Fashionable Vintage: 15 Simple Ways to Age Furniture, Textiles and Accessories
Retro motifs in the interior – at the peak of popularity. You, too, can bring them into your surroundings, and it’s not too difficult to do it with your own hands.
1. Painting with a worn-out effect
The most common way to paint your furniture to create a vintage effect is to first apply a layer of contrasting paint, and after it dries, rub it with a candle (the most common one) on the ledges, corners and other places where you want to see scuffs and the effect of the peeling from time. Then cover the item in the base color, allow to dry and go over the areas rubbed with a candle with a spatula or fine sandpaper. The top layer of paint is easy to remove, exposing the contrasting “substrate.
A tip: if your furniture is dark and you decided to repaint it in a light color (or vice versa: the furniture is light and the new planned look is dark), you can omit applying a contrasting “undercoat”.
2. Wax tinting.
To give furniture and accessories an aged look, you can also use waxes. The effect is especially noticeable if the surface has ledges and recesses, or if it is rather textured in itself. Depending on the desired effect, you may want to see a more pronounced effect, but choose a more contrasting one.
For the tinting process, you can combine several waxes for a more interesting result.
3. Stencils
Using a stencil (ready-made or homemade), you can apply a vintage inscription or a distinctive pattern to furniture or an accessory to give the item a retro look.
4. Dry Brush Method
Another method for paint lovers is dry-brush painting. Pick a color that contrasts with the base color – and with an almost dry brush, go over the projections and edges with light tapping motions, simulating scuffs and scratches.
5. Adding Filler Paint
By adding filler to the paint (often quartz is used), you can create a peeling effect in places. Apply the filler paint and after it has dried, gently scrape away the excess with a spatula. However, if you like textured protrusions on the surface of the object, you can not knock them down, it also looks original.
6. Physical Damage
The method is especially good for antiquing wooden furniture, boards, and storage boxes. If you want to physically damage the object, make it look as if it has been physically damaged, beat it with a hammer, scratch it with nails. You can make a mallet out of plywood and self-tapping screws and tap it on the surface to imitate pest-eaten wood.
7. Liquid metals
Liquid metals and oxidizing agents can turn even an object that just came off the assembly line into a vintage object.
8. Moldings
Add a retro touch to your furniture and accessories with moldings by painting them the same color as your object and then gluing them to the surface.
If a gap develops between the molding and the surface, use filler, and when dry, paint the joint.
9. Changing the upholstery
By changing the upholstery of a sofa, chair or chair with retro-style textiles, you will give the furniture a more vintage look.
10. Vintage details
You can add vintage details to an item (or replace existing pieces with other pieces) and its look will instantly change. A pedestal from a Singer sewing machine will turn even the most modern table into a retro piece. Antique fittings can easily transform your furniture, boxes or storage boxes.
11. Paste for volumetric decor
In the assortment of construction stores and in stores with goods for creativity you will find a special paste for creating volumetric decor.
With its help, you can use a stencil and a spatula to create a three-dimensional drawing on the surface of an object, giving it an antique feel.
12. Uneven staining
Is there an artist in you? Give him free rein: deliberately uneven staining is another great way to age your furniture. At once it seems as if the object has been painted and repainted more than once, and its history is counted in decades.
LIFT: For a more pronounced effect, this technique can be combined with others. For example, apply a contrasting undertones or imitate dents and scratches.
13. Tinting with Tea
Textiles and paper can be aged by tinting with strong tea or coffee.
14. Tinting with diluted wood paint
If you stain natural wood and boards with well-diluted (to the consistency of a stain) paint, you are guaranteed a vintage effect.
Tip: You can pre-burn the wood (of course, if it is not painted and varnished) portable torch and go through the metal brush along the fibers, so the effect will be much more pronounced.
15. Decoupage
A simple, proven by many craftswomen way to give an object a vintage spirit is decoupage. By the way, it is not necessary to hunt for special tissues, you can print the image on a laser printer and briefly soak it in warm water before applying it to the surface.