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| I cannot believe I found such a beautiful piece!!! My first vintage furniture piece :) from L'Atelier Homes in Gastown |
If you have seen my pictures from my birthday setup, you will have spotted the gorgeous painted white vintage vanity I purchased from L'Atelier Homes in Gastown. The moment I spotted this table through the window of L'Atelier, I knew it was the one. I had to have it right then and there! At that time, the table was still not complete, it needed its final lacquer so I had to wait two anxious weeks to bring it home. Those were the longest two weeks imaginable for me.
One thing I found interesting is that antique and vintage are not the same!
Vintage just means old, but is not old enough to be categorized as Antique which means the piece is over 100 years old. For the most part, you are going to be purchasing vintage pieces unless you know the piece is 100 years old.
My new vintage vanity is not a restored piece. It is actually an up cycled piece as L'Atelier Homes gave it new life by cleaning and painting it. L'Atelier Homes focuses on giving pieces freshness by painting and reupholstering the vintage furniture.
A restored piece is when it is brought back to its original state through sanding and re-staining the wood.
Linda from L'Atelier Homes tells us on how to care for your vintage up cycled painted furniture to ensure it remains beautiful for years to come!
First things first, what to not place on your painted furniture! All paint does react differently, but avoid putting any harsh solvents and alcohol based items on your furniture. Plus avoid ALL harsh cleaners. Some examples are nail polish remover, perfume diffusers etc.
When you are cleaning painted furniture, just a damp cloth is good. Avoid using harsh cleaners and excess water as it will lead to your paint from wearing off. Furthermore, wood does not like water! Best to not leave any painted furniture in the rain haha. So lots of water is going to ruin all wood. Personally I just make it a point to wipe it down with a dry cloth once a week to get any accumulated dust off. Since it is an accent piece in my home, no one is eating or drinking on it so I do not see it being dirty enough to need a full cleaning.
Do you need to worry about leaving you painted furniture in direct sunlight? Over time, sun will cause anything to fade, but if you get a white painted piece like me, I would not really worry about it. Plus the fading would occur over time.
If you take care of your furniture, you would never need to have it re-painted. However, anything that is painted does have a possibility of chipping or peeling over time. L'Atelier home does seal all of their painted furniture to ensure there is no premature chipping and peeling, but it can still happen over time. The great thing is, it will make your piece look more distressed which can look pretty chic!
If you are looking to purchase vintage or painted old furniture, these are some things to keep in mind to ensure you are not duped!
1. You want a solid piece that is structurally intact - not wobbly, no broken legs,
2. Less scratches and dents the better - they can be fixed, but avoid it if possible!
3. If you try to lift the piece and it is really heavy, this is a good thing! It means solid wood was used. No one wants to spend a huge amount of money to only end up with press board made to mimick the style of vintage furniture.
4. Look inside the drawers to see how they are constructed. Over time, with technology and innovation, the way things are built has evolved. Older pieces will have dovetail joints instead of glue. Drawers will not be on a sliding metal track, instead it just slides on wood!
I hope this helps you in finding the perfect vintage piece for your home! I feel a little bit addicted to up-cycled vintage furniture because I want replace all my current bedroom pieces!
BYES!
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