In the northern hemisphere it’s summer. The light lasts forever on a
sunny day, plus hot, dry weather helps paint dry fast.
I’ve spent a lot of time over the years refinishing wood furniture. For
theater shows, I’ve distressed new furniture to look aged, I’ve embellished
plain furniture to look expensive, and I’ve refinished old furniture to look
contemporary. I’ve customized dining chairs as a special gift. I’ve
revitalized junk to make it interesting.
There is one major college and one smaller design school close to my
neighborhood, so students populate many apartment complexes. This means
every summer, as folks graduate and move on, furniture and other bits and
pieces appear in the alleys out back.
We’ve rescued, over time, a small dining table, several bookshelves in
different sizes, a low three legged stool with fancy carved feet (pictured
here), a solid end table, a woven cane-backed arm chair with padded seat, a
set of small wooden chests of drawers, and a child’s wooden table and
matching bench. We have passed up sofas, mattresses, bed headboards, TV
consoles, computer desks, drafting tables, coffee tables, and occasional
chairs of various sizes.
College students are notoriously oblivious to ideas like furniture polish
(my home-made recipe follows) so their old chairs and all kinds of tables
tend to have a nice degraded finish. It’s easy to refinish this sort of old
wood furniture and get a cool result. Other than alleys and sidewalks, good
sources of junky furniture might include thrift stores, your basement, and
Aunty Mabel’s attic.
Age means that you probably don’t need to sand, unless there is peeling
or loose paint, or areas of high shine. Instead, scrub the item with a
barely damp cloth infused with a touch of dish liquid or all-purpose liquid
soap (see recipe in my November/December 2010 column), and then again with a
bit of vinegar to remove all greasy stuff and residue, and you are ready to
work. Oh – and lay out a good-sized drop cloth, canvas, or old sheet to
protect the ground or floor.
Got Stuff?
Need Projects?
Do you gaze forlornly at that stack of odd containers? Are you
puzzled by those old rusty bits in that bucket in the garage? Is
that stiff plastic packaging too cool to toss, but you just don’t
know what to do with it? Maybe you just can’t bear to throw out
those embroidered bell bottoms filled with memories, even though
they haven’t fit you in years. I bet you’re not alone.
You have stuff you’re collecting and need some plans and projects,
and I would love the challenge of coming up with some new creative
ideas especially for you and your stash of "possibilities."
At last, you will feel great about that cardboard you kept for years
– maybe get a jump on your holiday gifts, or hand make some fun –
and cheap – kids’ stuff. Finally your spouse will stop grumbling and
start seeing the potential of that pile of boxes. Well, we can
dream....Tell me what you are saving, hoarding, or wondering about. Email me
your list, even send photos if you have ‘em. And I will do my best
to come up with a new crafty use for it, in a future article. It’s
like Dear Abby for junk!Then once you have created your masterpiece, send along another
picture or link, so that we can all applaud! |
Dyeing Wood
Fabric dyes work well to subtly tint bare or light colored wood. The
color is translucent, so the wood grain shows through, and the finish will
be matte. Generally, I recommend following up with a gloss sealer, varnish,
or wax- based polish to protect the wood. Look for acrylic sealer brands
with low or no VOCs and the seal of approval from ACMI.
I like to dissolve the liquid or powder in only half the hot water
recommended for a cloth dye bath, thus keeping it concentrated. I recommend
rubber gloves to protect your hands. The dye can be brushed on with an
ordinary chip brush or a sponge. Since it will run, it is best to turn the
item so that you are painting across horizontal surfaces. You can add
several coats for depth of color.
Alternatively, you can use regular food coloring to make a translucent
dye for wood. It’s so simple! Add a one fluid ounce bottle of color (and
they can be mixed like other inks) to a half cup of white vinegar. Paint
directly onto the prepared wood. Follow up with polish or sealer.
Gypsy Painted Furniture
This idea is influenced by vividly painted gypsy wagons. I once decorated
a matching pair of chairs this way as a wedding gift. The best type
furniture for this has turned or carved legs, and carved, routed, or shaped
details. You will be painting the details, not the broad expanses of the
back or sides (unless you want to!).
If you want to use painters’ masking tape to separate colors, you can,
but if you have a steady hand this may be unnecessary. If you have acrylic
paint left over from home painting jobs, you can use it, but ordinary
non-toxic acrylic craft paint, especially in gloss finish, also works very
well, since you only need small quantities of three or four of your favorite
bright colors.
With a small brush, paint each small segment a different color, ideally
leaving a wood space between the colors. Allow to dry, then paint a second
coat. Also paint any routed edges or concave carvings. The idea is to
enhance the contrast between the distressed or tinted wood finish and the
shiny colors.
If you like the look of it, use a pencil with a round eraser tip to stamp
some contrasting dots in some sections.
Distressed and Cottage Style
Giving mismatched pieces the same treatment creates wonderful unity. Pale
or pastel finishes with worn edges are easy to achieve on older furniture.
Clean off dust and grime as before. Start by smearing, sparingly with a
sponge, small amounts of petroleum jelly on edges and anywhere else you wish
to enhance the aged effect. It acts as a barrier to the paint. Use the
existing wear as a guide. Don’t be afraid to let prior layers of color show
through.
Paint with white or cream water- based paint or milk paint. This is one
time when perfection is a detriment. Once the paint has dried, lightly sand
along the edges and spots where you previously put the petroleum jelly. Even
a rough cloth will work well. The whitewash should peel away, leaving a
distressed finish. A nice detail can be created with some metallic finish
acrylic paint (or artist’s acrylic) to add details.
These pieces look nice with a gentle aging sheen. I like using tan or
brown shoe polish, smoothed right over the paint with a cloth and then
polished off with another – old athletic socks work very well. Or use the
old fashioned furniture polish below, tinted with icing gel color.
My Old Fashioned Furniture Polish Recipe
In the olden days when I lived in Wollongong, Australia, I made this to
clean the old coffee table and some other hand-me-down furniture in the
house. Melt a ten-inch paraffin or beeswax taper candle with the juice of
one lemon (a scant quarter cup) in a double boiler. As soon as the wax has
melted, pull out the wick and take it off the heat. Slowly drizzle in a
quarter cup of any unsaturated oil while whisking vigorously. Olive oil is
nice – the result can be a pretty pale green – but canola works well too.
You are making an emulsion, which will turn a light color, just like
making mayonnaise. Stop as soon as the last bit of oil is incorporated. (If
you keep stirring, the mixture breaks apart.) Pour into a small storage
container and let it cool. Leave the lid off until the polish is completely
cooled, or the lemon juice can condense out. To prevent mold formation, use
within a month or refrigerate between uses.
To use, apply sparingly with a soft cloth brushed along the grain of the
wood, then polish off with another cloth. It cleans and moisturizes wood
surfaces. Perhaps the best thing about this polish is how nice your hands
will feel after using it.
You can tint the polish with cake decorating gel colors, just like
fondant. Use a tiny bit on a toothpick and stir into a small quantity (a
couple of tablespoonfuls) of the wax. For this, get out your gloves again.
Caution: There is a difference between old and antique. I wouldn’t risk
this home-made wax on antiques or special finishes like gold leaf, which
might react to the acid. In fact, cleaning valuable antiques at all is a
debatable issue – they are probably best left to restoration experts.
These techniques work perfectly well on smaller wood pieces – boxes,
dolls’ furniture, picture frames, or for mixed media or collage art pieces.
Next time: making decorative art for the home from recycled materials using
scrapbooking techniques. (These can be great family gifts.)
Learn More
Here’s a website with some refinishing tips:
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/5-tips-for-green-furniture-refinishing.html
More links on my Making, Mending, Mothering blog
www.robyncoburn.blogspot.com
After a long career designing for theater and independent films,
Robyn Coburn finds her joy as an unschooling mother who also writes and crafts.
She has been a confirmed greenie since working for Greenpeace during her college
years in Australia. Robyn is currently working on two crafty books, a fairy tale
screenplay and a TV series about doll making and collecting. A past speaker and
funshop presenter at Live and Learn Unschooling conferences, she contributes
regularly to unschooling e-lists. She lives in Los Angeles, California with her
husband James and ever inspiring daughter Jayn. Contact Robyn by email at
dezignarob@gmail.com or visit her at
www.robyncoburn.blogspot.com
and www.Iggyjingles.etsy.com.
This is one of a limited number of articles from Natural Life magazine
that are available on this website for free. To read more articles like this, please
subscribe.
