Do you have an old chest of drawers that you can’t get rid of, but it doesn’t really match the interior of your house or apartment? Below we suggest what you can do to make it look like new!
For several years there has been a fashion for giving second life to objects, both clothes and furniture. This is one of those trends that we applaud. In the age of ubiquitous and overwhelming consumerism it is important to reuse items that are still quite good. And these old and forgotten certainly surpass the quality and performance of products taken off the mass production lines of chain stores
The old dresser, requires some preparation and elaboration before the operation of changing the image. First of all, it needs a decent bath. Try to clean every part of the dresser as thoroughly as possible, and then degrease with a furniture cleaner. When you do this, you will see all the possible damage, and it will be easier to decide what to do next with the furniture.
The second step in preparing the furniture is to thoroughly sand it down with sandpaper. If your dresser has a slippery surface, this step is mandatory. You need to rub off this layer so that any paint or veneer can adhere nicely to the surface of the furniture. Choosing the grade of sandpaper can be a challenge, so here’s a hint – a grade 220 is perfect for this purpose.
When you have wiped off the first layer, for example of the previous paint or veneer, you should carefully clean the furniture once again from dust
Painting is the most popular method of restoring old furniture. It is relatively simple and doesn’t take much time (except for drying the furniture, as we all know it takes ages!). Once your furniture is prepared according to the steps described above, you can start painting.
The choice of paint can be tricky. It all depends on what effect you want to achieve. However, the most popular and easily accessible are acrylic paints. They are available in many colors, as well as matte or gloss finishes. Their disadvantage is low resistance to mechanical damage, so it is recommended to paint furniture that will not be so often used, or that will not be so exposed to the previously mentioned damage
A little less popular are chalk paints. These paints are most often used to paint dressers or cabinets stylized in a rustic or vintage style. They come in many beautiful, pastel shades. The advantages of chalk paint are short drying time and the fact that the surface does not need to be sanded.
Another, equally popular, way of restoring old furniture is to use special veneers designed for this type of thing. This way is certainly much faster than painting and no less impressive. Furniture veneers may imitate wood, metal or even fabrics. A huge plus is their strength when confronted for example with moisture, they are also much more resistant to mechanical damage
However, the accuracy of gluing them is important, although this does not mean that the assembly is complicated. On the contrary! All you need is a small knife, scissors, a ruler to measure the dimensions of the furniture and a pencil. A rubber roller can also be useful, with which you can press the veneer to the surface of the furniture and thus remove air bubbles. However, this is not a mandatory tool – a credit card, for example, will work the same way.
The surface of the furniture must be degreased (there should be no dust on it). Peel off small pieces of it, apply it to the edge of the furniture and smooth it out to get rid of all the air inside. Remember to handle the veneer carefully, do not tear off all the pieces and work in stages, and your dresser will look unique!
As you can see, renovating old furniture is not so difficult. All you need is a little effort, an interesting idea and the will to act. Satisfaction guaranteed, so create!
