Saturday 15 June 2013

Home is where the art is: wooden box restoration




A large number of the items in my flat are the result of upcycling projects and pieces I found in skips, and tips in need of a good home. I felt it would make perfect sense to add these projects to the blog. 



I found this box in a skip in a rather affluent area of town. As well as the box, I acquired a printed wine box, a wooden sewing box complete with full vintage sewing kit, and two ornate terracotta planters. Having a van is a curse as well as a gift, as you have no excuse not to pick these things up and breathe new life into them!

What particularly drew me to this box was it's rather odd curved hinged lid. 

You will need:
  • Sand paper
  • Wood paint (satin finish)
  • Primer in complimentary colour
  • Paint brushes
  • White spirit if paint is oil based
  • Wall paper/lining paper
  • Spray mount
  • Clear varnish
  • Pencil
  • Tape measure
  • Scissors
  • Felt to cover the base
  • All purpose glue
  • Fixtures and fittings for the box: Hinges, safety latches, handles. I chose ornate brass ones
  • Drill for adding fixtures and fittings.

How to do it:
  1. Clean and sand the box inside and out. I also removed the rusty hinges and cleaned the area.
  2. Paint two coats of primer, leaving to dry in between each coat.
  3. Paint two coats of Wood paint, leaving to dry in between each coat.
  4. line the inside of the box by carefully measuring each face, cut out your pieces of paper, spray mount and glue in place.
  5. trim excess edges. 
  6. Seal the lining paper by adding a coat of varnish over the top
  7. Measure, mark out and add your fixtures and fittings.



Materials Details
Wood Primer from B&Q: Colour 'Grey'
Satin Base Wood and Metal Paint from Valspar (supplied and mixed by B&Q): Colour 'A Night at Ice Castle'
Wallpaper from B&Q
All fixtures and fittings from B&Q
Felt from Fabricland

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