How to age furniture at home

Antique furniture gives any interior a touch of sophistication and elegance, but buying it is quite difficult and expensive. Some lovers of vintage items have gotten used to artificially aging furniture using special materials and tools.

Artificially aged things look very stylish and harmonious!

Everyone can try this technique on any piece of interior. The main thing is to get acquainted with the technique of how to age furniture and strictly follow it. Otherwise, you will not get exquisite furniture, but simply unkempt.

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What is the effect of aging furniture made for?
How to age furniture at home
A quick way to age furniture
What styles is this technique used for?
Video: how to age furniture
Options for aged furniture in the photo

What is the effect of aging furniture made for?

As already mentioned, antique furniture looks very elegant in the interior. Buying such a decor item is not affordable for everyone, since truly authentic antiques can be very expensive, and it is not always possible to find them.

Artificially aged furniture of vintage look will bring interesting notes to the interior design of your home.

And independently aged furniture is inexpensive and easy to do. Moreover, the advantage of this design is that it is essentially new and durable, it just looks like an object from another era.

secrets of art — To properly age furniture with your own hands, you need to know several important secrets of this art.

A real vintage will be very fragile and you will have to handle it carefully so as not to damage it. Therefore, many resort to an artificial method. Furniture aging is not only a beautiful process, but also very exciting.

How to age furniture at home

There are a lot of technicians on how to age furniture at home. Each of them looks great in its own way and requires a special approach. The most popular and frequently used ones will be presented. There are those that will require a lot of time and effort. And those that take just a few hours.

You can do your own furniture restoration.

Moreover, each will delight the end result.

Important! Some of the methods involve the use of chemicals and are quickly flammable, so it is important to follow safety precautions. In no case should you inhale the vapors from them, and it is better to protect your eyes with special glasses.

pigments in colorless paint — Colorless paints may contain light colored pigments.

Craquelure

One of the simplest and most effective techniques. It doesn't require any special skills. Craquelure is called artificially created cracks. The surface is cleaned, if necessary, washed. Then it is thoroughly dried.

Classic interiors, provence and vintage are unthinkable without vintage furniture or decor.

To create this effect, the first layer is dark paint on the entire surface of the furniture. It should dry well. The second layer is matte light paint. She also needs to dry.

Then a layer of craquelure varnish is applied, it creates a cracking effect. If you want, you can go locally with not very hard sandpaper. The last stage is fixing the result with furniture varnish.

White paint can be applied in an unusual way.

Golden web effect

The method is a little more complicated, but no less beautiful.To begin with, the surface of the furniture is unevenly colored and dried. For the first coat, it is better to use dark acrylic paint. Then, with sandpaper or any other device, it is necessary to sand the places of future abrasions.

Furniture aging — Aging furniture is not easy.

After that comes the stage of applying furniture wax (you must grind it thoroughly) and a thin layer of already light paint. Each layer must dry. Then shellac (insect varnish resin) is used. It is applied neatly and in a thin layer (2 times, each is dried). If the surface cracks slightly, then it's time to start sanding.

Rub the paint — The paint will have to be rubbed into the wood.

The penultimate step is rubbing dry powder (gold, copper) paint with a sponge. Bituminous varnish can be used if desired. And the last step is protection. For this, a colorless furniture varnish is used for the entire surface.

The effect of scuffing and fading of paint

This effect is created by two-layer painting and sanding. Everyone chooses shades himself, but this technique looks more harmonious with the use of light tones. If there is white paint, then you can simply add color to it and use it.

Faded effect — The scuff effect can be achieved using special tools.

It is important to say that each layer must dry well before the next one is applied. The first layer will be the base color. The second is a specially prepared shade. Each color is applied with a clean brush.

instruments — Prepare the necessary tools for the job.

Further, coarse-grained sandpaper is used, with which the surface is locally sanded. This creates a scuffed effect. You need to fix the result with furniture varnish.

Subtleties of brushing

Brushing - Aging is difficult and time consuming, but the end result is worth it. It is carried out in several stages: staining, painting and varnishing. You may need a grinder, chisels, sandpaper and stiff metal brushes.

Do makeovers — It is necessary to make repairs to furniture in the workshop.

Important! The method works well only on a wooden surface.

The surface is moistened with water and some of its fibers are brushed out with metal brushes. Dust or any other dirt must not get in. After everything is thoroughly dried, debris is removed. With the help of a chisel, small wormholes are made.

painting furniture. — Stock up on furniture paint rollers.

With a sisal cord roller, everything is polished. Wax / oil is applied. A special composition with varnish and powdery pigment creates gray or golden tints to give an aged look. Stain is used to create contrast in a drawing.

It is applied in a thick layer, but all excess is removed with a sponge. Use micro-grained emery or a grinder to add abrasions.

Dry brush technique

The technique is only suitable for flat surfaces. If you have confidence in your abilities, you can try on the ornament, but with caution. You will need acrylic paint and a paintbrush with a long, uneven and bristled bristle bristle.

To age furniture, you should start by pre-preparing the product.

The aging method is simple, since you just need to dip the brush in paint (always undiluted) and apply it to the surface with light movements. It is important to do this with a light hand so as not to paint over all areas.

Note! To get the desired retro look, it is important to apply a minimal amount of paint. Some excess can be removed with a dry cloth, but this is done very carefully so as not to damage the resulting pattern. The paint is applied along the grain of the material.

Aging with stain

The stain should be water based. The first layer is base. It darkens bends, edges and cracks. Further, when using a wet sponge, the places of abrasions are wiped. You can use sandpaper.The second layer is stain (white spirit). The structure should dry out for 24 hours.

white spirit from scotch tape on furniture — White spirit must be used very carefully so as not to damage the furniture itself.

After that, shellac primer is rubbed into the wood pores (with a sponge or brush). Antique wax is applied with a steel wool. Each layer is applied along the grain only, not across. If you want to add a matte shade, you can use a rag, but

Physical damage

The method involves “mutilating” furniture. It is safest to use for wood products. Physical damage is inflicted on the item. Can be hammered and scratched with nails. Often the wood is deliberately peeled off with water and a few millimeters of wood are removed.

A beater is also made from plywood and self-tapping screws, which needs to be knocked on furniture. This can simulate pest damage. The main thing is not to overdo it, otherwise nothing will remain of the product.

Vintage details

Vintage details can be stencil drawings. This is done neatly and carelessly, creating a slightly worn effect. And if you want to create a texture on a flat surface, you just need to add a filler (quartz) to the paint.

Liquid metals with oxidizing agents are often used. They lay out various beautiful patterns. Moldings are also a great option for decorating furniture with a vintage piece. Masters who know how to paint will be able to create interesting and graceful drawings using paste for volumetric decor.

tassel — If you use a brush to apply paint, you can create a special scuff effect.

A quick way to age furniture

There are some of the quickest ways to “age” furniture. The first has already been described - this is the dry brush method.

It is important to follow the correct drying technology.

The second is rinsing. It will be quick and easy to execute. It is mainly used for wooden furniture. You will need several tools: water, a brush, a rag and paint of a suitable shade. The wooden surface is painted and, without waiting for complete drying, all this is carefully wiped with a rag. The effect of light rinsing and scuffing is created.
The third is firing. You will need a gas burner for a quick effect. In addition, a metal brush is used. The surface is first processed with a metal brush, after which it is fired. The process must be fast to leave light marks and not strong burnout. The tree should not be burnt, but only slightly scorched.

special means — Use a furniture aging product.

Very important! The procedure with fire is carried out only in special protective gloves and a mask. Otherwise, you can injure yourself.

What styles is this technique used for?

The interior with semi-antique furniture is decorated with extreme care. Failure to enter the subject correctly can ruin the entire design. Such decoration of premises is used only in historical styles, such as country, chalet, provence, vintage, shabby chic and, in some cases, in classic, high-tech and minimalism.

During the arrangement, you can use several rules:

The classic style looks better with precious wood furniture (oak, ash). A suitable technique is patina. Patination creates a matte finish that looks great in classic-style interiors.
Hi-tech and minimalism, although more modern styles, but they also use aged furniture. Large echoes of antiquity are not used, but only small and almost invisible, which complement the room and give it elegance. Dark shades are predominantly chosen.

attention to detail — Pay attention to the little things!

It is very simple to make furniture with your own hands and it does not require special skills.The main thing is to follow all steps of the process and observe safety precautions.