How to paint Provence style furniture?

Everyone wants to give their apartment new changes, update furniture and the entire interior as a whole. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford the purchase of new furniture, especially the involvement of designers and specialists. DIY furniture in Provence style is the most ideal option. For these purposes, for example, an old grandmother’s wardrobe or stool, or maybe your slightly boring table or cabinet, is suitable. The aging technique used in this design will add color to your interior items, make them stylish, unique. Believe me, furniture in such a French style will look delightful in any interior, and sophistication and great taste will not go unnoticed. About how to paint furniture in the Provence style, you will learn from our article.

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Provence Style Features

So, let's say you decide to decorate furniture using the popular Provence style.

Let's look at what features are inherent in it:

• In the Provence style, there is no such word as wallpaper, since they are completely inappropriate, and inaccurate plaster, brickwork or careless coating of walls are more valued. Although floral motifs here will still be relevant, but then the pattern should be small, and the material should be paper.
• The ceilings in this case should be painted white or decorated with a decorative plaster pattern.
• In classic Provence, it would be nice to have a stone or wooden floor. Currently, this is a completely accessible and resolved issue. To create the effect of antiquity, you can put, for example, floor tiles with imitation of stone or wood, the same texture laminate is also suitable.
• Cabinets made in this style should be quite tall and massive, better with carved facades to give sophistication to the shapes.

Important! Before, chests of drawers and wardrobes were locked, so you can also use such an element of decor.

• Do not be afraid to combine pastel colors with saturation. If you don’t like the white walls, pay attention to beige, milky, olive or lavender tones. For example, pink or blue flowers will gently look on a white background.
• Making furniture in the Provence style with your own hands, do not forget that in the end it should be as old as possible, as if it had passed from generation to generation for many years.
• Think carefully about all the small details. Each linen napkin, vase or picture carries its own semantic decision. Remember that the style of a room is a combination of the styles of all objects combined with one idea. Therefore, inspired by France, pay attention to all the elements of the room.
• Do not use glossy surfaces or try to create a modern table or chair. It is necessary to completely exclude modernity, because we need artificial chips, scuffs and cracks.
• Wicker furniture will add lightness and special comfort to your interior. For example, in the Provence room you can use wicker chairs or an armchair.

Important! Wicker items can be made with your own hands, using materials such as a vine or rattan.

• For the French style, forged elements are acceptable. If you have experience in this area, you can create, for example, forged hooks, handles, coasters, shelves or furniture legs.If there are no special skills, it is better not to undertake such a job.

Important! Plastic materials, chrome details and other modern decor elements are not used in the Provence style.

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Do-it-yourself furniture painting in Provence style

Making furniture painting using this style is the most complicated and rather complicated way of decorating, therefore many craftsmen decorate surfaces using decoupage. In this case, not the entire surface of the furniture is processed, but only some of its elements.

The main recommendations for painting in Provence style:

• For work, use water-based acrylic paints - they are ideal for wood and increase the water resistance of the surface. Such paints can be bought in sets and in separate tubes, so you can easily choose the necessary colors of the appropriate volume.

Important! For wooden surfaces, you can use waterproof paint in a spray bottle. Working with such paint is much faster and more convenient.

• Furniture painting is best done with brushes made of artificial materials or with a combined pile. On the market you can buy special brushes designed for acrylic.

Important! If you are a beginner, then we recommend that you do not use brushes with natural hair, as they can spoil the entire workflow. Such brushes work only professionals in furniture decoration.

• In order to paint furniture in Provence with your own hands, it is not necessary to have an art education. To do this, you need only imagination and a great desire to update your old furniture.
• Before you begin, you need to choose a pattern and pick up paints.

Important! For painting, you can use ready-made stencils that greatly facilitate the painting process.

• For painting, use light colors and a few tones darker, since at the first stage we paint the surface in white, and at the second - a tone darker.
• When the furniture is painted in Provencal style, it is necessary to wait until the paint has completely dried, and then apply drawings to the surface of the furniture.

Important! Paint should be applied very carefully, since the Provence style does not accept brute force and layering.

• Draw a sketch with a simple pencil, but be sure to rub the contours before staining, because after staining there may be traces of the original drawing.
• Oil varnish can be applied on top and, after drying, water-soluble varnish.

Important! If after applying varnish blow the surface with a hairdryer, then the picture will turn out to be a little blurry, which will give some kind of carelessness and originality.

• After the varnish has dried, you need to add only pens that can be coated, for example, with gold or bronze paint. After that, we can assume that the restoration of furniture in the Provence style with your own hands is completed. On a table so decorated, you can put a beautiful vase of flowers, a lamp with a lampshade and other elements in the Provencal style.

Below we will consider three main methods for processing furniture in the Provence style: decorating with napkins, using steel wool and paraffin.

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DIY Provence shelf

We will tell you how to decorate Provencal style furniture with napkins. Surely, you heard that napkins with a pattern decorate different surfaces of furniture. This is no exception in our case. Using such a decorating technique as decoupage, you can process not only whatnot, but also more dimensional interior items, for example, a Provence-style cabinet with your own hands. You are ready? Then let's start.

To do this, you must have the necessary materials and tools, namely:

• White or pastel acrylic paint.
• Fine sandpaper.
• Napkins with a picture of Provence.
• Scissors.
• PVA glue.
• Sponge.
• Water based acrylic varnish.
• Powder (for the effect of patina).

When all the materials are ready, we begin decorating the furniture in the Provence style with our own hands:

• First of all, we prepare the surface of the whatnot with the help of fine-grained sandpaper.

Important! Remove old paint until the entire surface is a little rough. Otherwise, the remnants of the previous coating will only spoil the future painting, and maybe the image itself.

• When the surface is cleaned, apply white acrylic paint in 2-3 layers.
• After that, we take a three-layer napkin, cut out the necessary Provence pattern, glue it to the selected place, wipe the remaining glue with a sponge and wait for it to dry completely.
• When the surface is dry, we pass sandpaper around the area of ​​the picture, achieving abrasion of the paint.
• Next - on the surface of the whatnot we apply a water-based acrylic varnish, and after that - powder for the patina effect.

Important! It is not necessary to apply powder on the entire surface of the furniture - for this it is enough to cover only some elements.

• At the final stage, we varnish the surface several times.

Thus, you can update your grandmother’s old Provence-style chair with your own hands. You will decorate your house with an original item and keep a valuable relic for a long memory.

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DIY table in Provence style

Now we will tell you how to paint a table in Provencal style, but first we will prepare such materials:

• Paint.
• Brushes the right size.
• Steel wool (for polishing furniture).
• Cloth for wiping.

This process consists of the following main steps:

• First of all, we process wood. First we use coarse sandpaper, and then fine grained. So the paint will lie flat on the table, over time it will not peel off.
• In the next step, we begin painting the table. Since in the Provencal style it is customary to use calm tones, the gray color is well suited. Carefully paint the surface, including the sides, corners and even the inner shelves.
• Using steel wool, we process the table in the direction of the wood pattern. As a result, dark streaks should be obtained, which must be erased with a damp cloth.

Important! Wipe dark marks until gray remains on the surface, and then wipe them with a dry rag.

• If desired, you can walk several times with a metal brush on the legs of the table, and then wipe them with a rag. Thus, we will add some deterioration to complete the whole picture.

Using steel wool in your work, you can age not only a table and chair - a Provence-style chest of drawers with your own hands will also look amazing.

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DIY Provence style bookcase

Now we will consider one of the following methods of processing Provencal-style furniture using wax or paraffin.

For work, you need to take the following materials and tools:

• Rack for alteration.
• Paints in beige shades.
• Sponge.
• Fine sandpaper.
• Wax or paraffin.

Let's get acquainted with a step-by-step master class:

1. We cover the floor with paper or oilcloth to avoid contamination of unwanted surfaces.
2. If there is paint or varnish on the shelf, remove with fine-grained emery paper until the old cover is completely removed.
3. After that, we rub the entire surface with wax parallel to the growth of wood fibers.
4. In the next step, we begin staining. We take the paint in an aerosol spray can, as it is convenient in painting hard-to-reach spots. We hold the can at a distance of 50-60 cm from the rack and apply the dye with a thin layer for a more even coating.
5. Now we need to give the surface an aging effect. To do this, take a sponge, gradually erase the paint with wax until areas of scuff appear on the surface.
6. If desired, drawings that are characteristic of the Provence style can be applied to the resulting surface of the rack.
7. To fix the effect, coat the surface with 2-3 layers of varnish.

Important! Upon completion of the work, the surface of the rack can be varnished with craquelure to get as many fashionable cracks as possible.

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Stock footage

Thus, using fairly simple and inexpensive means, from old, but favorite furniture, you can make fashionable and original decor elements. Now you know all the secrets on how to make furniture in a sophisticated old French style using different surface treatments. In the process, you will get great pleasure from creativity, having plunged into simple rural life for a while. Provencal style will add warmth and harmony to your home. Create, experiment more, and you will surely succeed!