Author Archives: Jennifer

How to Decorate a Chest of Drawers

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Sometimes if you buy a piece of used furniture it can be in desperate need of a makeover. If this is true then paint, stencils and glue can be your best friend when it comes to fixing the piece up.
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The easiest way to freshen up an old piece is to paint it a solid color. There are no real rules here but sometimes a glossy paint looks better than a matte finish. You can also sand and restain the piece to make it look better.

Decoupage is a wonderful way to rehab an old piece that has a battered surface. You can paste any type of image on I that you want. However If you choose the right wall paper the results can be absolutely stunning.

Applying gilt to chests of drawers can also make a used piece look more glamorous. Simply apply tissue thin pieces of metal to the surface. It is quite a labor intensive technique but the results are very impressive. Be forewarned that this is one of the most expensive ways to decorate an antique chest.

Nowadays you can also add subtle architectural details like molding or wood appliqués in the same color as the chest. You can also make chess board like diamonds and patterns using contrasting woods.

Adding a French Polish can make the piece look more elegant. This can complete renew and shine the top of a chest of drawers that has a lovely wood grain. It involves building up several layers of polish to create a mirror like sheen.

Another way to make it look new is to buy new knobs and pulls for it. Nowadays there a tons of different styles of pulls including and plain and ornate, jeweled, metal, plastic and wood ones.
To decoupage you cut out pies of paper and adhere them to the surface and then paint it over with varnish so it looks even. The experts say that wallpaper works best as the pattern is already built in and it won’t rip.

If you are really ambition you can create a mosaic out of wood or tiles on the surface of the wood. Drawer fronts can also be decorated with plaster or cement and bits of chipped glass or mirror. Beach glass can transform a battered chest drawer front into an artful collector’s item.

Finally you can vamp up the drawers by adding a top mirror on a swivel. You can buy these in the same color of the wood to extend the piece and make it look more glamorous.

How to Decorate Anything Using Color Combinations

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Understanding color intensity and color combinations in painting is easy once you understand a few of the basics. If you learn how to master color combinations then you can make your paintings much more expressive.

When we use the word color it refers to the whole spectrum of colors. The word hue specifically refers to the pure spectrum of red, yellow and blue. Understanding this can help you create your own color wheel which is of great assistance to you when you are trying figure out the palette you want to use in a painting.

Color intensity is also relative to color values. It helps define form and create illusions of space. It is through the contrasting hues that we can distinguish backgrounds from foregrounds. It is also the key to understanding how to create appealing color combinations. You can also use color intensity to draw attention to a single item in the composition of a painting so that it stands out more than anything else.

The key thing to remember is that if values are close to each other in hue that shapes will seem flatter to look at. There is less contrast. This works no matter what colors are involved.

In theory all hues are mixed from three basic ones known as the primary colors or primary hues. When you mix all three of these colors together they create black which s why they are called the primary colors.

Any color that you are using to paint with is placed at opposite ends of a true color hue circle. These are colors that are desaturated because they have white, gray or black in them. Hues with white are known as tints. Hues with gray are known as tones and hues with black are known as shades.

A complementary color wheel consists of colors that are really tints, shades or tones. On this color wheel the colors are often very warm or cool in nature. Often the warmest colors are placed opposite the coolest colors on the wheel as well.

Hue and value systems in color vary according to different color wheels. Manufacturers, designers and marketing people use different types of wheels. These are digital systems. Two good examples are the Munsell system and the Pantone system. There is no correct color system to use – just the one that is right for you. In fact many of the greatest painters just invent their own color wheel.