Everyone needs a little change once in a while. Whether it is change of place, a change of job or even a change of a piece of furniture in the house. A minute change can sometimes turn out to be a major driving force of inspiration and refreshment. Something as minute as changing the way your room looks or transforming a piece of furniture by decoupaging it can do wonders. What do you mean by decoupage furniture? Well, let's find out more about this wonderful and inexpensive way to have pleasant looking and creative furniture, shall we?
How to Decoupage Furniture
To decoupage furniture, you need to know what exactly it involves. It is basically an attempt to make something new out of an old and worn out piece of furniture. It involves the cutting and pasting of pieces of different materials on the furniture. You can experiment by trying to decoupage furniture with fabric or also try paper. Both the options are very good and will look equally pretty. You can decoupage on wood or you can use any other surface to decoupage. The basic point that you need to keep in mind is that the surface you use is smooth and does not have any cracks or bumps on it. Only then can you paste your pieces properly. You can use the same method for paper and fabric too. If you think of using paper, make sure you use paper that is slightly thick. You'll be using decoupage glue, which is quite strong. So if you use something like a newspaper cutout, it won't stick well. Plus it will look really messy and ugly, because the glue will make the already thin paper even thinner and translucent. Therefore, use something like a glossy magazine cutout, wallpaper cutouts, poster pictures, greeting cards, photographs, etc. Given below are step by step instructions on how to decoupage fabric onto furniture. Read them and get ready to give your wood furniture a great makeover.
Steps to Decoupage Furniture
- First, decide what piece of your furniture you'll be using.
- Once you've decided that, select a theme or idea that all the cut outs will revolve around. Cut out all the pictures you want to use according to this theme.
- Then, take the piece of furniture, let's say a chair, and remove its outer most layer of covering and scrape the base with sandpaper so that it has a smooth finish.
- Next, give it a coat of water based primer so that the cutouts stick well.
- After the primer dries, goes a coat of latex paint in any color you wish.
- Then place the cutout to check and decide their placement.
- Once you've decided the placement, all you have to do is stick the cutouts in their designated places.
- After you stick them, use something with a thin edge (a plastic card or an ice cream stick) to flatten each cutout.
- Wipe off all the extra glue that seeps out from the edges with a rag.
- Paint a layer of varnish on this, so that it does not get damaged.
- Allow this piece of furniture to dry out for at least a day or two. And then you can begin using it.
- If you want a rustic decor, you can take pictures of anything antique. Give these pictures a black and white or golden effect and you'll have wonderful antique pictures to use.
- You can also collect all your old family pictures and make a picture collage on a coffee table or a work desk.
- Another idea you can use is cut out pictures of things that your child can identify easily. Shapes, flowers, colors, fruits, animals, etc. Make cutouts and stick them on his or her desk. Change the cutouts as he or she grows.
