When I get a piece of furniture that I’m planning to re-do, I rarely immediately have a vision of what I’m going to do to re-do. That’s how it was for this French Patisserie cafe set re-do it.
The table and bench had been pretty rough when I got them. They were really dirty too.
Thank goodness for Fusion TSP Alternative. Mixing a couple Tablespoons in a bucket of warm water I was able to scrub off all the old goop and dirt.
The bench was also in need of a bit of repair.
I had to patch some holes and replace the bottom part of the seat storage. It was originally a thin, flimsy pressed board that was bowing out at the bottom edges. I replaced it with a sturdy piece of pine lumber.
The table top was still a mess even after cleaning.
Besides missing most of the original finish, it had permanent marker and ink stains on it. To prevent bleed through of those things, I primed it with a quick coat of Bin shellac based primer.
The shellac based version will seal up raw woods that tend to bleed tannins, and successfully seals up marker and ink from bleeding through the paint finish.
The parts of this set that weren’t getting primed with Bin, I did a test patch on. Here’s the post with a quick video showing how I do that: How to do a Test Patch.
For the style to redo on this set I took clues from one of the new decoupage papers in the shop:
It’s so sweet, with a theme of all sorts of vintage ‘sweets’. I decided that would nicely accent the bench and 2 chairs. Then on the table top, coordinating with the ‘food’ theme, I’d use part of the rub-on transfer with a French patisserie theme. That particular transfer is quite large and for the table top I only needed about 1/3 of it, so there is plenty for another project or two.
So this set needed to be painted, then I applied decoupage on the bench and chairs and applied a rub on transfer on the table top.
Here are my steps…
Painting Details:
Painting the newly formed set.
For the ‘white’ color I chose ‘Raw Silk’, a creamy warm white. And for the ‘black’, I selected ‘Ash’ a dark grey/off black. Perfect for the vintage colors in the decoupage paper.
When I paint a large flat surface, like the table top and sides, I love using my Staalmeester One Series brush. It has extremely fine synthetic bristles that lay the paint out so beautifully. (I link these brushes at the end of this post along with all the supplies)
The grooves around the bench panels were accented with ‘Ash’.
One of the new artists brushes I got for the shop worked great for this detail work.
Decoupage Details on the Seating:
After the couple coats of paint were thoroughly dry, (I like to at least give it overnight if I can), it was time to decoupage those panels on the bench.
Applying a liberal amount of Fusion decoupage gel with a workshop brush works great for this job. Then I placed the Prima decoupage paper on the wet gel.
You can see how transparent the decoupage paper is, that’s why painting the background a shade of white was important.
This ‘paper’ is more like the texture and weave of a dryer sheet fabric. Some of the gel seeps through the decoupage paper during this process, which is A-OK. I add more by applying gel to the face of the paper to be sure it was totally covered with the gel. Fusion gel is also a protective coat on the decoupage.
I left that decoupage to dry, and would trim it to get an exact fit, (see a bit further down in this post).
Time to detail the chairs that I’ve added to the pieces of this grouping to make it a ‘set’.
Most of the chairs received the paint color ‘Ash’. However, to visually connect the chairs to the bench, I wanted to put a bit of the same decoupage on the top back of the chairs. So that part of the chairs I painted in the white ‘Raw Silk’ color for the decoupage to go over.
After all the decoupage had dried a day, it was time to trim it. The easiest way to get an exact trimmed fit is to use a sanding block and applying light pressure, going only one way, not back and forth with the sanding block, the corner of the furniture cuts through the paper. Here’s a quick video showing this process on a different piece of furniture.
Transfer Details on the Table:
Next up was the rub on transfer for the table top. It’s best to allow the newly painted surface to dry a day or two before applying the transfer.
After I carefully measured the table top, I very carefully placed the transfer on the table after I peeled off the wax paper backing. Care needs to be given on this part, because the transfer is very sticky and will easily curl up on itself, or stick to anything it touches.
Once I laid it on the table top and pressed it with the palm of my hand, I then used a combination of the supplied transfer rubbing tool and this plastic one. I rubbed every part of the transfer through the heavy plastic protective top layer. When I thought every part was rubbed onto the table top, I slowly peeled away that protective top film.
If I missed a spot and it still clung to the top protective layer as I was slowing pulling it off, I’d lay the plastic back down and rub that spot a bit more to get the transfer to stick to the table top.
After the plastic top layer was removed, I carefully rubbed directly on the transfer to make sure every little edge had good contact with the table top. Taking extra care to push out any little air bubbles.
The final step for the transfer is to top coat it with a water based top coat. I love Fusion Touch Coat. I chose matte finish for this table top. Here is a post with a video showing the technique I use to apply the top coat achieving a streak free finish.
Finished French Patisserie Cafe Set:
I think this set turned out so cute! Where would you use it, in the kitchen? Family room? Fun for a small seating area with games or coloring in the bench seat storage.
The French Patisserie Cafe set is all done.
Soft black and warm white with colorful accents are charming, but not overwhelming.
The chairs are vintage, but super sturdy.
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