Makeover of a Vintage Piece of Furniture with the Colour Zen

Re-Looking Your Vintage Furniture with Zen Colour

Upcycling being my passion, I am always looking for new things to revamp.

In recent years, the style of the 70s has come back in force. Very colourful furniture with original shapes is very trendy and I like it a lot because my head is full of original ideas to honour this decade.

For this project, I was inspired by one of my very beautiful crocheted cushions which was very trendy in the 70s. I chose the very beautiful blue-grey, Zen, from Colorantic to combine these two magnificent pieces of furniture. vintage with this magnificent cushion.

List of Products Used

• Colorantic Chalk-Based Paint: Zen
• Colorantic Cleaner and Varnish Remover
• Colorantic Wax: Bee Natural
• Colorantic Wax: Antique Brown
• European Style Oval Brush
• Snow White Brush

• 120 grit sandpaper

• Book binding machine

• Workshop towel (blue)

By reading the following, you will be informed about the techniques I used for my project.

The Preparation

First, both pieces of furniture required the same preparation.

It is very important to clean all surfaces very well and this is the Cleaner and Varnish Remover

that I used for this step. I took care to spray all the surfaces well, I let the cleaner act for 30 minutes to remove all traces of varnish. Once the rest time was over, I took care to wipe all the surfaces thoroughly twice using a damp cloth, in order to remove all the residue.

Using 120 grit sandpaper, I lightly scratched all surfaces. Although Colorantic paint adheres very well, I prefer to sand lightly to allow the paint to adhere very well. Afterwards, I used damp paper towels to remove the sanding dust.

The Transformation

These are the brushes, European Oval and the Snow White, which were used for the application of the Zen colour. Two coats were enough, because the Colorantic chalk paint has a really good coverage. I waited about forty minutes before applying the second coat of paint.

The Final Step for a Modern Zen Assortment

The finish is very similar for the two pieces of furniture, however I did not apply the wax, Antique Brown, on the sewing bench since there were already a lot of patterns in the fabric and I wanted to keep a clean style instead. .

On the other hand, I applied the wax, Antique Brown, to the corners and legs of the chest to give it an aged appearance. I really like the patina effect I got. The colour, Zen, goes wonderfully with the brown of the wax, a very beautiful combination rich in colours.

In order to properly protect the paint, the clear wax, Natural beeswax, has been applied to all surfaces.

It is very important to polish the wax, Natural beeswax, once applied. So I recommend applying the wax in small sections at a time and using a blue paper towel to buff. At first you will feel resistance and when it is properly polished, you will feel your hand slipping. It is very important to change paper towels after each usage, because they add layers of wax everywhere rather than polishing on the full surface.

Once the clear wax, Natural beeswax is applied on all surfaces, you can immediately apply the tinted wax, Antique Brown.

Waxing can take seven days to cure and sometimes even longer, depending on the humidity level in the house.

Final Touches

Once the work was finished, I covered the seat of the bench with coloured fabric. Using a stitcher, I took care to secure the fabric underneath.

I am very happy to have chosen the very beautiful colour, Zen, for these transformations. These two vintage style pieces of furniture, because this shade does justice to the era of the 70s very well.

Claire Gendron

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