Refinish an old chest. We are restoring the chest. Master class on chest decor

Don’t rush to throw away what you found somewhere in the attic. old chest. In addition to the fact that it probably has value for your grandmother or for you as a memory of bygone times, you can also find it practical use. It’s easy to restore the chest yourself, so you don’t have to spend extra money on professional help, and it will also help you lift your spirits and become confident in your own capabilities.

How to restore an old chest

There are several options for how you can restore an old chest yourself. Each of them has its own characteristics, which should be taken into account before choosing, so that the resulting item is ideal for you.

From an unsightly old chest you can create a real home decoration that will please the eye and, moreover, will be not only beautiful, but also a useful decorative element. You can put unnecessary things in it, for example, seasonal outerwear which takes up too much space in the closet. So, the easiest option would be to preserve the original drawing, complementing it and making it brighter. But if you don’t like the design of the old chest, then you’ll have to work a little longer to decorate it with a new one. Interesting solution The item will be decorated with decoupage - by gluing various pieces of fabric. Some craftsmen turn the chest into a cute bedside table that can be placed in any place that its dimensions allow. Thus, by starting to restore the chest, you can get a useful, beautiful, and also original item, having spent a little time and not using a large number of additional materials.

Restoration of a chest in vintage style

One of the most optimal and attractive options would be the restoration of a chest in vintage style. IN Lately fashion for the return of this style to different areas culture and life are only intensifying, which means you will have stylish thing, made with your own hands.

What will you need

In order to do this job, you will need:

old chest;
acrylic paint of different colors;
acrylic primer and putty;
drawing template;
hole puncher;
synthetic brushes;
masking tape;
cardboard;
paints;
transfer paper;
craquelure varnish;
oil varnish.

Algorithm of actions

The first thing you have to do is wash the item, because it will probably for a long time not used. But it is worth considering that any wooden surfaces cannot withstand excessive exposure to water, so you should be careful not to damage the chest. It is best to lightly wipe it with a damp cloth. After this comes the turn of putty and primer. It is important to bring the surface to complete smoothness, so that further decoration would be more convenient, and as a result, the chest would look more beautiful and neat. This is done using sandpaper. Then comes the turn of the acrylic primer - wait for it to dry completely and seal the handles and corners of the chest with masking tape. You need to apply craquelure varnish to the surface - this is done in order to visually age the item, giving it a great resemblance to the chosen style.

IMPORTANT! Please note that paint must be applied on top; in our case, it white so that a network of cracks subsequently appears, which will create the desired effect.

The next step is to apply the design using a stencil or tracing paper. The outline of the roses should be transferred to the chest with gold paint, and then left to dry. The roses themselves will be made in pink color, and for greater artistry you can shade the petals a little more light shade. It is also advisable to cover the golden outline with craquelure varnish, so the design will look more impressive. After this, you can start making corners. They should be covered green paint, mixed with putty.

Restoration of a chest in the Old Russian style

There is another option for those who want to do something useful and interesting creativity related to the restoration of an old unnecessary chest. By completing it in the ancient Russian style, you will receive an incredibly interesting and entertaining piece of decor for your home, and will also learn more about the history of your native country. In Rus', such chests were used to store the most valuable things - gold or a dowry for a noble maiden who would soon be married off.

What will you need

In order to join ancient Russian culture in this way, you will need:

PVA glue;
nails;
parquet varnish;
curly handles with overlays;
water stain;
belts;
leather;
self-tapping screws;
textile;
hammer;
brush;
furniture stapler;
drill;
screwdriver.

Surely, these materials will be found in everyone’s home, and therefore you won’t have to spend money on buying something else, thus, you will kill two birds with one stone, without spending extra money, but by acquiring a wonderful, and most importantly, necessary thing for the household.

Algorithm of actions

In this case, it is also worth starting with laundering old dust and dirt from the thing, after which you need to go through it with a drill with a special attachment, removing old varnish and any other coatings along with a layer of wood. Thus, the surface should become as smooth as possible. The next coating will be water stain. You need to wait for it to dry completely. Then you need to apply a layer of brown varnish to the walls, focusing Special attention protruding elements. It is best to apply several layers so that the coating is more reliable and there are no unsightly bald spots.

The last step is to make the decorations. Several pieces of triangular and rectangular shape to cover corners with them and corner walls. Thus, the chest will look more impressive and interesting. Leather strips must be secured with nails.

Furniture handle linings can be screwed to the chest if desired, painted in Brown color. You can also staple the straps that will hold the lid, which will make using the item even more comfortable.

Now you know how to restore a chest in different styles at home on your own and what you need for this. To get inspired and update your chest, look at the photo.

Do you have a chest whose age no one can determine? You could say we were lucky, since our topic today is restoration of a chest with your own hands. It is still difficult to discern a handmade masterpiece in this peeling box, but soon our ugly duckling will become a decoration of the house. All you need to do is apply a little skill and good taste. We offer two simple options transforming old furniture.

Once upon a time, English lords and ladies, riding on horses, carried their belongings in wonderful trunks. There was no Internet at that time, and artisans created things slowly, sophisticated in the art of decoration. Let's try to create an English travel chest, decorated with an elegant pattern, from an unsightly box.

An old chest (if you don’t have one, this will do wooden box from under some equipment).
Abrasive paper number 1 and 2.
Masking tape.
Cardboard and transfer paper.
Palette.
Acrylic primer.
Acrylic putty.
Set of acrylic paints, including gold acrylic.
Varnish for craquelure. Decorating a chest with your own hands in vintage style involves using the effect of artificial aging.
Oil varnish.
Template or decal.
Round synthetic brushes number 2 and 3, as well as wide flutes.
Hole puncher.

First, we wash our chest from centuries-old dust and soot, using a rag, a soft brush, soapy water. There is no need to wet it too much; the tree doesn’t like it. Dry the surface and sand it with sandpaper until it is as smooth as possible.

Cover the chest with acrylic primer. After waiting for it to dry, we seal the handles and corner edges of the box with masking tape.

Apply green paint to the primed walls.

After the paint has dried, coat the top craquelure varnish. After drying the varnish, apply a layer of white spray paint.

After 10 minutes, a network of cracks should form. After half an hour, the paint will dry, and the craquelure effect will appear in all its glory. Decorating a chest with your own hands becomes a fun activity.

If there is no stencil with beautiful pattern, we translate the drawing using carbon paper. We paint the entire picture (except for the unopened buds) with gold acrylic paint.

When the acrylic dries, we outline the roses with a gold outline. After drying the outline, paint it with pink acrylic, then shade the petals with light pink.

We cover the golden outline with craquelure varnish. After keeping the varnish for 30 minutes, we cover the stems, leaves and buds with green acrylic.

Remove the tape from the corners. Mix the putty with green acrylic paint and paint over the edges.

Solving the problem of how to decorate a chest in an original and inexpensive way, we lay rows of confetti cut with a hole punch on wet putty. This will be an imitation of nails holding the walls of a chest full of treasures. We paint the “nail heads” gold. Metal corners We also paint the boxes with green acrylic.

After thoroughly drying the paint, the chest can be used for its intended purpose: to store various necessary things in it. You can also make it unusual coffee table, screwing furniture casters to the bottom.

We will turn the boxes, battered by life, into a merchant's chest, in which girls once kept their dowries.

Old wooden chest.
Leather and fabric.
Belts or synthetic webbing.
Curly handles with overlays – 18 pcs.
Water stain.
Furniture nails with heads, self-tapping screws.
Parquet varnish is semi-matte.
PVA glue.

Screwdriver or screwdriver.
Drill, metal and nylon brushes for it.
Furniture stapler.
Hammer.
Wide brush.

As in the first case, we first wash the chest of centuries-old deposits. When deciding how to restore the chest beyond recognition, we take a drill with a metal brush attached and methodically clean the surface, removing the old coating along with the top layer of wood.

We process the wooden surfaces with a nylon brush.

We clean off the dust with a brush and cover the chest with stain, paying special attention to the treatment of protruding elements.

Apply several layers of varnish to the walls.

We cut circles and strips from a piece of brown leather to upholster the corners and corner edges of the box. Trying on the round corner covers. We cut out a sector from one edge of the circle and nail the blank onto the corner with furniture nails. Glue the cut joint with glue.

We apply strips of leather to the edges of the chest. We secure them with furniture nails, placing the hardware symmetrically.

To give the chest a solid look, we screw on the linings from the furniture handles using self-tapping screws. If you don't find screws of the right color, you can paint them with brown paint or nail polish. We place the linings in pairs, with the top and bottom side boxes

We drill sockets for handles in the side walls of the chest. We fasten the handles with screws.

We cut straps to limit the lid when tilted. We aim the ends of the tapes to the inside of the base of the box. We shoot the opposite ends to the lid. Our task is to make sure that when opening the chest the lid does not fall back, but is held on by tensioned straps.

We measure the box from the inside. We make a pattern for the interior upholstery. Having sewn it on a machine, we put it inside the box. The cover can be nailed along the edges with furniture nails, or it can be shot with a stapler.

The restoration of the chest is complete. Looking at this beauty, we ourselves are surprised how we could see in the old wooden box a prototype of a magnificent exclusive item.

Hidden away in the attic or closet of every home are many antiques that our relatives used. This includes the chest - bright representative furniture of previous years, in which personal belongings were stored and dowries were stored. With a little craftsmanship and creativity, you can breathe into it by restoring the chest. new life.

General repair and decoration steps

Everyone has a different approach to repairing and decorating antique chests. Some process only the front part, preserving the original ornament, while others completely change the style and design of the product. There are several general rules that will help you carry out work on decorating antique furniture:

The vast majority of antique furniture is made of wood. Over a long period of use, the material begins to dry out. To extend the service life of the product, it is necessary to disassemble its components and place them in a bath of warm water. The moisture will saturate the wood, making it much stronger.
Old paint must be removed with care. In the last century, chests were processed special solutions, which were absorbed into the top layer of wood. To work, you will need a plane, with which you can completely remove the top layer.
Many chests are decorated with decorative elements made of iron. It is not recommended to remove them. During the removal process, the coils themselves can be damaged or wooden surface furniture.

IMPORTANT! Please note that each type of wood requires a certain amount of time to soak in moisture.

How to save an old painting

Many chests in the old days were decorated with patterns and ornaments for a brighter and more attractive appearance. If the painting is intact, the bright pattern can be renewed and left on the surface of the chest.

Materials:

solvent for removing old coating;
brushes for applying the composition;
putty knife;
protective impregnation;
paints;
brushes for applying a new pattern;

Using a brush, apply the solvent to the surface of the chest. After application, the product must be left for some time for complete impregnation. In most cases, it takes several hours, depending on the composition. When the old varnish begins to bulge, remove it with a spatula. After removal, the surface should be thoroughly wiped with an unnecessary rag or a clean soft brush. Then we apply protective impregnation and draw in the peeling details of the painting. After drying, cover the chest with a new layer of protective varnish.

REFERENCE! The choice of cleaning agent depends on the number of layers of varnish. For one, a regular solvent will do. For several layers, you should use special powder products.

Antique decoupage: master class

This decoration method is one of the most popular. Decorating in vintage style takes quite a long time, so you should be patient to work.

Work process:

Using sandpaper, the surface of the chest is thoroughly cleaned until smooth surface. Cover with acrylic primer and leave until completely dry.
We apply paint to the walls. The color scheme depends on personal preference. Corners and joints can be sealed with masking tape so that they are a different shade.
After drying, a layer of craquelure varnish is applied to the paint. When it dries, it produces the necessary cracks, gaps and visual damage.
Using stencils, we apply the selected designs to the walls of the chest. Here you can use acrylic paints.

After thorough drying, the chest is ready for use.

English decoupage

Furniture decorated in the style english decoupage, is distinguished by its special chic, grace and attractiveness.

The process is similar to the method described above. The surface is carefully treated with sandpaper and then coated with a primer. The primer will help correct all the chips and cracks that exist on the surface. After drying, it is re-treated with sandpaper and primer. After thorough drying, you can apply the design to the surface. Acrylic paints are used for this. Upper layer can be covered thin layer varnish for reliable fixation.

REFERENCE! English style involves a large number of delicate tones and pastel colors. Roses predominate in the decoration.

How to stylishly decorate a chest: photo

Modern interior designers actively use antique pieces of furniture, decorating them in a fashionable way. The most popular trends in interior style are minimalism and loft.

To decorate in a minimalist style, you need to sand and prime the surface of the chest. After complete drying, cover the corners, joints and handles with paint (for example, brown). When the paint has dried, the surface is sealed with masking tape. The chest itself is covered with a thick layer of paint of a different shade. After drying, remove the tapes from the closed surface. The minimalist style chest is ready. The product can be used as a coffee table or a table for storing souvenirs in the living room.

ATTENTION! Choose shades according to color scheme the room in which the piece of furniture will be placed.

Decoration using volumetric technique

Registration in volumetric technology is one of the most creative and unusual methods. After painting and complete drying, you need to select stencils and shade for application. For work you will need special paste and a palette knife - a spatula for applying primer. Place the stencil on the wall surface. Using a palette knife, apply the paste in thick strokes. The larger the layer, the more voluminous the drawing will be. After application, remove the stencil. Drying time depends on the material used for painting. The chest, decorated using three-dimensional techniques, is ready.

Many owners needlessly throw away antique pieces of furniture. Following simple tips, you can transform an old chest with additional decor. This piece of furniture will decorate any home.

In the old days, chests were part of almost any interior. They are often stored in houses or country houses for years, waiting in the wings. Restoring a chest will help breathe new life into it. Such a thing will rightfully take its place in the house and fit perfectly into any environment. You just need to show a little imagination.

Types of chests

Antique chests come in a variety of varieties. Depending on the functional purpose and appearance, they can be classified:

To size. Chests can be either quite large or small decorative chests. The use and placement of such items will vary greatly.
By appearance. They can be with a straight or rounded lid, with or without legs, with locks, handles and decor. Chests for home use were lower and elongated. When traveling and travelling, they replaced modern suitcases, so the shape was different, more convenient.
By the quality of the materials from which they were made. Ancient chests could be wooden, with metal elements or completely metal, thick fabric or leather, wicker, etc.
By purpose: decorative chests or functional.

These products, which are essentially cabinet furniture, also differed in style. For example, village chests were larger, more spacious, simple and rough. Road ones, on the contrary, were smaller and neater. Depending on the interior of the house, classic or decorated products were used. Restoring a chest will help adapt it to any space.

How to use an old chest

Despite the originality of such an item in the interior, the chests are very functional. Often, smooth covers are used as an additional surface for various items. But don't forget about the storage space inside the chest. If desired, you can place special drawers inside that form compartments and make the space more functional.

Placing a chest in the interior

The purpose of the chest may differ, depending on the place in which it is planned to be placed:

In the living room it can easily replace a coffee table. Inside you can store, for example, photo albums, Board games etc.
It's not bad in the bedroom additional surface, which you can sit on. You can store bed linen, bathrobes or home clothes in it.
In a children's room, a chest can become an unusual place to store toys.
On a veranda or terrace, the chest can easily serve as a table or bench. You can place warm, cozy blankets in it for relaxing in the fresh air.

These are just some of the options for using a chest in the interior. But in any case, such an item will look very stylish and will definitely become an accent in the design of the room.

Possible methods of restoration

Restoration of the chest can be carried out different ways. It depends on its condition and final result, which needs to be obtained. The main methods of restoration are:

Decoupage. In this case, the product is decorated with a design or pattern cut out in advance. The decor is usually attached to the object, and the surface is varnished for reliability.
Coating with various varnishes.
Painting a product using paints.
Use of various fabrics and upholstery materials.
using various accessories for chests: handles, locks, metal linings, forged elements etc.
Wood carving.
Attaching wheels, if possible and does not spoil appearance chest. This is convenient for moving an object, especially a large and heavy one.

To restore wooden products, it may sometimes be necessary Additional materials to strengthen the frame. It depends on the condition of the chest.

Preparing the necessary materials

Any product can be brought back to life at home. To do this, it is necessary to think over the method of restoration, prepare woodworking tools in advance and everything necessary materials. To work you will need:

grinding machine (if available);
screwdriver or screwdriver;
screws and fastenings;
acrylic stain of the desired color or primer;
acrylic lacquer;
application brushes paint and varnish materials;
wood putty;
abrasive skins;
decorative elements to decorate the product;
masking tape to protect decor during painting and processing.

Additional woodworking tools may be needed to strengthen the product. For example, a hammer and nails.

DIY chest restoration

When everything is ready, you can start working. Usually the process begins with the preparation of accessories for chests. It must be cleaned of dust, dirt and rust. Next, the fittings are glued to prevent the ingress of varnish or paint.

If desired, the locks and handles can be removed using a screwdriver before the restoration process is completed. Or they can be completely replaced.

If the product needs to be prepared for new painting, then you can simply remove the unevenness and cracks of the old coating using abrasive sandpaper.

Sometimes cracks appear in the wood. Regardless of their size, you can level the surface using putty. It is used to fill cracks and leave until completely dry. After this, such places are additionally sanded.

When the surface is ready, you can apply the primer. If the surface is well sanded, you can apply stain. It will add color to the product, but will preserve the wood grain. The more layers of stain, the more intense the color.

If paint is used, it must be applied after the primer has dried. Then let the product dry.

The final stage is applying varnish. It is advisable to have 2-3 layers. This will serve additional protection for wood.

Upon completion of the restoration of the chest, you can return the fittings or prepared decorations to their place.

The restoration process turned out to be not so difficult. The main thing is to do the work carefully and follow some recommendations:

It is recommended not to completely paint over antique products with beautiful ornaments, but only to update and refresh the design. This will give a special charm to the chest.
It is better to carry out all restoration work in non-residential premises(especially coloring).
It is advisable to use paints and varnishes on water based, because they dry faster and have virtually no odor.
Wooden crafts should not be placed in rooms with high humidity.
It is advisable to apply the coating starting from the internal, rear and hard-to-reach surfaces. And then paint the front side to avoid smudges and unevenness. This is especially important at the final stages of work.

Work for the competition from craftswoman Inna Karnaukhova.

In the summer, sorting out old barn, husband discovered the remains wooden chest. The chest has lived a full life, and it has taken a beating on it. As a result, it lost the bottom, and some of the boards were held together only by rusty nails. The chest hardly hoped for a second life. But at first glance he still looked pretty strong, so he got a chance.

Materials:

To return the chest to life it was necessary:

- plywood to restore the bottom,

- boards for replacement,

- wood putty,

- wood glue,

- acrylic paint,

- acrylic lacquer,

— printing the picture on a laser printer,

- rust solvent,

- sanding paper.

Manufacturing process:
To begin with, the chest was washed from cobwebs, dust and dried. Then I made a new bottom from a piece of plywood and replaced the rotten board on the lid. Removed rusty nails and hinges. I covered all the holes with wood putty. Unfortunately, I couldn’t pull out the wire on the lid, which served as a handle, so I had to leave it.

Once the integrity of the chest was restored, I sanded it well and primed it with white acrylic paint.

It's time to create one for the chest new image. I found a suitable picture on the Internet, reflected it horizontally in Photoshop and printed it on a laser printer in A3 size.
Next I applied two layers to the picture (from the image side) acrylic varnish with intermediate drying and after applying the third layer, I glued the picture to the lid of the chest. I let the varnish dry well.

Having moistened the top paper layer with water, I carefully removed all the paper with my fingers - only the varnish layer remained on the surface of the wood, onto which all the paint had transferred.
The picture was smaller in size than the cover, so the border between the image and free space I painted it with acrylic paints to match the image.

I decorated the sides of the chest using a stencil. I make the stencils myself - I choose the appropriate one online, customize it to fit required size, print it out, cover it with tape and cut it out.