Decoupage options. Decoupage styles - Victorian style

Decoupage- this is a universal art of decoration, which largely depends on trends in the field of interior design and, thanks to the flexibility of techniques, “adjusts” to requests and individual preferences.

Originating as the art of imitating artistic painting and inlaid surfaces using paper cuttings, today decoupage is a whole movement of decoration and art, combining a wide range of techniques, effects and work styles.

Types of decoupage

There are five types of decoupage - direct, reverse, artistic, volumetric and decopatch. All of them are radically different from each other, although they are united by basic technology.

STRAIGHT OR CLASSIC

Direct, or classic decoupage is a decoration during which a picture is glued directly to any type of surface, evenly, smoothly and efficiently using a dry, wet or hot method, depending on whether you use decoupage cards, rice paper or napkins.

After gluing, it is varnished and sanded until an absolutely smooth texture is formed. Depending on the artistic task, the surface and the motif itself are further processed - tinted, aged, added volume, etc.

REVERSE DECOUPAGE

Reverse decoupage is a technique for decorating transparent surfaces, mainly glass, during which the motif is glued to the reverse side. When working with glass, the whole sequence is in reverse order, because the surface to be processed is in front of the front side of the picture.

ART

Artistic or smoky decoupage is an imitation of full-fledged artistic painting using various techniques and effects of completely combining the background and the pasted picture into a single artistic canvas.

VOLUME DECOUPAGE

Volumetric decoupage is a technique for creating painting with a relief, three-dimensional surface, close to a mixture of painting and relief, bas-relief in sculpture. Volume is created using structural paste, fabric or natural materials like an eggshell.

DECO PATCH

Decopatch is a type of decoupage, also called patchwork decoupage. The surface to be decorated is not decorated with motifs, but is completely filled with fragments of paper to imitate a patchwork quilt. The work is usually done with special paper for decoupage, which imitates the texture of fabric or the pattern of individual natural furs and materials, but decopatch can also be done using conventional decoupage products.

Decoupage styles

Among the decoupage styles today, the leading positions are occupied by country in the representation of French Provence, shabby chic (we will dwell on them separately), Victorian style (conservatism, classics, mahogany, aged luxury, aristocratic fabric patterns, noble colors), military (khaki, strict forms, metallic trim), simplistic (or empire style with a dominance of white, curls, ruffles, lace motifs, medallions) and ethno-trends (in particular, rustic style).

PROVENCE

Provence is often called a separate style, although in fact it is simply one of the French country movements. The rustic style with its appeal to the romance and simplicity of a provincial house and everyday scenes, rural flavor in decoupage most often appears in national representations:

• in the English sentimental genre, with its checkered fabrics and floral motifs;
• in American country with botanical illustrations and bright colors;
• in French directions - restrained Norman and warm Provençal.

The latter is a leader among country motifs, distinguished by the dominance of cold rather than warm colors, in particular white, rough natural textures and aged surfaces with rare color accents, decoupage motifs associated not with floral variety and patchwork, but with lavender, herbs, wine, grapes, marine theme.

SHABBI CHIC

Shabby chic, also known as shabby chic, is an appeal to cozy grandma's homes, emulating antiquity with a white or light pastel base and pastoral motifs with flowers in leading role, with an abundance of cute details, lightness and romance of the image.

Decorative effects

In decoupage, in addition to the actual gluing of motifs, auxiliary decorative effects are actively used, which make it possible to achieve the desired aesthetics of the surface texture.

The basic effects of decoupage include aging techniques (attrition, craquelure, patination), shading, toning and gilding (potal).

ATTRITION

The abraded effect helps to achieve the visual sensation of a surface that has already been used, worn over time, and belongs to aging techniques along with craquelure and patination. Most often, abrasions are needed for shabby chic decor to create a sense of rich history.

Abrasions are applied by rubbing the desired surface areas with wax before painting and rubbing them with sandpaper after it dries.

CRAQUELURE

Craquelure is the creation of artificial cracking for the visual effect of an antique texture. It is made using special varnishes, which are applied between two layers, usually of contrasting paint (the background is the color of future cracks). After the top layer has dried, cracks of the desired sizes and shapes appear on the surface as a result of exposure to the craquelure composition.

There are single-phase, two-phase means for craquelure, different techniques for applying strokes that determine the nature of the cracks and their size.

PATINATION

Patination is an imitation of darkening of a surface, which in its natural form appears as color changes as a result of frequent contact with hands. Most often, patina, which can be either dark, black, or colored or metallic, is applied to the edges and corners.

SHADING

Shading, or applying shadows, is a technique by which pastels or paints are applied with a dry brush or sponge to mask the boundaries of the design and soften the lines on the glued motif.

Shadows are applied depending on the tone of the surface on which the motif is glued and allow you to create a soft transition or a more harmonious effect of muted painting. Most often used in reverse decoupage on decorative plates.

TINTING

Tinting is the application of colored spots or coloring of an already decoupaged surface, including varnish treatment with the addition of sparkles or small particles. It is performed for the same purpose as shading, but to change or add variability and picturesqueness to the color palette.

POTAL

Potal, gilding and silvering are the processing of an already glued image or the surface of the base using gold, silver or other metallic paints or sheets of analogues of gold leaf, which give the effect of precious inlay.

Decoupage is a rather interesting art direction aimed at decorating objects. Its distinctive feature is cut out paper, cardboard or fabric pieces glued to the base, that is, the object to be decorated. After this, the surface is painted, varnished or subjected to any other decorative treatment. Thus, the surface of an object decorated using decoupage gives the impression of painting or inlay.

Various surfaces can be decoupaged, for example, wood, glass, porcelain, plastic and even ceramic. Using this technique on mirrors, pieces of furniture or walls, you can add variety to the interior and update the style of the room, as well as express your creativity.

Like any other art direction, decoupage has its own popular styles, which today include Victorian style, Provence, shabby chic and simple city.

Various surfaces can be decoupaged, for example, wood, glass, porcelain, plastic and even ceramic

Victorian style

The Victorian style originated in England during the period when Queen Victoria was in power. The characteristic features of this style are neatly combined classics and luxury. Decorative items and furniture have gilded patterns, and among the colors, dark tones are most often found, such as burgundy, creamy beige, dark green and many others. Items that serve as interior decoration in the Victorian style are most appropriately made from natural wood. This style creates the impression of luxury, grace and comfort.

Provence style

The Provence style began its existence in one of the provinces in the south of France. This style is distinguished by the fact that it can highlight the features of discreet antiquity and French elegance. As for shades, this style is characterized by all light tones, which symbolize colors that have faded from sun rays. Most items have uneven surfaces, and you can also notice decor that imitates wear and tear from time to time. When decorating objects in the Provence style, professionals resort to various techniques of artificial aging of materials.

Shabby chic style

Translated from English language the name of this style means shabby or worn, shabby. Shabby chic, compared to other styles, appeared quite recently, only forty years ago in Europe. Its appearance is associated with people who turn to objects on which the passage of time is clearly visible. It has become fashionable to decorate your home with antique furniture, paintings and other decorative elements.

This style has also successfully spread in decoupage. The specialists liked to make things that had a “history”. In addition, it is important to note that, along with high modern technologies The shabby chic style allows you to return to the old days and take a break from civilization, which is sometimes too much in our lives. In terms of the elements used and color design, this style is very similar to Provence. When performing decoupage, they are also actively used various techniques aging objects.

Personal experience

Simple City style

Simple City is considered a big city style. This style symbolizes modern world, it does not require large expenses, since it does not have to provide for a long service life. The main feature of the style is precisely the brevity and immediacy inherent in modernity.

In decoupage you can highlight five main types:

1. straight (classic);
2. back;
3. artistic (smoky);
4. volumetric (3D decoupage);
5. deco patch (patchwork).

Each of them is significantly different from the other, although they all have one thing in common - basic technique for doing the job. The choice of one type or another depends, first of all, on what surface needs to be decorated and what effect you want to achieve.
Let's look at all these types in more detail.

Direct decoupage (classic decoupage)

This is the most famous, widespread, and, at the same time, the simplest type of decoupage. Here, it sticks to the surface. The picture can be cut out (or torn out - depending on the source material) from: decoupage napkin, rice paper, decoupage card or printer printout.

The picture is glued to the surface of the product using special decoupage glue or PVA glue.

The picture is pasted onto any pre-treated surface to be decorated: wood, metal, ceramic, glass, plastic.

The picture is glued onto the surface evenly, without wrinkles and air bubbles, and this is done in any of the following ways: wet - using a file, - using an iron, or ordinary - the picture is applied to the surface and coated with glue on top. The method is chosen depending on what kind of picture you are using and what it is from.

After gluing, the picture is thoroughly dried in air or with a hot hair dryer, and then covered with several layers of finishing varnish. It is recommended to do intermediate sanding between layers of varnish so that the surface of the product becomes even and perfectly smooth.

Direct decoupage differs from simple applique in that it uses special types of paper, methods of gluing them to the surface and the final result. In direct decoupage, the picture almost completely merges with the background of the surface and does not protrude above it; the edges of the picture, as it were, are written off with the background.

The picture itself, if necessary, can be additionally tinted or decorated in some other way.

Before applying layers of finishing varnish, the product can be aged - make a craquelure.

Reverse decoupage

The very word “reverse” already suggests that in this type of decoupage everything is done in the reverse order - the whole process of work is done exactly the opposite. This type is used mainly on transparent surfaces, on transparent glassware - plates, dishes, stained glass, etc.

The picture is glued to the reverse (back) side of the object being decorated, for example. As a result, the picture is visible through the glass.

The sequence of work for reverse decoupage is approximately the following: craquelure (if necessary), decoration, gluing a picture, applying layers of base paint, fixing the work with varnish.

Often the work also uses artistic painting of the background, i.e. element of artistic decoupage.

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Artistic decoupage (smoky decoupage)

This is practically the same as direct decoupage (or reverse), however, here additionally there is an artistic underpainting (with the help of paints) of the picture and its copying, thereby, completely with the background of the surface. In this case, the connection line becomes completely invisible, the picture completely merges with the background color of the product into a single artistic canvas. Artistic decoupage can also be called imitation of artistic painting.

This type of decoupage is used, for example, if you have a picture that does not cover the entire surface of the product, it is small. In this case, the picture is glued to the surface, and then the empty spaces around it are painted in the style of drawing a picture. Skilled craftswomen do this in such a way that then you can’t even tell where the picture is and where the painting begins.

This is the most difficult, and at the same time, the most beautiful view decoupage The quality here depends on the skill of the decoupage artist.

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Volumetric decoupage (3D decoupage)

This type of decoupage is created on surfaces with bulges, reliefs, and irregularities, which are created there using texture pastes, drapery made of fabrics, paper, and other natural materials (shells, etc.). The result is not a simple smooth surface, but a surface close to a bas-relief or fresco.

This type of decoupage is not at all simple and only fairly experienced craftswomen can do it beautifully.

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Decopatch (patchwork decoupage)

This is a kind of mixture of decoupage and patchwork. The product is decorated with pieces of paper glued on the principle of patchwork. The product ends up looking like a kind of patchwork quilt. The work uses special deco patch paper - it most often has floral or ornamental patterns. Pieces of such paper are glued overlapping each other, and as a result a mosaic effect is created. This paper is very thin.

The products themselves can be of any shape, however, most often they are some kind of figurines of animals or birds made of papier-mâché, or pieces of furniture. The products are completely covered with paper fragments. Then they are decorated (if necessary) and varnished.

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When we do some work, sometimes we don’t even think about what types or technologies we use. But now, after reading this short article, it will be easier for you to navigate this wonderful needlework and its types.

Decorating a kitchen in the decoupage style has its own nuances, so we will analyze its features in detail, with specific recommendations and visual photos.

Species

First of all, you need to understand the key question: what is it? Essentially, decoupage is decoration various items drawings, painting, mosaics followed by varnishing.

It pursues two goals at once: to decorate the selected furniture or accessory and to ensure the safety of the coating.

There are several types of decoupage that are used in the interior. They differ both in style and in color scheme. Let's look at them in more detail:

• Simple City is the style of a big city. This technique is deliberately emphasized; various papers are used in the work, including newspapers and unusual wrappers. Characterized by torn edges, layers overlapping each other and a certain deliberate negligence - all this is very easy to do with your own hands.
• A special technique is also used for the popular. Here you will have to work on creating the effect of “former luxury”. Aging techniques are used to create the appearance of antique items.
• Elegant Provence is characterized by light, airy tones and landscape motifs. Try to create an imitation of colors faded in the sun - this is even welcome.
• Victorian style combines pretentiousness and understated classics. Use gilding, dark colors, scenes from classic paintings. It is the most difficult to implement, since it does not allow blots and requires an ideal structure of paints and decor.

Believe me, choosing the right option for any interior is easy. Let's see how it is used in practice.

Finishing

Agree, a kitchen using the decoupage technique looks cozy, beautiful and greatly domesticates the room. It can be used on almost any plane - but the technique is slightly different. We suggest considering the following points:

All this decorates the kitchen, but if you need a truly cozy and extraordinary design in an apartment or private house, think about decoupage of kitchen appliances and furniture.

Decorating the environment

Even if you don’t have the time, energy or money for a full-scale renovation, you can update the interior - decoupage is an ideal option for this.

Ordinary wooden chairs will turn into designer exclusives; you just need to select a beautiful image and carefully transfer it to the seat. In this case, no special costs are required: glue, paper, varnish. Agree, nothing complicated.

Decoupage is especially well suited for Provence-style kitchens: floral motifs, small landscapes, soft pastel shades. All this looks very gentle and stylish.

If you plan to decorate the back, the list of materials will expand: use old curtains and curtains. And this is not to mention paper and just paints. An unusual and fashionable technique. The main thing is that the fabric has a twist: lace, original patterns, batik.

The facades of hanging cabinets and furniture look good in this technique.

Design advice: If you don’t want to decorate everything with the same drawings, try making several plot paintings that continue each other in meaning. This will require some effort, but the result is definitely worth it.

By the way, when choosing a pattern for decoupage, remember the scale: in small-sized kitchens it is better to use small and subtle ornaments, and in spacious kitchens large elements are suitable.

Don't ignore household appliances. Of course, decorating a hob in this way is not best idea. But the oven door, refrigerator, microwave are fine. Moreover, these are flat surfaces that do not require pre-treatment- except for degreasing.

Lay out a mosaic of pieces of fabric or make a complex pattern on the entire plane. Alternatively, you can make a thin border around the edge of the device. It looks very stylish and natural.

A tabletop decorated in a similar way is also a good move. The only thing is that you need to choose the right heat-resistant varnish, otherwise the coating will be damaged due to the hot plate or pan placed.

Don't forget about the little things - we'll talk about them separately.

Decorating the decor

It would seem, why add all sorts of accessories to decorate? But they are the ones who help create the overall atmosphere. Various small items for decoupage are an ideal choice. In addition, the technology is so easy that even children can handle it.

It's best not to touch pots and pans unless you're just going to put them on a shelf and admire them. But all sorts of salt shakers, cutting boards and decanters are what you need!

If we are talking about dishes, be careful about the coating - you need a non-toxic varnish.

Several identical objects, painted with similar designs, look more profitable than duplicating the same picture - for example, towel hooks or a set of glasses.

In principle, almost anything can be decorated in this way - including watches and even cutlery. True, the latter require painstaking work, especially if you plan to decorate the entire set of forks and spoons.

By the way: Outdated cutlery will make a wonderful pendant using the decoupage technique.

As you can see, the method is not complicated, but beautiful. Its remarkable feature is the ability to decorate almost any element of the interior. Given the low price and affordable materials, most of which are always on hand, this is a great way to decorate your kitchen yourself.

Decoupage - great opportunity self-actualization, decorating everyday objects, bringing individual uniqueness to the interior. And, of course, a household life hack is one of the most unusual ways to save money, because by learning this art, you can quickly create a gift “ self made", which does not require large material investments, but the memory from such work remains for a long time. In terms of beauty, a thing made using decoupage sometimes surpasses any painting or factory craft.

What is decoupage

Decoupage as a term comes from French word decouper (cut). This technique involves the ability to very carefully cut or tear a design and apply it to a surface so that it ends up looking like a single piece, like a painting.

The main task of the decoupage master is to remove and make invisible the boundaries between the surface to be decorated and the pasted pattern, as well as to harmoniously select the necessary patterns, which, like the details of a mosaic, or “puzzle,” will ultimately create the appearance of the final work.

Brief history of origin

This technique was first used in Ancient Egypt, when papyri with texts and drawings were pasted on the walls and rubbed over with transparent resin to prevent damage and erasure of the paper.

Further in the history of the emergence of decoupage there are references to the fact that nomads in Eastern Siberia They decorated the graves of their ancestors this way. And it was they who later transferred this art to China, where in the 12th century they created bright colored paper - cutout, which decorated windows, screens and the famous paper lanterns.

After the opening of sea and land trade routes to China, decoupage also appeared in Europe.

And here you can already find the first written mentions of decoupage as an art form. Carved pictures began to decorate furniture in Germany in the 15th century.

In the 17th century, a fashion for oriental goods arose in Venice, but since not everyone could afford the original products, resourceful furniture makers imitated expensive oriental inlay, creating the illusion of exclusive antiques.

They specifically hired people who transferred the plots of the paintings famous artists using colored paints on paper, after which these pictures were glued to the surface of the furniture and covered with several layers of varnish. The result was beautiful furniture, similar to things made by masters of Japan and China. Products made in this way became known as lacca contrafatta (lacca- varnish, contrafatta — fake).

Was very popular at that time art painting walls, ceilings, furniture, but the work of invited artists was very expensive, so the idea was soon born of taking paintings by little-known artists, cutting out the necessary fragments, which were glued to walls and other surfaces and covered with varnish. Therefore, at that time, decoupage was called the art of the poor (since economy was put at the forefront).

Decoupage is an art for rich and creative people

But over time, it became clear that even kings could not afford to invite Leonardo Da Vinci to their home to paint a fireplace, since such geniuses painted some paintings for many years, so decoupage quickly became famous among very rich and creative individuals. It is known that in France, Marie Antoinette introduced the fashion of decorating jewelry and interiors in this way.

Picasso's biographers also noted his passion for this type of art, and absolutely everything was decorated, from wig blanks to walls and carriages.

England is the founder of the modern concept of “decoupage” as a hobby. It is impossible to talk about the history of decoupage without mentioning the name of the artist Mary Delaney (1700 - 1788). Mary created realistic and highly detailed images various types plants using cut out pieces of paper. Mary Delaney's delightful works, which she called “paper mosaics,” can still be seen in the British Museum today.

In the mid-19th century, a craze for this art began in England, and then so-called collections of pictures on large sheets (modern decoupage cards) were released.

During the First World War, decoupage ended up overseas, in America, where it immediately developed and gained incredible popularity. It was there that this type of art became an obligatory component of all design solutions in the homes of even the richest and most fastidious people.

However, after the Second World War, interest in decoupage practically disappeared, and only relatively recently it regained mass popularity, and I hope we will only contribute to the development of this wonderful type of creativity.

Main types of decoupage

There are five main types - reverse, direct, volumetric, artistic and deco patch.

Direct decoupage(classic) - here the image is glued directly to the surface (glass, wood, leather, plastic, metal, fabric, ceramics...) There are 3 directions of direct decoupage:

Decoupage using photos(a feature of erasing the paper layer and applying only the remaining photographic film, which gives a very thin, bright and beautiful design);

Transferring a design from paper to surface(the surface is covered with white acrylic paint, a drawing is placed on it with the image facing down, we wait for it to dry, then we moisten the paper and roll it up, as a result a print of the picture remains);

Decoupage using a special decoupage varnish(a special varnish is applied to the picture in several layers, wait for it to dry, after which the image is immersed in water and the paper is carefully removed, and the remaining varnish film with the imprint is already pasted onto the decor item)

Reverse decoupage - here the design is glued to the glass surface from the reverse side, with the image facing inward. This technique is good for cymbals because... the outside remains clean and usable. This technique combines perfectly with artistic decoupage.

Volumetric decoupage– the essence is to use three-dimensional materials to decorate any surface – fabric drapery, the use of modern texture pastes, beads, stones, shells, egg shells, in general, everything that your imagination allows. Most often, such decoupage is found in paintings, as well as in the decor of watches.

Artistic decoupage— the principle is to erase the boundaries between the pasted image and the background through the use of various artistic techniques, which ultimately leads to the creation of a holistic image that looks like a single hand-painted painting.

Decopatch– this type of decoupage is based on the technique patchwork when the entire surface is covered with small pieces of paper. For deco patching, special paper is used that imitates various surfaces (fabric, fur, wood structure), but you can, of course, also use regular paper (napkins, decoupage cards). Decopatch looks best on large pieces of furniture.

Sospeso technology Tresparente (air-movable) is the original technique of Italian designer Monica Allegro. The essence of the technique is that a motif is glued onto a special thermal film, and during the heating process the flat pattern is given a three-dimensional shape and a new texture.

Decoupage styles

Stylistically, decoupage can be divided into Provence, ethnic, Victorian, shabby chic, simple city and printroom. But this is only a small well-known part, because literally every day new trends in this art form are born.

Provence originated in France in the province of the same name and personifies all the romance, tenderness and simplicity of the village. Images of flowers, lavender fields, scenes from rural life. Surface aging is actively used.

Ethnic style characterized by bright details related to a specific culture or country: these can be various fabrics, animal skin, the use of traditional ornaments. It appeared with the development of tourism to decorate various crafts with ethnic motifs.

Victorian – this decoupage style harmoniously combines classicism and luxury of palace life. The style originated in England during the reign of Queen Victoria.

Shabby chic - shabby chic - imitation of antiquity using a white or light pastel base and delicate, laconic motifs with flowers, with an abundance of cute accents and the use of blurry patterns. This style helps to create a unique coziness in the home.

Simple City - simple urban style. Scraps of old newspapers, magazines, and torn edges of drawings are used in decoration. Quite a popular style. Roughly speaking, decor is made from scrap materials that can always be found in the house.

Printroom - This style uses photocopies of 19th century drawings in black and white on a pale pastel background. Works using this technique look very impressive.

Decorative effects for decoupage

Naturally, in decoupage there are many special and rather cunning ways of gluing napkins and other drawings to create incredibly beautiful works, but in order to give the work a finished look and liken it to an object of high art, craftsmen everywhere use various decorative effects for decoupage and their combinations. Let's look at the most common of them.

Aging the work– craquelure, abrasion and patination are used here. Crackle– creation of artificial cracking of the surface by using special varnishes.

Attrition – most often used in shabby chic style. The necessary places are rubbed with wax before applying paint of the required color, then sanded with sandpaper. Patination- This is a technique also aimed at visual aging of the product, which occurs from frequent contact with hands. Usually the corners and edges are rubbed.

Shading – mainly used when it is necessary to erase boundaries, creating smooth transitions between the picture and the background.

Toning - this is the creation of color accents on necessary places. Bright colors and glitter can be used.

Potal - the use of gold or silver paints and sheets similar to gold leaf, allowing to achieve the effect of precious inlay. Often used in Victorian style work.

In conclusion, I want to say that the apparent simplicity of decoupage in practice turns into a lot of questions. Therefore, in this article we got acquainted not only with the history of its origin, but, albeit superficially, also with the main types, styles, methods and techniques for applying and completing decoupage.

After all, only knowing all this can we create real decoupage masterpieces, which can rightfully be called works of art. Although, of course, theory alone is not enough; constant practice is also needed. In addition, we have not yet considered the main types of drawing patterns on surfaces. Therefore, if you are interested this direction creativity and art, go to the next article, as well as mine, and much more.