Artify your decor
You can customize anything to your own taste and style.
By restoring and customizing your decorations, you can create unique pieces that are one of a kind.
In addition, by restoring already owned pieces instead of purchasing new ones,
you are also reducing material wastes that mostly end up in the oceans
or in giant fires, that create massive quantities of prejudicial gases for
every form of life.
You can start with one small piece and you are already helping to preserve
the fauna and flora of this beautiful planet that we call
Our Home.
The restore of a piece is a process that can change according to the material you will be working with. Every piece's restoration should be divided in stages.
- The first one is, after you've chosen what your restoration project will be, to evaluate the condition of the piece to be restored. Then if necessary, replace any component that might be damaged. This can be as simple as changing oxidated screws, replacing a drawer or a cabinet door, partially or fully.
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The second step can seem like the beggining of the end of your project but, it will
make the next steps more accessible and much easier. What you have to do is to
dismantle your piece into sections. This will enable access to smaller details and
spaces of your piece.
In case you're restoring a dresser, this is the stage where you remove the drawers and doors from their places, keeping in mind where they were. If it's possible, you should also remove all of the decorative or attached parts such as handles, hinges and decorative accessories that are part of the design. If it's not possible to remove everything, you should make sure to cover them with some paint tape and some old journal paper in case, there are larger surfaces than the tape's width.
- Hereafter, there's another important step to take. That is to pick up a sandpaper or a sander with appropriate paper and try to remove most of the superficial layer of your piece. For pieces with many details, it's preferable to use simple sandpapers as they allow better access. If possible, sand the surfaces until you can see the original material under the color or varnish it may have. If that is not doable, sand the surfaces until every one of them is smooth and clean. When you're done sanding, you should get a soft dry cloth and take all of the dust. That way, you can see if you've missed a spot and prepare the piece for what comes next. This is crucial for the longlasting quality of your work since, by taking out the old and worn out coverage, you are creating a clean canvas, to absorb the new layers you'll add, with the restoring you planned.
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The next stage will be the beginning of the greater changes, if that is the case.
In this phase, you are going to be applying a primer to your piece or painting it
with the wanted varnish.
This is a very important step, since the primer serves as a protective layer for
the original material to stop degrading.
The type of primer used for this stage differs according to the kind of piece you are working on.
For instance, if your piece is a dresser, you'll need a proper primer paint for wood.
Similarly, if you are restoring a metallic frame, you'll need a metal adequate primer paint.
Of course, if you don't pretend to change the color of the piece you want to restore, you can apply a single layer of a varnish to protect the original material. This varnish can be incolor or have some sort of color, like a light or dark shade of wood color. There can also be diferences in the texture of the varnish, these are called finishes. It can give a mate or a satin finish to your restored piece, for examples.
- The next thing to do is to add color to the piece. This can be done in many ways. It can be by painting with a colored paint of your liking or lining the piece with some fabric or suitable paper. There's also the possibility of merging the two and in that scenario, the chosen paint should be applyed and left to dry before doing the lining. If you want to merge both and you are working on a piece that is divided in sections like a dresser with removable drawers, you can choose to do whatever you prefer first. That is, being sure that the drawers and the "body" of the piece can dry seperately.
- Now, in some cases, you can set your piece to its place on your decoration, right after you finish the previous step. In other cases, you'll need an extra step which will be to apply some varnish in paint or spray. This final layer adds an extra protection to your work and will help making sure that what you have done will not get damaged anytime soon.
If you're interested in learning more details about restoration projects, here are some general ideas for inspiration and more information on how to do it yourself.
If you'd like some suggestions specifically for a project you have in mind, click bellow.
Coded by Ana Rocha 👩🏻💻