Do-it-yourself ways to update the old furniture wall, examples in the photo before and after
The apartment has a Soviet-era wall made of high quality natural wood. But over time, the facades distorted, the fittings failed, the appearance became unpresentable. Throwing away this piece of furniture is a pity, so many have the question of how to update the old furniture wall with their own hands and they study the photo before and after restoration.
Necessary tools and materials
Before starting any work, you need to prepare everything you need - buy material, tools. The list consists of the following:
- Furniture fittings;
- Hard putty for wood;
- Facades, if necessary;
- Paint or stain (preferably spray);
- Construction knife;
- Building hair dryer;
- Screwdriver;
- Sharp scissors;
- Iron;
- Self-adhesive furniture film;
- Wax for furniture of different consistency;
- Candle;
- Spatulas;
- Rags, clamp;
- PVA glue;
- Varnish for wood;
- Felt-tip pen;
- Edge for processing ends.
This is not the whole list of material and tools, as old furniture can be updated in several ways, each option has its own, specific set of necessary tools.
Types of Updates
If you don’t know how to do it yourself renovate an old furniture wall, before and after photos can be found on the net. In addition, we present several ways, applying which, you can give a second life to any furniture.
Restoration of the old wall
If old furniture is dear to you as a memory, but its appearance has been severely damaged by time - chips, creases, deep cracks have formed on the plane - it can be restored. After spending a minimum of time, you will receive an updated piece of furniture. For repair work, a standard set of material and tools is used. For a quality repair, it is enough to carry out the following actions:
- The working surface needs to be cleaned and washed with a solution of water and soap, dried well - this will help increase the adhesion of the material to the wall facade;
- To rid the plane of deep scratches, they are poured with melted wax. After hardening the fill, you need to take a felt-tip pen in the tone of wood, apply strokes to the wax that will mimic the structure of the wall material. This is not difficult to do, just continue the existing drawing. After this, a clean rag is taken, which is carefully carried out along the frozen wax, a little smearing the dashes. As soon as the desired result is achieved, the plane is covered with furniture varnish;
- If severe wear is visible on the facade, they are painted over with varnish of the desired shade from the spray can;
- If there are cracks and delaminated areas on the facade, you can update the old wall with the help of elementary means - PVA glue, a medical syringe and a fixative. It is necessary to draw glue into the syringe, inject the right amount of composition into the crack. Then press the split and remove excess glue. Using a clamp, squeeze the area, leave to dry for 24 hours;
- Are there many chips on the facade? The same molten wax will help to cope with them. First, you need to smooth the edges of the chip with a spatula, and fill it with wax. Once the wax is dry, sand the area well with a clean, dry cloth. Then carry out the steps as for fixing scratches and varnish.
After such processing, the wall will not change its design, but its appearance will become much more attractive.
Remove dirt and dust from coatingsWe process cracks with waxWe repair chips with gluePaint over scuffsTransformation of the wall with furniture varnish
If the interior in your apartment has changed, and a simple restoration does not suit you, then you can radically change the old furniture with your own hands. There are several ways to update furniture, the choice of which will depend on artistic skills, preferences and the amount of free time.
The easiest way is to varnish. The process is not complicated, subject to the order of actions and restoration technology.
The tool kit is standard, but for a good result you need to follow the following algorithm:
- Take a picture of the wall before starting work. This will help in the future to collect it after the update without confusion;
- Disassemble the design. It is necessary to remove accessories and doors;
- Wash the wall and all components with soap and water;
- Remove dust, soot deposits in the corners with a toothbrush or toothpicks. This step should not be ignored, since the quality of the final result depends on the preparation;
- Inspect the condition of the facades. If the surface is not severely damaged, it will be quite simple to cover it with varnish;
- If the facades are in poor condition, there are a lot of chips and deep scratches on them - the old coating is removed without a trace. To make work faster, you can use special compounds that help remove the varnish, or use an ordinary spatula;
- Once all the exfoliated areas have been removed, the old varnish has been removed, you can proceed with the wax restoration - how to do it is described above;
- To grind a surface with an emery cloth with small grain and to remove dust;
- Cover the facade of the wall and all components with 3-4 thin layers of varnish for furniture. It is worth remembering that when applying a thick layer, streaks may form that spoil the appearance of the wall;
- As soon as the varnish coating dries, the wall should be assembled, the hardware should be replaced with new elements.
After updating the old furniture, in this way, you can add a few more years of life to your wall.
Remove dust and dirtRemove cracksRemove the old varnishVarnish in several layersInstall new pensThe use of self-adhesive wallpaper
Today there are a lot of materials that can be used for restoration. Updating old furniture with self-adhesive wallpaper is one of the easiest options. Working with this material is simple and inexpensive. In addition, the range is so large that you can choose the material for every taste. The film is waterproof, so it can protect the wall from environmental influences. The execution algorithm is as follows:
- Make preparations as in the previous method - remove the hardware and disassemble the structure;
- Clean the facades, wash, after drying, treat the surface with white spirit, for degreasing;
- While the facades dry, we cut the material. Film sheets should be larger than the original size by 10 mm on each side. This is necessary in order to eliminate gaps in the finish;
- The surface on which you plan to stick the material must be moistened. Apply a film to the upper edge, gently peel a small strip of protective layer. The film sticks gradually, slowly moving down;
- After gluing, you need to level the material with a soft rag, moving from the center to the edges;
- As soon as the whole wall is pasted over, you need to heat the iron and smooth the plane through the fabric - this will help the film to tightly connect to the surface;
- Replace the door and fittings, stick the edge tape.
We disassemble the furnitureWe clean the surfaceMoisturize the coatingGlue filmPutting it backIt is not necessary to apply a film under a tree, you can choose any color. A competent design combination of various shades will help to make a real masterpiece from the old wall.
Restoration by staining
Repainting the old wall will allow changing its appearance beyond recognition, while the main shape will remain unchanged. You will not need art skills, as well as a special tool. The work is not difficult to perform, it is enough to adhere to the basic rules:
- The wall is completely disassembled and the hardware is removed - this makes the restoration process much easier;
- The old coating must be completely removed, obvious defects should be repaired with wax;
- Sand the surface after it dries, with sandpaper or a soft cloth;
- Coloring is done in several layers, while you need to make sure that there are no sagging and smudges. As soon as the painting is finished, we leave the structure to dry, after which the wall should be assembled.
If during the operation an influx has formed that was discovered after drying, it should be cleaned with sandpaper and additionally covered with paint. For a complete understanding of the coloring system, see the master class for beginners on updating furniture with their own hands.
Technology of work
Carrying out work for any type of restoration has one common technological sequence - preparation and direct updating.
Preparatory work
Before you decide to remodel old furniture of the Soviet era, you need to understand that such a process is justified only if it is made of wood. It is not practical to renew old chipboard furniture, since the service life of these structures is short, and the wall may no longer be suitable for restoration. So, there are preparatory measures that must be carried out before any restoration:
- To clear a surface of dust and dirt, at the same time to dismantle all decor and accessories;
- The old coat of paint must be removed. This can be done with coarse-grained sandpaper, or thin section with a machine. You can also apply a solvent solution;
- Grout deep cracks with a special material;
- Chips and dents with wax and grind;
- Primer the surface with wood compound. It is advisable to use acrylic compositions that fill all microscopic cracks.
The preparation stage is very important, since the final result depends on the quality of surface cleaning.
Remove dust and dirtWe clean from old paint or varnishOverwrite deformationsGround surfaceUpdate Instructions
Before restoring old furniture, you need to decide on the design that you want to get. Consider the most popular update method at the moment - decoupage. The preparatory work was carried out with success, you can begin the restoration. The execution algorithm is simple and not difficult even for a beginner:
- Cut the desired pattern, or take special napkins for decoupage. If you are working for the first time, take medium-sized pictures relative to the surface on which they will overlap;
- Apply PVA glue to the plane, you can apply the composition for the blend. Do not coat the entire wall at once, since the glue may dry while you are gluing one area, so you need to work in stages;
- When sticking a picture, you need to strictly monitor the fit of the edges to the surface. Drawings can be glued with overlapping each other, so the decor will turn out to be voluminous and original;
- If you have to paste over a corner, then the material just gently bends around the corner, nothing needs to be cut. Smooth the picture with your fingers, or with a rubber spatula to remove air bubbles and leave to dry;
- The next step is varnishing. We apply a thin layer of transparent varnish for furniture with a brush or lint-free roller and let it dry. The process is repeated 3-5 times;
- After the last coat of varnish has dried, you need to grate the surface to a shine, you can do this with a soft cloth. It should be polished without pressure in a circular motion.
In the before and after photos, you can see how to update the old furniture wall with your own hands. If you follow the instructions and apply the design methods of decorating furniture, you can get a great result, which will be the pride of the owners of the apartment.
We cut out the elements and cover the furniture with glueStick stencilsVarnish