How to upgrade a coffee table

An originally restored coffee table will add chic to the interior, while no one will be able to guess that the furniture is old. To make your dream come true, it is enough to recharge with creative energy, as well as gain patience and strength.

antique table — Antique models are appreciated more and more over time, and it is likely that in a few years a refurbished table will greatly increase in value.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Updating a Coffee Table
Required tools and materials
Preliminary repair
Getting rid of the old coating
Primary processing
Table tinting and painting
Decorating
Video about the coffee table restoration process
Photo gallery: options for decor and restoration of a coffee table

Advantages and Disadvantages of Updating a Coffee Table

Renovating old furniture is a good idea to renovate your interior. Such a trifle contributes to the creation of comfort and coziness in the house.

table update — For many, an ancient table in the house is not just a piece of furniture, but also a memory of ancestors, a family heirloom and a symbol of long-term stability.

List of benefits of restoration:

Saving money (when choosing a relatively inexpensive material for work).
The opportunity to give furniture a second life.
To arrange a table based on your own desires.
If the interior item is made of expensive wood, then it can be used for a long time.

restored table — By restoring a wooden table, you can give it a second life and preserve it as part of family history.

Along with the advantages, one can highlight the disadvantages of home furniture renovation:

This activity will take a long time.
If the cost of materials is significant and exceeds the cost of furniture, then this work will not pay off.

renovation of furniture — The process of restoring an old table is painstaking, but within the power of any person who has even small skills in working with wood and modest knowledge in the field of furniture design.

So, the task has been set - to restore the furniture, which means that you should study the order of how to update the coffee table.

Attention! Before making a decision, it is recommended to calculate the economic efficiency of the work.

preparation for restoration — With the help of available tools and low material costs, you can give an outdated table a fresh and presentable look.

Required tools and materials

Before restoring the table, you need to prepare the following:

sandpaper (medium-sized and fine-grained) or sander;
small roller and brush;
drills and electric drill;
plane;
chisel;
nail puller;
nails;
hammer;
felt-tip pen or marker;
hacksaw;
roulette;
putty;
primer, paint and varnish;
glue;
means for treating wood from pests.

tools and materials — Various materials and tools may be required for the restoration process.

Do not forget about your own safety while performing operations. For this, it is worth preparing overalls, a respirator, goggles and household gloves.

work safety — Various small details, which greatly simplify the restoration process, should not be overlooked.

Preliminary repair

Before you restore the coffee table with your own hands, the furniture should be repaired first.

table repair — Sometimes it may be necessary to increase the height of the table in case of breakage of its legs.

Work algorithm:

Assess the general condition of the furniture. Examine the wooden object externally, pay attention to the integrity of all elements, including whether the legs are broken. The structure should not creak and give way under load.
Disassemble the furniture into the parts it consists of.
If there are hinge parts, then they must be lubricated with a special agent.
If rust is found on the metal, the elements must be replaced with new ones.
If there is insufficient adhesion of structural parts, they must be glued together.
If there is a need to make the furniture stable, but the legs should be changed to more massive ones.
Products can be secured to corner braces for rigidity.

preparation for repair — Any kind of restoration or renovation begins with an inspection. We examine the table and identify defects.

Its useful to note! If bubbles are found on the surface of chipboard or plywood, it means that the veneer has begun to gradually exfoliate.

preparing the table for work — Many restorers insist that the integrity of the table should not be violated, as it will quickly deteriorate.

Getting rid of the old coating

If a layer of varnish is applied to the base and it cracks over time, then such a coating should be removed in order to apply a new one. It is convenient to carry out these works with a spatula or chemical means, that is, with washes. Another good option for removing the old layer is to use sandpaper. Medium-grain paper is fine for this.

surface grinding — The new life of an old table begins first of all with the elimination of defects, since a functional component is important for any furniture.

Important! So that the surface is not damaged by mechanical stress. For this, processing is carried out along the fibers.

When choosing to remove the old coating with chemical compounds, the following is done:

Apply the product to the base with a brush.
The active substances enter into a chemical reaction with the coating and after half an hour, the composition can be removed with a soft sponge.
After removing the paintwork, it is necessary to treat the wood with antiseptics.

surface treatment — The table needs to be impregnated with an antiseptic, which will protect against pests and fungi.

It is important to consider! If the furniture is expensive and rare, then these methods of primary processing will not work, it is better to use a wash from a solution of powder or detergent gel. It will be safe on the wood surface.

coffee table — Before covering a wooden countertop, you should carefully inspect the surface for damage and chips.

Primary processing

Restoring furniture should start by removing small cracks, scratches, chips or dents.

For this, the following operations are performed:

With a broom, sweep away the dust formed in the crevices.
Apply wood putty to all detected defects.
Remove excess putty from the surface, while leveling the latter.
Leave for a while to dry the base.
Remove any irregularities with sandpaper.
Repeat filling and sanding if necessary.

surface preparation — Small cracks up to 3 mm are repaired with a putty and then sanded again so that there are no bumps.

The sequence of work before painting:

Remove old coating.
Sandpaper in all shells and bumps.
Glue all parts of the structure and tighten them onto self-tapping screws.
Place the legs in place.
Connect the frame to the worktop.

execution of works — Do-it-yourself furniture restoration requires patience and accuracy.

Attention! During the work, large holes or depressions may be found. To eliminate them, you can use epoxy resin or a mixture of sawdust and glue (drying oil is allowed).

elimination of defects — Sometimes you have to try several methods: the damage is different, like the materials used in the manufacture.

Table tinting and painting

Before finishing, the surface should be primed. Apply the composition to the worktop and frame.

paint application — Restoration of lacquered furniture is a great way to restore interior items, giving them an attractive appearance.

Stages of table processing:

Rinse the surface and apply the composition in a thin layer with a spatula.
After the first layer has dried, apply the next one.
When all layers are dry, remove the unevenness with sandpaper.

table handling — If your problem concerns the darkening of the varnish, then restoring the furniture will also consist in erasing the old varnish and applying a new one. You can do all these procedures with your own hands.

After priming, you can start painting or toning the surface. Renovation of the substrate can be done by simple painting with a brush and roller, and paint can be applied through a stencil or tulle. Next comes the treatment of furniture with wax or varnish. The first provides excellent protection against adverse environmental factors. Surface tinting is done with stain.

uniform coloration — Using masking tape, a brush and paints, you can apply various patterns to the table surface.

In order for the staining to be of high quality, it is important to apply the paint evenly, and after the first layer dries, walk along the base with sandpaper. Reapply the paint in a perpendicular direction. All layers of dried paint must be sanded to ensure a smooth surface.

surface painting — Monitor the application process carefully. After covering the entire surface, the first layer must be thoroughly dried.

It's important to know! When choosing brushes, you should pay attention to their quality, since the pile of a poor-quality brush remains on the surface. If the places are hard to reach, then it is recommended to process them with a thin brush.

Decorating

table decoration — In modern stores, many decoupage materials are sold for every taste.

Decorating the countertop will give it a stunning look. To do this, you can use several options:

Mosaic. Pieces of colored glass or ceramic tiles are laid out on a previously prepared surface, and different patterns are formed. After that, the seams between the tiles and the perimeter are rubbed with a special compound.
Decor application. If the countertop is large, then you can use not only small tiles, but also larger ones. The work is carried out according to the algorithm indicated above, but the pattern will be geometric.
Picture under glass (more suitable for rectangular or square countertops). A frame is nailed along the perimeter, inside which pictures or photographs are glued, you can pour sand or lay out a pattern of shells). Glass is superimposed on top.

decoupage option — Decoupage furniture with your own hands can save you from pointless spending aimed at updating the environment, help to show imagination and bring some of the creativity of your soul into the house.

Attention! Before choosing a decoration method, you should know the area of the base in order to calculate the required amount of material.

original table — For painting, it is preferable to use acrylic paints. They can be diluted with water, mixed, tinted with pigment pastes.

Restoration of a coffee table is a creative and individual work and every owner will be able to realize his ideas. The main thing is to think over everything to the smallest detail.