DIY table decor

Do you have a fantasy to decorate old home furniture with your own hands? Take it easy, the result is worth it. You will receive a new piece of interior, absolutely unlike the others, and you will spend time realizing the craving for creativity that exists in every person. It is best to start an artistic experiment with a simple object that has a small flat surface, i.e. think over and execute the table decor. And then, having tried some tricks, having improved your skills, you can proceed to decorating more complex objects.

We make a plan of action

Any work, especially if you are doing it for the first time, requires a clear plan. Performing simple individual points, it will be easier for you to achieve the desired result. Imagine yourself a commander, developing the course of the upcoming battle according to all the rules of martial art. To win, you need to have a clear idea of ​​the terrain, think through a strategy, attract the necessary human resources, bring up ammunition, and also choose the right time to attack.

Having made analogies, make your own algorithm of actions:

• Determine which table you will decorate (kitchen or writing, outdoor or indoor).
• Browse illustrated magazines or photos on interior sites - select interesting samples.
• Learn in theory the favorite method of decor.
• Prepare the necessary materials and tools.
• Adopt the phrase from the movie "Wizards" by the Strugatsky brothers "The main thing is to believe in yourself, not to see obstacles," and you will succeed.

Choose a way to decorate

There are so many options for decorating a horizontal surface that paint lovers, collage makers, collectors of all stripes, and craftsmen from a single piece of pieces will find suitable for themselves. Beginners will completely master the decor of the wooden table with their own hands, and for "advanced users" creating such interior objects can be an opportunity to make a special gift to a friend, loved one or relative. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the stylistic characteristics of the situation of the apartments of these people.

Attention! The decor method should be selected based on the location of the table and the degree of its operation.

The summer table for family meals in the open air will not work decoupage. In this case, a strong coating that is resistant to precipitation and abrasion is required. The game or computer table in the nursery is also subjected to heavy loads, so it must be decorated so that the mother’s heart does not ache painfully when the child “barbarously” paints directly on the surface or sticks clay to it. But the cabinet, boudoir or dresser can be decorated more "gently", because their use does not imply large loads.

Everyone in the soul is an artist

The easiest way to give the old table a new life is to use paint. There are many variations of decoration:

• full monochromatic coloring (a bright small table will become an accent of a room decorated in modern styles)
• Geometrical staining in different colors (in this case the table decor implies a combination of stripes, squares, other figures, visual illusions can be created on its surface, and legs with an underfold can be painted in the main color)
• drawing on a monochromatic surface of a contrasting pattern on a stencil (using patterns in the form of borders, separate elements, central volumetric rosette, fonts)
• art painting a la modern, provence, ar nouveau, variations of Russian or oriental styles (if you do not feel the talent of the artist in yourself to freely paint in your favorite style, copy it and choose a suitable ornamental motif)

To apply a geometric pattern, you will need: a simple pencil, a ruler, sandpaper (coarse and fine-grained), a primer, a quick-drying paint on wood, masking tape, flat brushes of various widths.

Attention! If the color spots are very voluminous, use small rollers with the finest sponge. A roller with a nap or large pores will leave visible marks on the surface. However, if your goal is an additional relief effect, then such a tool will allow you to get it.

We work according to the plan - we get a unique interior object

Having prepared the necessary tools to give the table a new look, follow these steps in sequence:

• Create a sketch of the picture.
• Treat the entire table with a large sandpaper, then carefully go through the fine one.
• If you want to get to the natural wood from the old painted table, you will need special formulations that remove the colorful coating, and a spatula.
• Carefully dust the prepared product (a vacuum cleaner is useful, a well wrung out cloth).
• After complete drying, coat the entire surface with a primer.
• Turn the table over, paint the legs, the base, the wrong side of the tabletop, let the paint dry well.
• Return the table to its traditional position, transfer the sketch to it using a pencil, using a ruler.
• Draw the borders of the first color spot with masking tape.

• Paint over the resulting window (do not put too much paint on the brush, the uneven thickness of the paint layer leads to the formation of sagging, which will not add aesthetic appeal to the object of decoration).
• Carefully remove the masking tape, without waiting for the paint to dry, in order to preserve the clarity of the border.
• Continue painting the shapes one by one. Butt elements can be filled only after complete drying of the previous element and gluing along the line of masking tape.
• After your sketch is completely transferred to the surface of the table, leave the object to dry, and then (if you want to get a glossy surface) cover it with varnish.

Transparent top, tight bottom

An interesting option to decorate a table is to use glass of a suitable size to create a “picture”.

In the first case, under glass, cut out exactly to the size of the table top, are placed collages from any images, antique postcards, photographs, children's drawings, compositions from dried flowers, leaves, fans of sheet music or a page of pre-revolutionary books. Thick glass tightly presses the "exposure", its elements can almost not be glued together. Raising the glass, it is easy to replace the annoying visuals and place a new selection in a prominent place.

In the second case, the edges of the table are decorated with sides of the required height (bars). Over the sides, capturing a small part of them, the glass is placed, and the rest of the width of the bar is decorated with a baguette of suitable width and design. The table and bars are painted, the table top can be covered with fabric (canvas, jeans, velvet), on which collections of small objects (lighters, antique keys, serving items, interesting buttons, embroidery and ribbons, miniature paintings, rare pocket-sized books ). Filling the space under the glass depends on the place intended for the placement of such an unusual object of the interior.