Interior doors always experience an increased load on themselves because they carry a tireless loyal service to a person. That is why traces of time remain on them - spots, scratches, and they often have to be painted. The doors that have lost their freshness can not only be updated, but also made a decoration using the most interesting technique - decoupage.
Decoupage technique
Decoupage is a technique of applique patterns cut out or torn from napkins. Appliques are glued to any interior items: furniture, dishes, textiles or other surface. As a result, you can easily imitate expensive wood inlay or stained glass on glass. Interior doors are solid and glazed. When decorating doors, it is not necessary to remove the doors from the hinges. Another advantage of this creative activity is that it has little time and labor costs. And the result exceeds all expectations.
Preparation phase
To begin with, you need to think over the design of the door so that it fits harmoniously into the overall interior of the room. This includes the color of the door and the selected pattern on the napkins. It is equally important to plan how the drawing will be positioned. It can decorate the middle of the door, its edges, or fill only square openings. In some cases, decorated door frames will look beautiful. Therefore, it is necessary to draw a picture that will give an idea of the final result. Then consult with your family, make adjustments, and only then start work.
Usually the whole design depends on the napkins chosen. They must be purchased in advance. They are three-layer, 30x30 cm in size. You can purchase special decoupage cards. They are kept in cool water for 10 minutes and glued. To glue the napkins, you need PVA glue and a flat brush. Instead of a brush, a small piece of parallon sponge is also used. To fix the picture, you will need acrylic varnish and a wide paint brush.
Before work, the door must be thoroughly washed and cleaned of peeling paint. If necessary, prime with a paraffin candle and paint in a tone that suits the napkins and the environment. That is, the background should emphasize the shades of the picture and contrast with it. For example, warm browns and reds will suit beige doors. Almost all colors of drawings are suitable for white. It is important that the door surface is dry before decoupage.
Decoupage style work
Some craftsmen cut the drawing along the contour with nail scissors. But the drawing will be best if it is carefully pulled out with your fingers. Then the edge will be non-uniform, and this will make it possible to adhere the pattern to the door more tightly, without creases and protrusions. Next, the drawing must be freed from the extra two layers, leaving only the pattern itself. Then the PVA glue must be diluted in a saucer with 1x1 water.
Then, according to the conceived sketch, you need to apply the drawing to the door and, dipping a brush or sponge into the glue mixture, completely coat it on top. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that bubbles do not accumulate under the napkin. To do this, you need to take a dry cloth and gently blot the pattern, passing it from the center of the pattern to its edges so that all the air comes out. The napkin is very thin and fragile, so all this work must be done very painstakingly.
When the drawing is completely dry, the result of the labor must be fixed with acrylic varnish. For this purpose, it is sufficient to cover the drawings themselves. But you can do the whole door. The door will shine and the design will be reliably protected. Decoupage looks very beautiful on the glass of the door: daylight appears through the drawing, and the stained glass is no worse than the real one.
