DIY old cabinet decor: 14 great ideas

Photo: dekormyhome.ru Even the most beloved cabinets get scuffed, scratched or faded over time. The paint peels off, the wood dries, and the varnish becomes cloudy. But what if we turn this from a disadvantage into a feature? You won't have to sadly say goodbye to your favorite furniture and spend money on new ones! And we are ready to help with interesting ideas and inspiration for new achievements!

Brushing

The easiest way to update an old cabinet is, oddly enough, by aging it. This type of furniture is especially good in luxurious classic interiors, Provence, loft and any other styles that tend to be retro.

To make scuffs look natural, choose the right places for them. Furniture gets worn down most quickly where it bears a load or is constantly touched: edges, corners, handles, tabletops, protruding relief.

Mechanical abrasions are created using brushing technology: the surface is treated with a hard metal brush, which removes paint and soft fibers. The technology is good for cabinets made of larch, pine, ash or oak.

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Craquelure

Craquelure is the creation of a fine mesh of cracks on a surface using paint and a special varnish. It comes in two types: one-step - when the base or bottom layer directly peeks out from under the cracks of the paint; two-step - when under the craquelure there is another decorative coating or image.

In the simplest technology, the surface of the cabinet is first coated with a dark pigment, followed by colored or contrasting paint. And after drying, a craquelure varnish is applied, which provokes cracking. This option is suitable not only for wood, but also for cabinets made of any other materials.

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Painting and varnishing

The easiest way to change an old cabinet in a short time is to use paint and varnish coatings.
Painting does not require special skills, and the price range for materials is wide enough that anyone can afford them. Please note that you should not choose paints and accessories that are too cheap, otherwise the coating will be short-lived and the application process will be difficult. Using paint requires additional preparation - leveling the surface. This will make it easier to apply layers, make the coating higher quality, durable and attractive in appearance. Do not neglect this stage. Preparing to paint an old cabinet involves several steps:

• Thoroughly clean the piece of furniture from the old coating - this could be paint, paper, decor;
• All elements must be sanded. You can do this manually or use special tools;
• Leveling the surface of the cabinet using primer or putty. This will also eliminate minor defects - chips, cracks and depressions - which the paint will only make more noticeable.

After the layers of putty and primer have completely dried, you can begin applying paint:

• Use wide brushes, rollers or special sponges for application. Depending on the type of paint, you can buy a spray bottle - consult with specialists in the store when purchasing materials;
• It is advisable to apply the paint in several layers, this will extend the life of the new coating and make it more durable. Dry each layer thoroughly and only then apply a new one. Acrylic paints and alkyd enamel work well for wooden cabinets;
• After thoroughly drying all layers, you can apply a fixing varnish. This step is optional, if you prefer a matte finish you can skip it. However, the varnish prevents abrasion, prolongs the service life, gives depth to the original tone, and the shade looks more interesting. You can choose not only glossy varnish, but also an option that makes the structure silky or close to matte.

Another original way to decorate an old cabinet is to artificially age the furniture using paint. This option is even simpler than painting the cabinet walls with several layers of paint. It is enough to apply paint to the prepared surface with a dry brush so that unpainted areas remain. A more complex and beautiful way of artificial aging:

• Prepare the surface by removing old layers, sanding the doors and applying a primer. If there are deep cracks and chips, they must first be filled with putty and allowed to dry;
• In several layers, apply paint two or three shades darker than the color you would like to achieve;
• Take a wax candle without dyes and randomly rub the doors and sides of the cabinet in several places;
• Apply one coat of light-colored paint. Light gray, white, beige will do;
• Let the surface dry thoroughly. This may take several days;
• Using sandpaper, rub the cabinet on all sides to achieve an aged effect;
• To fix the result, use varnish.

Elegant abrasions

If brushing is too rough for your taste, there are more elegant aging techniques. Pay attention to this one if your interior is designed in Provence, boho or shabby chic style.

First, colored paint of a rich or pastel shade is applied to the surface - but always noticeable. After drying, it is thickly rubbed with paraffin or wax, and then a second layer of light paint is applied.

The wax is removed with regular sandpaper, and the bottom layer appears under the light coating. Delicate aging looks especially good in milky, beige, cream, olive, lavender, linen, pistachio and soft pink bases.

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Make old

Many styles, such as shabby chic, Provence and vintage, are furnished with artificially aged furniture. So if your closet is ugly old, you can make it beautifully old. We discussed the methods in this post, choose the most suitable one: “Aging techniques: an overview”

splashing

You can radically transform old furniture with ordinary decorative painting. Moreover, you don’t have to be able to draw to do this, because now abstraction, geometry and simplicity are in fashion.

A bright and creative accent in a modern interior will be an artistically splattered cabinet, as if it had just come from a painter’s studio. You will only need brushes, paints, water and newspaper or oilcloth to cover your work area.

Choose the spraying technology that you like best: just shake the brush onto the surface, paint with a toothbrush or toothpick, knock small drops from a wide brush. Until the paint dries, the result can always be corrected, especially since negligence here is a trick, not a mistake. Finally, varnish the cabinet to preserve your efforts.

Photo: proffstroygroup.ru

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Glaze

Glazing is another artistic technique, which boils down to the fact that the bottom layer of paint is visible through the translucent top one. The result is complex iridescent shades that play interestingly in the light.

The advantage of technology is that you can use almost any paint: oil, acrylic, watercolor, even strong tea. Dilute the acrylic with water to the desired shade and consistency and apply it with a sponge or synthetic brush. Glazing does not imply a dense, uniform coating; in fact, it is just tinting.

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Video description

The video shows how to apply large posters to wardrobe doors:

Method three - stained glass

It is easy to remove the doors and replace them with stained glass windows made in specialized workshops. Only wealthy people can do this. But even here, if you wish, it is not difficult to save money by choosing translucent stained glass film instead of stained glass finishing. It is also allowed to be used if the doors have a mirror surface.

Bright stained glass film for a closet in the living room Source maksdecor.ru

The film has a translucent base. It lets light through. It is reflected from the mirror and comes back. In this way, a glow effect is formed, similar to the reflection of colored glass. The film is applied in the same way as a vinyl sticker. The following photo allows you to evaluate the result.

Bright stained glass films Source i.ytimg.com

Staining

Stain is a tinting liquid that allows you to change the shade of wood, but completely preserve its texture. Apply it strictly parallel to the fibers, and paint over it with several layers of varnish or pearlescent glaze coating.

Soft fibers absorb the coloring composition more strongly, and from dense fibers it is washed off naturally. If you want to make the texture even more expressive, repeat the process several times. In order not to miss the result, first try the stain on that part of the cabinet where it is not visible.

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Decoupage

Simple and affordable technology with a minimum number of tools and consumables has won the love of decorators around the world. In fact, this is almost an applique, for which paper napkins with drawings or special blanks are suitable.

Thoroughly clean and level the base so that the surface is completely smooth. If you are decorating a metal or glass shelf, wash and degrease it.

If necessary, you can first paint the cabinet with acrylic paint, but then wait until it is completely dry. Then apply a weak solution of PVA with water to the surface and place a top layer of patterned napkins on it. The whole thing is covered again with diluted PVA, and after drying, with a transparent varnish for smoothness and durability.

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Common mistakes

Sometimes, even after finishing the furniture, bubbles, folds and other defects may appear that were made during work. Correcting defects is not possible in most cases, so the film must be removed and the procedure will have to be repeated again. When doing the work yourself, you can make the following mistakes:

• Before gluing the material to the surface, it was not treated with a cloth or brush. The important point of removing dirt and dust is to ensure a smooth coating, and the presence of small dirt particles underneath will spoil the appearance;
• the cut piece was not enough to cover the shield. This happens if you don’t take a few centimeters in reserve when cutting. Usually it is calculated at 2-3 cm, which can easily be measured on the back side of the material, where the measuring grid is located;
• the drawing on the plane does not match. Answering the question: how to properly glue a film that imitates natural materials, it is worth emphasizing that it must be cut at the seams - then there will be no problems with the pattern shifting;
• Furniture defects are visible under the coating. The reason for this error is poor preparation of the base or the use of too thin material. If the furniture is old enough, then it is better to use rolls with a thicker front layer. Before gluing self-adhesive film on furniture, all damage must be removed.

To do the job efficiently and to paste the furniture yourself without any defects, follow the technology for applying the material. It is better to pre-twist all the fittings, and process the elements of collapsible structures separately. Properly done work will delight all family members with a beautiful updated look of furniture products.

Patination

Patina is a characteristic antique coating that occurs when bronze or copper oxidizes. Its natural color is greenish-brown, but other options are used in decoration, including colored ones.

Apply bitumen varnish to the base and immediately wipe the surface so that it remains only in relief and recesses. And on top, coat the cabinet with a special shellac varnish, which at the same time provides resistance to scratches and damage.

Shellac varnish itself gives the surface a tone of old copper or gold. At the same time, it emphasizes the wood texture well, so it is often used to patina wooden furniture on its own.

Photo: mebel-v-nsk.ru

Acrylic patina is ordinary diluted acrylic paint of a suitable shade. It is spilled in the same way on the raised areas, and all excess is wiped off with a clean rag.

Wax patina is a separate composition that is rubbed over the surface, giving it a tint and a characteristic satin sheen.

Chemical patina looks the most natural, because it simply speeds up natural processes hundreds of times. Paint the cabinet with paint containing fine metal particles and apply a special oxidizing agent on top.

Photo: trikita-spb.ru

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Make a slate surface

Chalkboards are all the rage right now, so why not make one out of cabinet doors? The slate effect can be easily achieved in two ways: buy a film or paint the chest of drawers with chalkboard effect paint.

Etching

Etching is a more complex chemical process than staining, so it requires careful preparation and selection of reagents. But this technology is good for cabinets made of hardwood. This way you can give them a rich, deep shade and emphasize the texture.

The simplest home recipes use decoctions of leaves, bark, tea, coffee, and potassium permanganate. But more effective are chemical components that can be purchased immediately with instructions for application and indicating the exposure time for different types of wood.

Photo: forum.guns.ru

For example, 1% copper sulfate will help give oak a brown tint, 1% iron sulfate will give it a gray-lilac tint, and 4-5% iron will help give it a blue-black hue. You can paint a birch dark red with zinc sulfate, and greenish-yellow with potassium chromium.

Calcium chloride gives the coffee shade to light rocks, and Epsom salt gives the unusual purple color. And different combinations of these reagents create olive, lilac and golden tones.

Photo: pinterest.ru

How to Update Kitchen Cabinets

Furniture in the kitchen quickly becomes unusable due to frequent changes in temperature, damage from knives and forks, and improper drainage of excess moisture. Therefore, kitchen cabinets are updated or replaced more often than the rest of the furniture in the apartment. Products are restored using rattan cloth or simple painting.

Instructions for painting kitchen cabinets:

1. The cabinet doors are removed, wiped from dust, odor and dirt removed with soda, and degreased.
2. The surface of the furniture is rubbed with sandpaper and the grains are removed.
3. A primer is applied to the walls and doors and dried.
4. Paint twice, starting with large surfaces and ending with the edges of furniture.

Advice! If you can't unscrew the fasteners from the door, add a drop of oil to the screw.

Dry brush

Dry brushing is another technique that decorators learned from painters for elegantly distressing old cabinets for classic interiors. Take a little paint onto a flat synthetic brush, wipe off the excess on a rag or paper, and then brush over the base.

Do not press too hard, but go lightly around corners, joints and protruding parts. The brush hairs do not leave continuous lines, and the result is not a dense coating, but as if scratched.

Photo: kraski-net.ru

Photo: proffstroygroup.ru

What materials can be used?

In addition to the self-adhesive film mentioned above, which remains the most popular and convenient material to work with, other materials can be used. Suitable for these purposes:

• ordinary wallpaper (you can choose either paper or non-woven wallpaper, but vinyl is best);
• photo wallpaper;
• stickers;
• stencils.

If we are talking about front surfaces that are often touched by hands, then it is better to use vinyl or non-woven materials: they are easy to wash, they are denser, and paper ones will quickly become unusable.

Epoxy resin

Epoxy resin hardens quickly in open air and creates a beautiful translucent coating. By itself, it gives a golden or amber tint or creates the effect of glass or ice.

Deep cracks or noticeable defects on the surface of the cabinet can be filled with colored sand, small shells or any other decorations - and filled with resin on top. And small cracks will literally come to life if you add luminescent powder to the epoxy.

Photo: vk.com Photo: usamodelkina.ru

Self-adhesive film

If you don’t want to bother with paint, varnish and resin, there is an even simpler solution - decorative film. The stores offer many collections, from imitations of other materials to photo printing, textured, luminous and mirror coatings.

First, mark the film and cut it, and then glue it like tape, slowly and carefully pressing it to the base and expelling the bubbles. The main nuance is to carefully level the surface of the cabinet in advance, otherwise the film will highlight all the defects.

Photo: br.pinterest.com

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Add volume

If you want to achieve a classic look for your cabinet, all you have to do is glue on wooden slats or stucco molding, and then paint - and the effect will add up. You can paste an inscription cut out of wood with words that are meaningful to you or the name of the contents of the box.

A voluminous texture can be created with colored sawdust or other similar material: the door is covered with glue, and the sawdust is inflated on top, then everything is secured with spray varnish. Please note that such a surface is very difficult to clean.

Do not forget that the appearance of furniture is greatly influenced by fittings. In any case, it is worth replacing the handles, and maybe this will be enough. Lighting can also enliven the familiar look of a cabinet or shelving unit.

Source: kvartblog.ru

Stencils

If you still want to paint a closet, but lack the skills, use stencils. You can print and cut them yourself or purchase them ready-made at an art store.

Surface preparation is the same as for any other painting: stripping, sanding, base coat. Apply light markings on top with a pencil so that the drawing does not move while working. Secure the stencil to the surface with masking tape to prevent it from fidgeting - and start painting.

If you want, take paint in a can, but then take care of additional surface protection. Instead of stencils, you can use old tulle, unnecessary openwork fabric and any other suitable materials.

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Photo: dekormyhome.ru

Pasting with paper or fabric

A budget option that will require the performer to be careful and attentive. Decoration can be done using paper or fabric. Also, many people prefer to radically update old furniture by ordering special photo wallpapers for pasting; they can also be bought in hardware stores. In order to decorate an old cabinet and cover it with paper, you need to additionally prepare it - level the surface and improve the abrasiveness so that the paper sticks well to the surface. For work you will need the following materials:

• Spatula, long ruler, felt-tip pen, scissors or stationery knife;
• Sandpaper;
• Materials for surface treatment – ​​primer and putty;
• Glue suitable for the selected type of paper and a soft roller for application.

How to cover an old cabinet:

• Take it apart and get rid of the fittings. The greater the number of parts into which the cabinet can be disassembled, the better;
• Remove the old varnish from the surface and sand it well with sandpaper;
• Remove varnish dust from furniture using a damp cloth or sponge;
• Fill uneven areas, cracks and chips, if any;
• Coat each element with primer on both sides;
• You can start gluing. Take measurements of each part and prepare pieces of paper suitable in size;
• Apply glue to both the surface and the paper. Carefully place the paper layer on the part to be glued and smooth it using a dry soft cloth. Repeat these steps with each element;
• Let the glue dry and then proceed with the final assembly.

Don't neglect replacing accessories. New handles and hangers will play a significant role in transforming old furniture and will become its highlight.

Upholstery

An interesting and unusual decoration for an old cabinet is upholstery with a different material. But this should be the most ordinary cabinet of a simple shape and without relief decoration. Instead of stained fabric that cannot be removed, use dermantin, leatherette and their variations for upholstery.

Regular glue is suitable for attaching the canvas - the main thing is that there are no bruises or air bubbles. Decorate the edges, corners, ends and other areas with decorative nails and rivets. This type of finishing will take a lot of time, but it will fit luxuriously into English interiors or lofts.

Photo: arivamebel-ekb.ru

Tips for home crafters: how to wallpaper a closet?

Everyone has experienced apartment renovations at least once in their life. One of the important details is the decoration of the walls. The most preferred material is wallpaper.

They can be used to decorate walls and even cover various furniture; it is only important to know how to do it.

The article discusses in detail the nuances of selecting suitable wallpaper, describes a step-by-step algorithm for the procedure, including for a wardrobe, and provides a video with a visual analysis of the process of wallpapering a wardrobe.

DIY old cabinet decor - photo ideas

These are not all the options that you can easily implement with your own hands. After all, an old cabinet has nothing left to lose, so don't limit your imagination. And we offer a few more ideas for this!

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