Features of brushed furniture, the nuances of choice
Natural wood for many centuries in a row has been very popular among builders and designers of residential interiors. This material is characterized by a large number of advantages, including an attractive appearance, naturalness, durability, and wear resistance. In recent years, people's interest has increased in furniture with an unusual antique design. A great example is brushed furniture, which can often be found in many interiors.
What is a
Often when looking at a particular piece of furniture it is almost impossible to understand how old it is. And from this fact he becomes even more mysterious and desirable. But is there an opportunity to buy such interior items at an affordable cost and in a wide range of models? In fact, the modern furniture industry is able to surprise the buyer with new furniture that looks like exclusive antiquity. And they call it brushed or artificially aged. Such interior items are made in several ways:
- mechanical;
- chemical;
- thermal.
The most common is the first method of aging furniture for residential interiors. Brushed furniture is called wooden objects, the surface of which is processed using a special technology of mechanical aging. Masters achieve this effect with a special brush, which carefully process the young wood. As a result, its soft layers are removed, the natural beauty of the solid parts of the material is revealed. The natural pattern of the tree becomes pronounced, shades, acquires a mystery and a thin gloss. To give the surface a certain shade, it is coated with enamel or patina.
Such furniture sets significantly outperform products made of chipboard, MDF, plywood, which are so common in recent years on the domestic market. Brushed tables and chairs, kitchen cabinets and pencil cases will last a long time without losing their high qualities even in adverse environmental conditions. For this reason, they are relevant not only in living rooms, study rooms, bedrooms, but also in entrance groups, corridors, kitchen, dressing room.
The application of technology in practice allows you to more strongly show the pattern of tree growth rings, make its texture more voluminous and voluminous, and diversify the design of wooden furniture. More often than others, to create furniture using this technology, larch, oak, walnut, spruce, ash are used. These types of wood are characterized by an individual pattern, interesting appearance, texture, so the furniture is luxurious, effective, and also has a unique charm.
And from brushing alder, cherry, teak, birch and beech with your own hands at home, you should categorically refuse, since such breeds do not have a pronounced structure. Even an experienced craftsman will not be able to give the natural pattern of such a tree of clarity, conciseness. The surface of the tree will not gain an unusual appearance, beauty.
Pros and cons of technology
Wooden headsets for bedrooms and kitchens, living rooms and study rooms can be aged artificially. This will give the interior items a special charm, make them more respectable in appearance, but at the same time visually light, not bulky.
The process of aging wood furniture is carried out manually, without the use of any chemical compounds, expensive processing equipment. As a result, the surface of furniture sets gain high aesthetics and interesting operational parameters.
The following are the advantages of such furniture:
- high resistance to moisture. Brushed pieces of furniture can even be installed in the kitchen, although this room is characterized by a rather high level of humidity. Treated with this technology the tree will be resistant to dust, pollution, food odors;
- increased strength and, as a result, durability. Antique furniture has been serving for many years without losing its original appeal, practicality. If necessary, refresh the look of the furniture set, you can remove the old lacquer coating and varnish the surface again;
- resistance to external mechanical influences (scratches, chips, dents from impacts do not remain on the surface of brushed furniture). For this reason, do not worry that over time, a TV cabinet or cabinet can “wear out”;
- high aesthetics - due to the fact that the natural pattern of the tree is successfully emphasized, the furniture looks catchy and expensive. We also note the fact that artificially aged constructions are perfectly combined with different types of decorative elements (patch panels, carvings, art forging, curly elements of racks, parts stylized as rural household items);
- environmental friendliness, naturalness - wood is an environmentally friendly material in which there are no harmful chemical components. Similar compositions are not used when brushing wooden structures mechanically, so they will not cause damage to human health. Also, antique furniture does not have any pungent odor.
Another advantage of this technology is that it is quite possible to do it yourself with your own hands at home. Great experience with wooden furniture is not required.
The disadvantages of such products include the fact that they can not always be found in a wide range in furniture stores. Other disadvantages of brushed interior items are identical to the disadvantages of any wooden furniture: low fire resistance, high cost, substantial dimensions and weight. Also note that when choosing accessories for such interior items, it is important to be vigilant. Not all stylistic directions of furniture design will be successfully combined with wooden surfaces with the effect of aging.
How to do it yourself
Brushing can be succumbed to as new pieces of furniture, as well as an old set that has lost its former beauty or acquired too many defects. In addition, the technology is quite applicable to any decor items in a room made of wood. For example, it is quite possible to age a window frame, sconce, hanger or key keeper.
DIY furniture will be an excellent opportunity to show your own talent as an artist decorator, because to put this technology into practice is quite simple and without the help of an experienced furniture maker. To get started, get the following tools and accessories.
Tools and tools for throwing | Appointment |
Special brushes | Needed to clean the surface of the wood from soft layers. |
Fine sandpaper | It will be required for the final grinding of wooden surfaces. |
Stain | Allows you to effectively shade the natural beauty of the picture on wood. |
Varnish composition | It is necessary to complete the process of decorative decoration of wood. |
To appreciate the beauty that aged furniture has, the photo below is presented. The technology itself is carried out according to the following algorithm of actions:
- after thorough processing of wooden furniture, its surface is cleaned with a special brush that squeezes soft wood. The depth of impact on the tree can be changed from a mild degree of processing, which will allow small roughness to appear, to a significant aging of the surfaces, at which the depth of the unevenness of the base reaches 2-3 mm. Experts recommend that only light processing is performed manually, and deep aging is left to machine production. Slivers, dust should be removed immediately, using a stiff hair brush or vacuum cleaner;
- then the tree is ground with fine sandpaper to finally remove the soft layers of wood and give the surface a finished look;
- at the next stage of work, it will be necessary to cover the wooden product with a stain. She will act as a catalyst, starting the reaction of the manifestation of a natural wooden pattern. If there is no stain, you can use tinted protective and decorative impregnation made on a water basis;
- at the end of the work, the furniture is varnished, which will endow it with high operational parameters and resistance to negative environmental factors. In order to protect the furniture set from the negative effects of external factors, as well as to facilitate the housewife’s care for antique wooden surfaces, it is recommended to cover them not just with ordinary varnish, but with deck or parquet varnish on an alkyd basis. It can be matte or glossy at the discretion of the owner of the house.
It is not worth breaking the sequence of operations, otherwise the results of the work may not please, but upset. This method of brushing wooden surfaces is called mechanical. Also today, you can use the chemical and thermal methods to give the wood an aged look. However, experts insist that it is the mechanical method that is the safest for human health. In addition, it is quite difficult to use the chemical method in everyday life on your own, since only an experienced master will accurately mix the chemical reagents that cause the aging of the tree. That is why it is mechanical casting that is most common, and furniture made in this way is valued all over the world.
If you want to diversify the appearance of the headset with the effect of antiquity, you can use the additional decor in the form of any picture. It is implanted in brushed wood independently using a special adhesive composition, which looks very interesting and unusual. The main thing is to choose a picture that will not get bored with time. It can be a floral ornament, an image of an animal or a person in a classical style and the like.
Necessary toolsBrushingFor artificial aging of the tree you will need mechanical treatment and special wood varnishGrinding a textured surfaceColoring of wood fibers for the manifestation of the pattern and textureVarieties of wood tintingTo apply the effect of the crack, you will need a special varnish that forms cracks when driedIn what style is such furniture appropriate
Furniture processed using brushing technology is perfectly combined with any direction of decor of residential premises. This is possible due to the special aesthetics of antique wooden furniture, which looks both modern and rare at the same time. But there are several specific styles in which antique furniture will be most appropriate:
- Provence - characterized by a specific feature - it organically combines modernity and antiquity. In such interiors there are a lot of ceramic products, wooden furniture, stone walls, floors. Provence is simple, shrouded in rustic motifs (low cabinets, wooden shutters, beams on the ceiling are used here). No less relevant in Provence style bedrooms and living rooms are brushed furniture sets, dining groups, picture frames, sconces;
- rustic - this style is often called simple and rude, but at the same time it is modern and concise. A distinctive feature of the rustic style is the use of materials with rough processing or without it at all. Such interior items are perfectly combined with the elegance of decorative accessories in the style of shabby (birdcages in white flowers, ceramic angels). The uncouthness of a natural tree with the effect of antiquity is very useful for a rustic;
- country - the birthplace of this stylistic trend in the decor of residential premises - is a village, so its main feature is called naturalness, simplicity of appearance, environmental cleanliness of the materials used. Country is also characterized by a wide selection of color shades of furniture, which is inherent in antique furniture sets. You can complement their beauty with handmade accessories: towels, napkins with embroidery, knitted pillows of toys. No less successfully complement brushed country furniture and wicker home decoration.
Thus, it is quite simple to enter furniture with the effect of antiquity into a residential interior. After all, her natural beauty and naturalness are successfully combined with a wide selection of materials, color schemes, design techniques.