Shabby chic reared its ugly mind about ten years ago like a cheap method of remodeling furniture and giving your house another feel. In line with the French and Swedish colored furniture and gustavian country pieces which had become distressed as we grow older and employ, it had been a great way to locate a cheap furniture piece - allows say a dresser- and smother it with whitened fresh paint then a bout of sandpapering. The thing is this at festivals like ardingly where sellers attempt to offload their very own 'brown' victorian furniture with a brand new coat of fresh paint.
Therefore created the reproduction industry that now pervades the traditional with cheap Chinese imports, most of which claim a '7 stage antiquing process-.
Exactly what a load of cobblers.
If you're pleased with the rather cumbersome repro look (which is really now a glance by itself) go for this. You actually begin to see the difference not only to the fresh paint finish however the low quality of designs and carvings especially on repro armoires.
But really aging an item convincing is much more complicated and time intensive than simply striking the sandpaper.
To begin with you have to prepare the top to accept fresh paint easily and employ the best type of fresh paint with respect to the effect you are attempting to produce.
Acrylic could be good in certain conditions although it features a inclination to peel when the wood beneath it moves. Emulsion could be great for some topcoat finishing techniques if used moderately - really is dependent what you're attempting to achieve. Be also brave and make your personal colours by mixing offers to create a statement inside a specific room.
Make use of several layers with slightly different colours to produce texture.
Then the emery paper - be cautious to make use of the best grade as well as composition as differing types and weights of sandpaper give completely different results - you might finish up using a number of different types on one piece.
Think careful in which you distress therefore it looks natural - where would a classic piece have knocked about where will it be marked from usage? Its really fairly apparent whenever you consider.
Sometimes use the grain and often against it for effect and go slow - you could do more but will need to repaint when you get too caught up. 'Slowly slowly' may be the motto with this type of work.
The important thing stage will be allowing the patina of grime that will accumulate with an old piece - this is exactly what provides it with a convincing feel as well as an aura of authenticity. I saw a cupboard lately made by someone this was colored and sanded back rather badly.
And that is the thing it appeared as if since it did not possess the sheen of 'dirt' that authentic pieces have. How can to get this done well is sort of of the trade secret and it is lower for you to get the best colour mix for that 'antiquing' and using it with subtlety. Again having to pay focus on where grime and muck would naturally accumulate.
For this reason repro stuff looks odd since you cant mass produce this feel well because it needs time to work and artistry to complete well.
Finally you may consider finding some old handles, escutcheons etc to own piece an additional lift - its amazing how this could elevate the design of an item rapidly making it your personal
Happy relicing
No comments:
Post a Comment