How To Restore An Old Chest Of Drawers With Your Own Hands - The Secrets Of Updating + Photos And Videos

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Restoration of old furniture: giving new life to the chest of drawers

The times of furniture shortage are long gone, and today we can buy whatever we want for an apartment and a house to our taste. But until now, many owners of furniture items of the socialist era are trying to repair them, give them a new life. And this is not from greed or a keen attachment to things. It's just that an object such as an old chest of drawers may not be trash, the place of which is perhaps in the country, but a challenge to your own imagination and the ability to create with your own hands.

Content

• 1 Restoration of an old chest of drawers: pros and cons

• 2 The restoration process from start to finish

  • 2.1 Cleaning the product
  • 2.2 Preliminary preparation
  • 2.3 Painting work
  • 2.4 Replacing old parts

  • 2.5 Decoupage dresser

    2.5.1 Master class on dresser decoupage (video)

• 3 Another repair option

  • 3.1 Preparation
  • 3.2 Decorative items
• 4 How to restore an old chest of drawers (video)

Restoration of an old chest of drawers: pros and cons

The repair and restoration processes are similar, but have a few significant differences. When repairing old furniture, we simply transform it most often: we remove peeling paint, sand it, apply a new layer, and fasten loose elements. Restoration is a deeper work that goes far beyond the boundaries of cosmetic repairs. In addition, a restored dresser can become more valuable if it was originally a sufficiently original, exclusive piece.

Before deciding to restore an old dresser, conduct a thorough assessment of its value. Inspect the product for tags or stamps indicating the name of the master and the time of manufacture. It may turn out that your chest of drawers is an old piece of furniture art, and by starting to process it, you will lose a truly valuable thing.

An old chest of drawers may be of antique value

Signs of antiquity can be as follows:

• grinding of internal corners as a result of prolonged use of the chest of drawers;
• uneven notch on the fastening screws;
• different distances between the turns of the notch.

The last two signs may indicate that the fasteners were made by hand, and not industrially.

All of the above can be detected with the naked eye. A deeper analysis will be carried out by a specialist whom you invite to evaluate the product. Before the final conclusion, it is not recommended to start restoration or repair work.

The restoration process from start to finish

So, you have decided to restore the old chest of drawers with your own hands. The work will be painstaking, requiring attention and time. Every step is extremely important, so try not to miss anything.

Old chest of drawers in need of restoration

To work you will need:

• putty and glue for wood;
• sandpaper of different grain sizes in the set;
• a hammer;
• set of screwdrivers;
• rubber mallet;
• gloves and respirator;
• toothpicks, toothbrush;
• hardware cleaner (toothpowder is suitable);
• brushes;
• paint and varnish.

Cleaning the product

The old chest of drawers must be cleaned so that the surfaces and decorative details are not damaged. First, wipe the product with a sponge and soapy water. The water should be warm, but not hot, and a chlorine-free laundry soap or stain remover should be used as a detergent.

Antique pieces of furniture, especially dressers, are often decorated with small details and carved inserts. A toothbrush will help you clean them well.

Remove the furniture fittings (this will give you access to the surfaces under the parts to better remove dirt) and rub with a cleaning agent. For example, tooth powder works well for silver.

Use an awl or toothpick to clean hard-to-reach areas such as crevices and corners. Scalding and stubborn dirt can be removed with fine sandpaper. It should be used very carefully, otherwise the finish may tarnish as a result of strong pressure.

If you decide to change the color of an old chest of drawers or cover it with a new layer of varnish, the surface must be carefully sanded.

Preliminary preparation

After the old chest of drawers has been washed and dried well, repair or replace damaged items. Finding the right parts is likely to be difficult. To do this, it is better to contact an antique shop or a carpentry workshop to order the production of the necessary decor items. There you can also get professional assistance in installing parts.

Check how well the screws and bolts are tightened and if the wood is cracked. Remove the rusty or loose bolts: they must be replaced with new ones. Glue small cracks on the surface with wood glue; those that are larger, cover with putty on wood, picking it up strictly in tone. If you plan to later cover the dresser with stain, then use a special putty.

Painting works

Nowadays it is rare to find natural wood furniture in wide sale. An old chest of drawers may not match the modern style of your home. Therefore, in addition to a fresh look, this product can be given a new image. The easiest way is to paint it with one color, for example, white.

Remove the old coating from the surface first. Do this carefully so as not to damage the wood or leave traces of old coating in crevices and corners.

Thoroughly clean the surfaces of the dresser so that no unevenness remains

Now sand the surface to get rid of irregularities and minor imperfections.

Sand the surface well

After sanding, proceed to the putty. Seal all chips and unnecessary holes carefully. After the putty has dried, rub it with fine-grained sandpaper.

Use wood-based paint to paint the dresser. It may be necessary to sand the surface again. To give the chest of drawers a gloss, a layer of varnish can be applied over the paint (of course, after it has completely dried).

Replacing old parts

The old dresser used in our example had iron handles. Of course, they are beautiful and give the furniture an antique look. Unfortunately, some of these pens are hopelessly damaged. The easiest way out is to completely replace them with new ones that are more suitable in style. It's easy to do: drill holes of the required diameter in suitable places and insert the fittings.

Replace old dresser handles with new ones for a modern look

As you can see, the chest of drawers has become completely different: new, modern and exclusive.

New life of old furniture

Decoupage chest of drawers

If pure white color seems to you not enough in order to breathe new life into an old chest of drawers, make decoupage.

1. Paint the surface with white acrylic paint. Let dry well.
2. Cut out pattern fragments from decorative paper napkins. Stick them on the dresser with PVA glue.
3. After everything is dry, cover the dresser with varnish.

That's all, your chest of drawers has sparkled with new colors! Decoupage is good because you can choose any pattern and pattern that your imagination allows.

Master class on decoupage chest of drawers (video)

Another repair option

This method will help you turn an old and boring bulky chest of drawers into a light and elegant piece of furniture. For the transformation, we will take a classic model without any special decorative ornaments: three wide drawers and two small ones.

Classic chest of drawers with three large and two small drawers

You will need the following tools and materials:

• a means for removing an old layer of varnish or paint;
• sandpaper;
• chisel;
• matte putty;
• PVA glue;
• self-tapping screws;
• polyurethane foam decorative moldings;
• wallpaper;
• paraffin;
• water-based acrylic paint;
• transparent water-based varnish;
• 8 decorative handles.

Preparation

Unscrew the handles from the dresser. Examine it carefully from all sides. Pay special attention to the lid and legs: these are the places where the wood is usually the most damaged. If the deficiencies are minor, it is not necessary to eliminate them. But in the case of more serious damage, sometimes it is necessary to replace some parts completely.

Remove old lacquer or paint from the chest. The upper layers can be removed with a chisel; they usually come off easily. Thoroughly rub the remains with emery so that clean wood is visible.

Thoroughly clean the product from old paint and remove the fittings

On places where noticeable irregularities and dents are found, apply mastic with a spatula and level the layer. After drying, sand these areas with fine-grained sandpaper. Do this carefully, do not press too hard, otherwise you will damage the fresh layer of mastic. As a result, the surface should become perfectly flat.

New dresser handles you purchase may be smaller or larger than your old ones. In this case, you need to seal up the holes left over from the old handles that you removed with mastic and make new ones in the right places with a drill.

Dilute PVA glue with water. Use a brush to brush the entire surface of the dresser. You can replace the glue with any primer. When the surface is completely dry, you can start decorating.

Decorative elements

First of all, prepare the main decorative elements - frames for the sidewalls and drawers. They can be made from conventional polyurethane moldings. In this work, the main thing is correct measurements. The frame for the drawer must be positioned strictly along the edge. It is better to make a small indent on the sidewalls.

Size the decorative frames on the drawers correctly

It is also very important to properly trim the corner pieces of the molding.

When you have prepared all the parts for the frames, start attaching them. For greater reliability, fasten the frames with screws, then seal the places where they enter the moldings with mastic so that the caps do not stand out.

Apply mastic to the places where the screws enter the moldings

Now paint the installed frames with acrylic paint. Choose whichever color you like or suits the interior of the room. For example, for a French-style chest of drawers, light coffee or beige is well suited. Apply the paint in several layers, each time until it dries completely.

Stick wallpaper inside the frames. It's good if they have a thick texture and a quirky pattern. The ornament should be darker than the general background. After you finish pasting the wallpaper, carefully screw the knobs into place.

For an original decor, use wallpaper

The final touch is to cover the chest of drawers with transparent varnish. It should be applied in several layers.

Chest of drawers after restoration in the interior of the bedroom

To make the drawers slide out of the slots easily, lubricate the wooden parts of the drawer with paraffin. Sliding will be greatly facilitated.

How to restore an old chest of drawers (video)

As you can see, turning an old bulky chest of drawers into a completely new and attractive interior element is not difficult at all, albeit troublesome. But all difficulties pale before the result of the work. Let us know in the comments about your ideas for restoring and remodeling old furniture. Good luck and comfort to your home!