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Decorating old furniture in the decoupage style is a great way to return your favorite stool to a presentable appearance. Decorating in the decoupage style has become very popular. The technique is a process that allows you to decorate any surface in a relatively short time and for little money. Often, old pieces of furniture that have retained functionality but have lost their appearance are chosen as decoration items. Decoupage stools are a popular way to give old things new life.
Decoupage stools: master class for beginners
The decoupage technique was known back in the 17th century. Then, as now, paper or fabric were used as materials for decoration. Today, three-layer napkins are a popular material for decoupage.
Before you start decorating the furniture, you need to do some preparatory work and put its surface in order.
You can purchase special napkins or cards for decoupage in specialized stores, art stores and online stores.
Over time, stools in the kitchen become unusable. Many people do not like to part with old furniture - it can be convenient to use. Such furniture can be brought back to life. To do this, you need to decide on the materials and style in which the restoration will be carried out. Even a novice craftswoman can make decoupage. But first you need to familiarize yourself with the step-by-step actions.
Master class on decoupage of a wooden stool:
- Clean the surface of the stool from old varnish and paint.
- Sand the surface of the furniture with sandpaper.
- Seal cracks, if any. To do this, you should use putty, which can be bought at any hardware store.
- Cover the stool with acrylic paint - the color should not be too dark.
- Cut out selected images from napkins. Separate the top layer from the two bottom ones. Stick to the surface of the stool.
- Cover the stool with decoupage varnish.
The pasted image can be outlined. One of the options for additional decor could be coating the stool with craquelure varnish. The choice of decor style depends on the overall design of the room in which the furniture will be located.
Decoration methods
To begin with, it is worth noting that there are several ways to decoupage furniture. Overall, this chair decorating technique involves decorating the surface with interesting paper designs. This could be some kind of printout, napkin clippings or old newspapers. Using the decoupage technique, you can decorate the surface of both furniture used in the kitchen and the base of a cute children's high chair.
Depending on what result you want to get and how determined you are, you can choose different decorating methods. Let's look at a few of the most popular ones.
Case design
The most gentle way to decorate a chair is to create beautiful covers. If you don’t want to spoil the surface of a new wooden chair, but at the same time want to embellish it a little, then this is the option that suits you best.
Here you will need fabric, the chair itself and additional decorative elements. By upholstering a chair with a backrest in fabric, you will get an interesting addition to any interior.
Decorative coating
You can also decorate the chair using paint, brushes and an additional layer of varnish. This method is suitable either for those who know how to draw beautifully, turning a simple white chair into a bright interior detail, or for those who simply want to age the furniture. Paint the base of a chair or a leg, sand the surface, and you will be surprised at how beautiful the result will be.
And finally, the most interesting decor option is decoupage. In this case, you can get an exquisite Viennese chair or a set of colorful stools created from old chairs that are falling apart. Thin paper or napkins are used here. However, it’s worth talking about materials separately.
Quick do-it-yourself decoupage of stools
The decoupage technique is quite easy. Of course, it requires careful execution at all stages of decoration. But you can make decoupage in just a few hours. The main thing is to decide in advance on the style and appearance of the images.
One of the nice things about this technique is that you don’t have to spend too much - after all, decoupage can be made from available materials
Every housewife can decorate a stool on her own. To do this, it is not necessary to have a specialized decoupage kit.
You can make decoupage using available materials. For example, instead of three-layer napkins, you can use simple photo paper. Images for decoration can be found on the Internet and then printed on a printer. It is important to note that printing is best done on a laser printer - the image will be of higher quality.
Quick decoupage from paper:
- Clean the surface of the stool from old coating and dirt.
- Putty the surface, make it as smooth as possible.
- Prime the stool several times.
- Create a background using acrylic paint.
- Prepare printouts of the image.
- Layer the paper sheet.
- Paste the image on the stool. Smooth out using a brush or roller.
- Cover the stool with varnish.
The decor of the stool can be made in different styles: vintage, Viennese, Provence, maritime, etc. It's interesting to select pictures yourself. On the Internet you can find many images that will allow you to realize the most original ideas.
Materials and tools
If you want to decoupage and make your chair bright and beautiful, then you won't need any hard-to-find materials.
First of all, you should stock up on paints and brushes of different sizes and widths. It is also important to choose high-quality glue. You don’t have to spend money on one that is designed specifically for decoupage - even the simplest PVA will do just fine.
To apply an image, in addition to the glue itself, you will also need beautiful images.
You can choose from illustrations or cutouts you already have, or print them yourself. The second option is preferable because it gives you more opportunities to create something unique and suitable for you.
However, in order for patterns or prints to fit well on the surface of wood or metal, you should print the images on thin paper. This way the finished result will look as natural as possible.
As additional materials, you can take thin tape, sandpaper and all sorts of small decorative elements, for example, sparkles, shells, small buttons and so on.
Also, be sure to choose a quality clear coat to seal your results.
Vintage decoupage on a stool
Vintage style stools can be used to decorate a dining room, kitchen or veranda. Old stools or new furniture, for example, purchased from Ikea, are suitable for decoupage. Vintage style involves transferring images from a napkin to the surface of a wooden or plastic chair.
Cracks, scratches, chips - all these moments are characteristic of the now fashionable vintage style in the interior, so your decorated stool will look very impressive
If you are decorating a wooden stool, the first step is to clean it, putty and prime it.
It is better to select a picture for decoupage in advance. You should take into account the style of the room in which the furniture will be located. To make the decor look harmonious, decoupage the stools can be made with wallpaper, the same as on the walls.
How to make vintage decoupage:
- Prepare the surface of the stool.
- Preparation of pictures. Separate the top layer of the image from the two bottom ones.
- Paste the images in the chosen order. Smooth out and remove bubbles.
- Coat the stool with varnish.
You should take into account the quality of the material used to make decoupage. If the decoupage paper is too thick, it should be peeled off. You can skip this step, but then the thick paper will stand out, which sometimes gives the impression of a not very carefully done job. An image that is too protruding can be lightly sanded with sandpaper and then varnished.
Simple decoupage of an old stool
If the room is decorated in Provence style, the stool can be decoupaged in the appropriate style. To do this, you need to decide on the color of acrylic paint that will be used to create the background, and also find suitable images on napkins or print them on photo paper. The design can be simple natural motifs or patterns. If there is a staircase in the room, then you can choose a similar color for the stool - then the staircase will harmoniously combine with the stools.
The simplicity and comfort of the French Provence style can be created by decorating several interior items in decoupage at the same time
It is important to note that decoupage in the Provence style should not be done in too dark colors - it should be airy and light.
The set of decorating tools does not differ from the standard one. The materials you can use are fabric, three-layer napkins, paper, newspapers or decoupage cards. Based on the ease of work, it is better to work with napkins or newspapers.
Decorating a stool with napkins:
- Clean the surface of the stool and sand it with sandpaper.
- Level the surface of the product with putty.
- Apply the main background using a brush and acrylic paints.
- Cut out the selected images, separate the top layer and stick it on the stool.
- Cover the surface of the stool with decoupage varnish.
Provence style is simple and natural. You should not make bright decor. Stools look beautiful if you choose a light tone and minimalist images to decorate them.
Features of the technology
Decoupage of old furniture is an inexpensive and very effective way to restore something that has served for a long time. For example, an old cabinet, dressing table, high chair, or even an entire countertop. With decoupage you can achieve several goals at once.
Having mastered the “decoupage” technique, you can significantly transform your interior.
Few people know, but the birthplace of this technology is Asia, namely China. It’s hard to guess, because the technique has a French name. The dawn of decoupage in Europe occurred in the seventeenth century AD, when wealthy Europeans decorated their estates with expensive household items from Asia. Venetian craftsmen, sensing a gold mine, learned to give an Asian look to their products.
Decoupage is an excellent option for transforming old but dear furniture.
In recent years, five main types of decoupage have become widespread in the creative world.
- Direct or classic decoupage is a basic and very common technique due to its simplicity. The principle is suitable for beginner craftswomen who are just starting to try their hand at decoupage and do not yet fully understand the principle of operation.
- Reverse decoupage is a decoration method in which an image with an ornament is glued to the reverse side of a glass product. Thus, the drawing will be protected from external influences by a layer of glass
The easiest way to decorate furniture with your own hands is decoupage.
- Smoky or artistic decoupage helps to imitate artistic painting with the help of paints; the boundary between the design and the ornament is almost completely erased and a translucent haze is formed.
- Many of those who went to kindergarten made various crafts there. For example, they tore finely colored paper and pasted it onto cardboard in the form of vases with flowers, colorful butterflies or little animals. So this turns out to be another type of decoupage! And it’s called paper deco patchwork.
This method of decoupage is definitely suitable for all ages and does not require any special skills, the main thing is to use your imagination.
- For more advanced craftsmen who have fully mastered the main principles and want to try something new, a volumetric type of decoupage is suitable. It consists in the fact that with the help of modeling paste, finely cut pieces of fabric, multi-layer napkins, putty and art gel, applications are created with the increasingly popular 3D effect. Working in such a technique really requires a lot of experience, perseverance and accuracy.
Newspaper decoupage stool
Decoupage with newspapers is a simple and cheap way to give a product new life. Everyone has old newspapers in their house. They will give the product a special charm.
Decorating furniture with old newspapers is the most economical and at the same time extraordinary type of decoupage
It is important to pay attention to the fact that before gluing newspapers, they must be soaked in warm water for one minute.
The technology of decoupage with newspapers is almost no different from covering the surface with napkins. For ease of use, newspapers can be cut or torn into pieces. The tools for the job remain the same.
Tools:
- Sandpaper;
- Putty;
- Brush;
- Acrylic paints;
- Glue;
- Varnish.
Decoration must be done carefully. It is important to ensure that newspapers do not roll and lie flat. A regular construction roller will help smooth them out.
