Antiquing To Create Rustic Restaurant Furniture

By Beryl Dalton


The concept of antiquing has received a great deal of negative press due to people faking antiques. However, the methods utilized in creating fakes have other legitimate uses. One such use would be to create the appearance of rustic restaurant furniture to give the family business a new old look.

Chain restaurants have known for a long time that these techniques can be used in this way. Many chains have a particular style which seems antique to the untrained eye. However, no retail food chain would be able to get a business off the ground if the antiques for every location were real.

For various items of wood or metal furnishings, glazing is utilized to create an aged and weathered look. Many do-it-yourself books give specific instructions on how to achieve this particular look, and it can be found in kitchens everywhere. By starting with a light coat of paint, then going to a darker glaze, one can create the look of layers of old paint going all the way down to bare wood.

Often it will be necessary to cover the piece with a primer, being sure to do a light sanding over any glossy surfaces. Then do a full base coat, allowing the piece to dry for several hours, or overnight. At that point the paint and glaze mixture can be lightly brushed on, and then wiped off with a clean cloth to remove excess wet paint and glaze mixture till the desired effect is achieved.

One will want to wipe the glaze and paint coat while it is very wet, utilizing a uniform motion so that any aging or distressing appears to have occurred at the same time. If one is looking to create a marble-look, then rolling on the paint and glaze mixture prior to the ragging off method works best. It is always a good idea to practice with several techniques before deciding how to proceed on a project.

To really make an item look old one can actually chip and hammer at the wood before the painting or glazing even begins. This technique is often used when putting a newer piece into a room filled with antiques. This can really make the room come together.

The easy method to create rust is to simply spatter the hardware with a rust-colored metallic paint, such as one might find in a model car kit. For a more realistic look, the metal hardware can be buried and put outside for a period of time. Some restaurants are probably guilty of utilizing the rust colored paint technique.

Restaurants often utilize rusting techniques for items such as knives, hammers, hinges, or other metal objects they wish to include in their hanging art. In fact, many old-fashioned style tools are recreated for just this purpose, as hundreds of locations may need these. One trick any do-it-yourself artist can do, using old family photos, is to take prints of these old photographs, then place them in antique frames to make them appear to be from the time period.




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