Is it time to update your old favorite chairs that have completely lost their presentable appearance? Don't rush to throw them in a landfill! Simple tools and a few hours of time will help you change even the most shabby furniture beyond recognition. In addition, this is a good saving, because the new set will cost a lot of money!
Scuffs and brushing
The easiest way to make shabby furniture look stylish and eye-catching is to age it even more. Such chairs will complement classic interiors, Provence, boho, shabby chic, Scandinavian interiors and even loft. The fashion for retro and antiques regularly returns with short breaks.
To make ordinary decorative abrasions, first paint the chair with colored paint: bright or pastel, to match your interior. After drying, thoroughly treat the surface with wax or paraffin and cover it with another layer of paint of a different color on top. As you begin to remove the wax with sandpaper, the bottom layer will begin to show through.
The technique of creating real mechanical abrasions on wooden furniture is called brushing. First, choose and mark the places where they will look as natural as possible - corners, edges, edge of the seat, protruding reliefs. Brush the surface with a stiff wire brush, which will remove old paintwork and soft wood fibers.
How to age the surface of a chair?
You will need:
Croqueling is a technique for aging a surface.
- paraffin candle;
- acrylic paints;
- sandpaper;
- one-step craquelure;
- antique patina.
If you want to decorate a chair or an old stool in the Provencal style, then in this case you cannot do without such a technique as aging. In order to make abrasions, it is necessary to apply dark brown, black or gray-green paint in certain places and let it dry. Then you need to rub the area with a paraffin candle and paint it with a contrasting color, for example, white or blue. Then take sandpaper and go over these places. This removes the top layer of paint, after which abrasions appear, which give the chair a touch of antiquity.
You can age a chair using one-step craquelure (sold in handicraft departments). First you need to decide where the cracks will be. Then paint the surface a dark color, after the paint has dried, apply a layer of one-step craquelure. Paint of a contrasting color is immediately applied, with strokes made in only one direction. You cannot return to the painted area, as you can paint over the cracks - then the craquelure will not work. The shape of the cracks will depend on the direction of the brush. You can apply strokes horizontally and vertically. An interesting crackle is obtained if you make strokes in the form of a semicircle or alternate the direction of the brush.
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You can achieve the effect of aging with the help of an antique patina; it is used to tint convex places, recesses of the ornament, and darken the edges of the surface. The patina is applied with a foam sponge, left for 5-10 minutes, then the excess is removed with a damp cloth. You can replace the patina with acrylic paints, so a mixture of burnt umber and black shades successfully imitate antique bitumen. Green and blue shades can be used to age metal chair hardware.
Glaze
Glazing is an interesting coloring technology that is well suited for old furniture made of different materials. The bottom layer of paint shines through the translucent top layer, resulting in an interesting play of colors and tints.
In your work you can use acrylic, oil, watercolor and any other dyes, including coffee or strong tea. Dilute them with water to the desired consistency and paint the chair with a synthetic brush or sponge. You don't necessarily need a uniform, dense coating, because the essence of glazing is just the opposite.
Chairs made from scrap materials or a second life for old materials
Handmade interior items add a special atmosphere to any environment. But it’s nice not only to create something original on your own, but also to save money, and maybe give new life to items or materials that have already exhausted their useful life. Designers offer us options for making chairs and stools from literally any available materials. But only you know what material is available to you personally, what will be easier to handle, and what design of chair is suitable for your interior or landscaping at your dacha or country house.
Old, unwanted skateboards can be an excellent material for making the seat and back of a chair, which is quite capable of becoming a spacious chair. The material of the boards is quite durable - the chair will last a long time if it is assembled well.
There is no need to throw away old buckets, just refresh the coating with new paint and screw the legs to the vessel.
What about garden furniture made from parts of garden tools? A little imagination, effort and free time - exclusive pieces of furniture for your summer cottage or garden plot are ready.
If a completely durable and stable chair has worn out the seat upholstery over time or the filling has sagged, use old belts to create an exclusive design.
Or maybe it’s the other way around - you have a car seat in good condition and to create a comfortable chair, or rather even an armchair, you only need to build a strong frame?
Staining
The staining technology is suitable only for massive wooden chairs, where it will help to fully enhance the natural texture. Choose a suitable shade of stain and apply it parallel to the grain. With dense and hard paint, the paint will be erased by itself, but soft and delicate ones will absorb it completely and darken. The wood pattern becomes even more expressive, especially if you repeat the procedure several times.
Patination
For metal or wrought iron chairs with backs, try patination, which creates a characteristic antique look on the metal. A special bitumen varnish fills all the recesses and surface relief and emphasizes them. Shellac gives a hint of copper, old bronze or gold, and is also suitable for wooden chairs.
Acrylic patina is the simplest painting with the right shade. The waxy patina gives the surface a characteristic satin sheen. Chemical patina looks the most natural, but is the most difficult to work with. In fact, it simply accelerates natural oxidation processes tenfold.
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Craquelure
Complex coloring with a network of cracks on the surface is called craquelure. This way you can transform chairs, refrigerators, radiators, and any other old furniture and equipment. You only need special paint and varnish.
First, the surface of the chairs is painted or pigmented with a dark color, and then covered with light or colored paint. When both layers are dry, apply craquelure varnish on top, under which the top layer will crack. This is a two-step craquelure, but there is also a one-step one, when the base itself is visible in the cracks, and not the bottom layer of paint.
Getting ready for work
Before we begin, let's decide what is needed to carry out the work. Let's prepare the tools. We will need a screwdriver, a tape measure, a stapler, a pencil, scissors, fabric for upholstery and lining. Everyone knows how to use these tools, so there is nothing difficult about replacing upholstery.
Now let's move on to choosing fabric for upholstery.
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splashing
Another way to paint old chairs in an unusual way is with an abstract splash of colored paint. This is good for bright, creative interiors, such as pop art, loft or grunge. Such furniture looks as if it was just brought from an art studio.
There are different spraying technologies: you can shake off a brush, soak it with a sponge, paint with a toothbrush, knock drops off a spatula. There are no mistakes here, because this coloring is a chaotic abstraction. Just take care in advance to cover the furniture, floor and surrounding objects with oilcloth and newspapers.
Dry brush
Dry brush technology is an intermediate step between creating scuff marks and chaotic coloring. The method came from painting and is now actively used by restorers. You only need a flat synthetic brush and paints.
Do not wet the brush before work, but immediately pick up a little paint and brush it over the base. Don't press too hard - you don't want thick coverage or continuous lines. Synthetic hairs will leave jagged streaks, making the paint look like it's scratched all over.
Stencils
If you don’t know how to draw, but want to decorate an old chair with beautiful images, use stencils. Buy ready-made art kits at the store or print and cut them out yourself. Laconic geometry is good in minimalism and Scandinavian style, floral and plant motifs are good in Provence, bright cartoon characters are good in a children’s room.
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Repainting an old chair
As with the previous technique, this one is suitable for wooden products. Painting an old chair is not as easy as it seems. Let's get started.
First, you should remove the remnants of the old paint so that the new one will stick better, and sand the base with sandpaper. Now you can start painting. All your imagination is applicable here.
- You can make the chair look monochromatic by simply refreshing it.
- If you are a skilled artist, it is possible to use hand painting techniques. It will take more time than the first option, but it will bring more pleasure and a new, fresh look.
- If Nature has not endowed you with artistic talent, use stencils. This method is quite simple and looks just as attractive.
- You can combine simple hand drawings with stickers or stencils.
- You can also apply the above-described decoupage technique to a plain base.
After painting, the product must be varnished to give the design a noble shine and durability.
DIY chair decor
Original decor of chairs
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Restoration
If you want to restore an old chair to its original appearance and replace worn upholstery, it’s not complicated. First, clean the surface of the old coating and treat it with a transparent or tinted compound. Loose bolts can be easily strengthened with an additional washer, rusted fasteners can be completely replaced, and weak grooves can be filled with universal glue.
To completely replace the seat, cut a piece of new plywood to its size and shape. Cover it with a sheet of foam rubber 3-4 cm thick and cover it with upholstery fabric. Secure the entire structure with a glue gun or stapler with furniture staples.
If you come across antique chairs with springs, finding the same ones now is not an easy task. But you can completely remove rusty and inelastic parts and replace them with other modern fillers. It is recommended to do the same with horsehair and sea salt, which were used to bulk up seats in the old days.
Do-it-yourself armchair from a chair: step-by-step instructions
All work can be divided into several steps:
- The chair is collected and coated with primer. For reliability, use two layers. The brush is selected according to size.
- Next comes painting, and if necessary, it can be varnished. Preference should be given to matte paints.
- Then the back is made. The foam rubber is covered with fabric, glued to the back, and secured with a stapler. The stapler is used in a checkerboard pattern. The resulting niches will later hold buttons.
- Armrests are made using the same technology.
- The seat is made in two layers, covering all visible parts of the old chair.
It turns out to be an excellent soft chair in a unique design.
Decorative pillows
If your chairs and stools did not initially have soft seats, you can always make them yourself. The mechanism is the same: cut out a suitable frame from plywood or MDF, cover it with foam rubber, and screw it onto the chair frame with self-tapping screws.
There is another option - to sew a separate decorative pillow from padding polyester and any other filling. And in order not to screw it to the base, make ties and tie them around the legs and back. Such a pillow can always be removed, washed and replaced without disassembling the entire structure.
Work order
Having dealt with the preparation, let's get down to business.
- Take a screwdriver and unscrew the existing bolts. Then remove the seat from the base.
- Remove the old upholstery by straightening and removing the staples.
- Measure the seat around the perimeter, add 3-5 centimeters to the obtained values for the hem (depending on the height of the seat), and measure these parameters on the fabric. Another, simpler way: place the seat on a piece of fabric and trace the outline with a pencil. Add 3-5 centimeters. And you will get the same result.
- Then you need to cut the fabric according to the marked marks.
- We fix the material on the seat. For this you will need a stapler. Gradually place the fabric on the back of the chair and secure with staples. You can pre-fix it to the base so that it does not move while working with the stapler.
- Measure the back of the seat (where we attached the material) and cut out the corresponding silhouette from the fabric for the lining.
- Using the same technique, secure the lining, covering the attachment points of the upholstery.
- Final step: Screw the seat back to the base of the chair. Ready!
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Chair covers
If you want to completely hide or transform an old chair, cover it with a custom-sized cover. For sewing, choose dense and wear-resistant fabrics that are unpretentious to regular cleaning. For example, jacquard or other variations of sofa upholstery.
Delicate linen, lace or airy translucent covers also look good. They will ideally complement Provence or shabby chic and decorate the room for the holiday, but are of little use for everyday use. You will have to remove and wash delicate fabrics too often.
Choosing material
When decorating chairs, an important part is the choice of material. The upholstery material should be chosen taking into account the color scheme of the interior and the quality of the fabric. Let's consider the most suitable material for upholstery, its positive and negative sides.
| material | compound | pros | minuses |
| upholstery tapestry | cotton with artificial fibers added | durable and wear-resistant | difficult to clean, the direction of the fibers is only in one direction, due to which the pattern may be displaced when upholstering |
| furniture silk | natural silk fibers (50%) artificial fibers (50%) | has an elegant look and adds shine to the product | expensive |
| jacquard | natural or artificial fibers (depending on the type of jacquard) | high-quality material, gives the chair a noble look, used for upholstering antique items | expensive |
| arpatek | faux leather | durable, proven to work well in everyday use | has a fairly simple appearance, not suitable for upholstering exclusive furniture |
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Decoupage
Decoupage is an easy way to cover an entire chair with your favorite designs or to disguise individual cracks and defects. You will need paper with the selected print, brushes and PVA glue, scissors, water, a roller and acrylic or polyurethane varnish for the finishing coat.
Wrapping paper, cards, posters, old wallpaper, newspaper and magazine clippings, and multi-layer napkins are suitable for decoupage. Cut out the necessary fragments from them and separate the top layer with the pattern. If you want to cover the entire chair, it is better to chaotically tear the drawings into small pieces and create an interesting papier-mâché effect.
Treat the sanded and painted surface with PVA glue, apply the design and smooth it with a roller or brush. There should be no bulges, folds or air bubbles left. Lightly moisten thick paper with water to soften it for ease of transferring the picture.
Using the same principle, you can cover the entire chair with fabric or various patches. Such furniture will complement eclectic and ethnic interiors, boho and other styles with an abundance of handmade items. It is enough to apply a layer of matte or glossy protective varnish on top.
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Jute rope
In the interior, every element is given attention. If pieces of furniture do not match the overall design of the room, then this situation can be easily corrected.
Decorating an old chair with jute rope can become an original accent in the interior. This option will transform the room.
The old upholstery must be removed, and then the item is wrapped with rope. Such products look amazing in a country, shabby chic, or loft style setting.
To create an attractive piece of furniture, simply replace the chair back insert with rope weaving.
Self-adhesive film
To avoid fiddling with PVA glue and brushes, explore the range of self-adhesive decorative films. These can be simple patterns, photo printing, textured coatings. There are collections with sparkles, luminous elements, and a mirror effect.
To mark the film, you will still need to disassemble the chair and first draw out some kind of patterns. But this is the most difficult stage of preparation. Therefore, it is enough to just carefully and evenly cover the chair, immediately expelling all air bubbles and straightening the folds.
Decor of old chairs - photo ideas
It is impossible to go through all the methods of restoring old chairs in one material. After all, nothing limits you except your own imagination. You can even combine several techniques in one or design a set of chairs in different ways, but maintain their shape and configuration. Then they will become an independent interior decoration: look and be inspired!
Holiday decor
We can give a chair a new life, and also transform it, making it an original accessory for the holiday.
Decorating chairs in a festive way is a very interesting and exciting activity. The energy you put into this household item will contribute to the emergence of a positive festive atmosphere.
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