who understands the value of creative work!
Call! 8-499-755-64-52, studio HAND-MADE5
What else will I learn?
- Everything about the aging of an object - scuffs, cracks, chips. Master the entire arsenal!
- Multilayer coating with glaze paints. How to create them yourself, how to apply them correctly is no longer a secret!
- Learn to save money and choose the right materials for your work - which will save money when shopping in craft stores and protect you from unjustifiably spending money on unnecessary or overly expensive materials and tools.
- You will be able to work independently at home - all these necessary skills and knowledge will save your time and nerves! You can apply your knowledge at home! A list of all the necessary materials and all the step-by-step actions will be written down for you! No more wasting time on unsuccessful attempts, now - only masterpieces, the envy of everyone!
- And also - you will have a pleasant time in the company of like-minded people! Who are inspired by creative work and learning new things!
Will I be able to learn?
You can do it as best you can! You’ll even be surprised how quickly everything will work out for you! Our methods are clear, simple and accessible to everyone! Tested on more than 1,500 of our students. What else makes us happy, by the way, is that our students come back to us again and again!
What then?
You can apply your knowledge at home! A list of all the necessary materials and all the step-by-step actions when working in the Provence style will be written down for you! Now, you can use all your imagination, along with new knowledge, to create amazingly beautiful and practical things! To reserve your place at the master class, just call us! 8-499-755-64-52, studio HAND-MADE5
Will I be able to repeat everything you teach me at home?
Without a doubt! We will teach you everything important and necessary! How to choose the right materials: glue, varnish, paints, waxes, etc. About the compatibility and (most often) incompatibility of certain manufacturers. About how to select them to suit your goals and desires. How to save money in creative stores and many other nuances. And, most importantly, we will teach you how to navigate independently in this chaos of conflicting information from the Internet.
Why is the number of Master Class participants limited?
This allows us to maintain a high standard for the quality of our work. As a pleasant consequence of this, more than 80% of our students come to us to study other types of creativity. They trust us with their most important training – teaching creativity. Thank you, our friends, you and I are also endlessly interested!
How are you different from other schools?
An important difference is that in one (!) lesson we give maximum theory and, of course, maximum practice! There is no need to take several classes by purchasing the whole course - a great opportunity to save money by attending only what interests you! You get all the information and practical skills in one master class!
It’s convenient to get to us - we work in the center of Moscow, 1 minute walk from the Belorusskaya Koltsevaya metro station (2nd Brestskaya street, 39 building 3)
It’s convenient to study with us - you don’t need to bring anything with you - we provide all the materials and tools used, plus aprons with disposable gloves (so you don’t get dirty), pens and notebooks (so you can remember the master class materials at home from your wrists). All you have to do is just sign up and come, everything else is for your convenience - we have already thought through and done it
What are the guarantees?
Our studio has a full and unconditional guarantee on the results. Our result is your inspiration! If you don’t like something (the weather, our tea, or anything), we will return your money. No questions. No problem. 100%. We are so confident in your results.
All materials are provided by the school, you do not need to bring anything with you!
How to book a place at a master class?
Call and make an appointment, 8-499-755-64-52, studio HAND-MADE5
Our address: 2nd Brestskaya street, 39 building 3 (next to Belorusskaya ring metro station)
Sincerely, Alya Ashmarina, HAND-MADE5
With a candle
Aging wood using a candle is a very simple task. To do this, you need to rub the surface to be treated with a candle in random places so that visible traces of wax remain on the wood. After this, the surface of the wood is painted and left to dry completely. The last step is to rub the wooden surface with force with a rag, as a result of which the paint will come off in those places where the wax was applied, creating a scuffed effect.
Dry brush method
As a result of using this method, you can get furniture that will look old and scratched, but at the same time incredibly stylish. Simply dip a stiff bristle brush into a small amount of water-based paint and quickly apply the paint to the surface of the wood.
Grinding technique
The easiest way to age wood. This technique is suitable for processing both painted and unpainted wood. The idea is to sand specific areas of the wood furniture using stiff sandpaper.
When working with wood, don't be afraid to experiment and mix up the techniques described above. We also recommend that you try the chosen method on a separate piece of wood or interior parts of the furniture before starting to transform the furniture.