Louis XVI Style furniture

 picture is from: furniture saglio

Louis XVI was the last king of France who ruled the country from 1754 to 1789 before ended with the French revolution. When Louis XVI succeeded to the throne in 1774, he had an big  responsibility, as the government was deeply in debt, and resentment to 'despotic' monarchy was on the rise. During his reign big changes were happened, the change in the governmental system from absolute monarchy to the democratic republic was very important event in the history of the country. Louis XVI also signed the Edict of Versailles, which was an important step in to the religion tolerance in this country. 

 Louis XVI bed

The circumstance of the socio culture and economic was also influence the model and style of the furniture at that era. The furniture style at era was very different and was recognized as the milestone in the classic furniture style. Different with the previous model, the Louis XVI furniture style was dominated by the straight and firm form. The gently and curved shape that was very  popular in the previous era was not found on the Louis XVI furniture. The straight and square with sharp form dominated the shape for most furniture; cabinets, desks, bed and even the chairs and sofas were made in the straight and square. The style impressed of manly, firm, logical and serious was strongly appeared from the Louis XVI style.

Louis XVI round table

 picture is from furniture saglio 

The substrate was widely used were mahogany, walnut, oak or cedar. During his reign was the golden age of French furniture and craftsmanship. The furniture was decorated with inlay, gilt or ornament embellished the straight, stiff and strong form as the main shape. The chairs and sofa also were made with straight frame, arm and legs and rectangular back rest. The straight flute leg or rectangle were used to replace the curved forms from the Louis xv or earlier.

 picture is from furniture saglio

The Louis XVI style furniture was one of important element in the classic style furniture history.  The style is still widely used as reference by the furniture designer. The Louis XVI furniture with various modifications are still be found in the furniture market.

 picture is from furniture saglio 

 Louis XVI style chair

Jabon wood for furniture

Kayu jabon, jati kebon (Anthocephalus cadamba) is starting to be favored to be cultivated by wood plantation companies or residence peoples. It can be good alternative to supply the woodworking industry demand for the cheap wood but with acceptable quality. Jabon tree has a straight trunk and grow quite fast if planted in the suitable areas. It can live in the tropical area with the level 0 to 1000 m above the sea. The jabon wood is considered soft and inexpensive to be used for the interior parts in the woodworking industry. Now it is still less popular than the sengon wood, but jabon wood has great potential to fulfill the wood for woodworking industry. In the proper climate the jabon trees can grow quite fast, easy to be planted, and have a straight trunk. He has straight branches that are easy to be cut to give the cleaner and straight stem with less knot. This wood is also relatively easy to be dried; it has small volume shrinkage make it can be dried fast. For interior used, the jabon wood can be drying within a few days.
Jabon wood is light and soft with a smooth pores and grain and pores texture. It is good choice for plywood, or barecore. Generally the wood has straight and long stem, which is easy to be sliced to make veneer or plywood.
Some people also use this wood to make furniture with quite good result. This wood is hard and strong enough to make furniture. It can be shaped, machined, engraved and carved to produce nice and interesting wood furniture product. This wood has a yellowish white base color; with the proper finishing it could produce furniture with an attractive appearance.

Jabon wood properties:

 
Volume shrinkage from wet to dry (m.c. 12%) : 3% for tangential,  6.9% for radial
Specific gravity                                              :  0.29 to 0.56
Modulus of elasticity                                      :  42.9 to 68.0 kg/cm2
Hardness (Janka test )                                   :  276-409 kg/cm (edges), 239-268 (side)

 

                                                   jabon wood furniture
                                                     picture is from : jabon


Finishing for jabon wood. 

Jabon timber has a great potential to be used as raw materials for furniture. This wood has a yellow base color so it can be finished in a any wood color without much difficulty. With proper application of finishing material, it can produce wide range of transparent wood colors without any problem. It also still have grain which is special. Although its grain may be not as beautiful as hard wood such as teak or mahogany, but it still can be enhanced in the finishing process. It has small and shallow grain and pores texture, make it quite easy to be finished in the close pores finish. The pores and grain texture can be easy to be covered with the sealer application without the hard process of filler application.
The solid-color finishing is better option since it would be easier to do. His shallow pores and grain is an advantage because it will be easily to be covered with paint or base coat. The solid color in many color, either antique or clean looked can be generated to make the attractive looked.

The jabon wood should be considered as softwood. It has risk for blotchy color if it is not well prepared.  A good sanding is very important to get good finishing result. A glue sizing can be done to help the sanding process and minimize the color blotchy problem. The wood is also susceptive for the insects attacked; The proper wood treatment is recommended to minimize the insect attacked problem later on. 

Regence Furniture style

Regence (French Regence) furniture style refers to the furniture in the France in the period 1715-1723 when the French was led by Phillipe D'Orleans because the Louis XV who should be the king was still too young. (French regence, wikipedia). Regence is French furniture style and also often called as French Regence to clarifie with the England Regency style which is an English style furniture refers to furniture style in England about 100 years later (1810-1837).
It was the era of transition from the Louis XIV and Roccoco which is straight, stylish and heavy to be more light and dynamic. The asymmetric forms, convex surface shape were used to bring the more light and comfortable but with more ornament. The flowers, shells, and natural motif with some eastern mythology (dragon or monster) are used to ornate the cabinet, commode and armoire. 

 picture is from : french furniture saglio

The French regency was also the era of the Goldsmith and the Metalworkers master. The gold and ormolu, metal accessories are widely used as an ornament in the form of asymmetrical scrolls, floral motifs and cockleshell.

picture is from : french furniture saglio

Regence chairs and sofa shows the evolution from the heavy and straight of Louis XIV to the lighter the sinuous shape and liquid form with more ornament. The chairs and sofas use the cabriole legs with curved backs, bulging panels and equipped with various ornaments. The upholstered chair back displays the carved wood frame in the form of lighter seat. The rectilinear uprights of the chair back and the plan of the seat quadrangular is persisted the longest of the chair or cabinet impressive light and liquid form.

 picture is from : french furniture saglio

regence style arm chair

Antique pine finish 2

Pine wood is quite popular in the woodworking industry. He has been widely used as raw material for furniture since many centuries ago. The pine wood is easy to be machined, drilled and handled in the woodworking process. But the wood has high porosity; he will absorb a lot of finishing materials to produce a smooth surface. The stain application should done carefully since its high porosity. Too wet stain is risk to get blotchy color.

Now in this article we want to share about antique pine finish. In this finish a latex paint is used as the first stain. The latex paint as the stain gives some advantage. It will bring the antique finish and since it is thick material then we don’t need to worry about the blotchy problem. The paint is combined with glaze and NC clear coating to make the antique finish. 

Here is the finishing process.

• Physical distress.

The physical is the first step to make the antique impression. Use the stones, files, chains and hammers to do the distress. The heavy distress is needed. Start with the file to rasp at the edges and to make some mark in the surface. Then we can use the chain and hammer to hit the surface. Finally we can use the rock to picture the physical abuses. Make sure the distress mark are random and natural to mimic the long time used. See our previous article : Physical distress for wood furniture finishing.

• Application of latex paint.

Choose the light brown or cream latex paint. Agitate the paint and make sure it is well mixed, add some water is necessary.  Brush the latex paint to layer to the wood evenly. Make sure the paint is well applied until he fill in the pores, gap and crevices. Let the paint dry.

After the paint is dry, then sand the paint, clean the paint at the surfaces but leave the paint inside the hole, pores, grain and the distressed mark. The latex paint should fill in the wood pores, grains, dents, holes, crevices and gaps.
Check the antique effect we got. Make sure we get the antique effect, make sure the all the distress mark are filled with the latex paint and make sure the wood surface is cleaned to get the clarity of the wood finish.

• Sealer application.

A layer of clear coating is required to protect the latex paint. The sealer is used since it will be sanded to provide the smooth finish. The clear coating has to be applied by spray. The brush application will resolve the latex paint and damage the antique effect that has been formed. Spray two layer of NC sealer and let it dry. Sand the sealer layer with # 280 or # 320 sandpaper to get the smooth surface.  

• Dry brush glaze.

Glaze application is needed to enhance the antique looked. Use the glaze with a dark brown color (van dyke brown or dark umber). Do dry brush to burnish the edges and the distress part. The dark glaze will darken and enhance the antique effect. Some more antique effect such as cow tail or spatter also can be made to make more interesting antique effect. See our previous article: Dry brush glaze

• Application of top coat.

Top coat is the last layer to provide the protection and to build the sheen of the finishing. Use the low sheen top coat as final layer. Apply 1 layer of 10 sheen or 20 sheen NC top coat by wet spray to the finish. Let it dry and check the film surface, make sure and even and smooth surface is obtained. If the surface is rough, then we need to sand the top coat layer and apply 1 more coat.

Thinner for water based paint.

What is thinner for water based paint? Water of course, that's right, water is the major component for the water based paint thinner, that way it is called "water based". But the fact is there also some solvents and chemicals are in the water based paint mixture. Although it is named as water based, but we cannot expect that the mixture is completely free from the solvent. In the water based thinner there are also some materials that could be toxic and harmful to the health.
Water-based coating, water based paint or waterborne coating is usually made of acrylic resins, modified acrylic or "one-component polyurethane" as the main resin. The resin then is mixed with some other resin and chemicals to meet the paint performance. The resins mix naturally is not water soluble, then it needs solvents and some additives to make it mix well with water. The mixture of paint and water will not be a solution, but usually in the emulsion form. But with the good agitation and proper application, the emulsion can be applied with perfect results as the solvent base paint does. 

The material in a water based paint thinner.

• Water.

The water is the major ingredient in water based paint thinner. The water that was added to the paint formulation usually is the pure water, since the water based paint must be formulated with fully control composition to meet the standard of the paint quality. The water should be neutral, free form dirt, precipitation material, or chemical that could be interfere the paint mix.

• Solvents.

There are also some solvents in the water based paint thinner to keep the mixture works well. Some of the materials are: ethylene glycol, some other aromatic and aliphatic solvents. Ethylene glycol is very important solvent for the water based paint; it is the main solvent for the resins and pigment. Ethylene glycol is dissolved each other with water, and has higher evaporation point than water. In the drying process, the water is evaporating firstly. After all of the water has evaporated, then the solvent (ethylene glycol) is starting to evaporate. The evaporation continue until all solvents are evaporated when the dry and hard paint layer is built. 

• Additive materials.

Additive material is added to build some specifics properties to the paint mixture. There are some additives used to improve the paint properties, to reduce surface tension, to improve the flow, to make the stability of the mixture, etc. The additive materials are the same material for thinner base coating. They are very specific; depending to the resin formulation in the paint mixture. In the water based paint there some more additive are added, the anti-fungal and anti bacterial to prevent the bacteria growth and the emulsifier to improve the emulsion of the mixture.

Tips in using water based paint.

 
The knowledge to the composition of water based paint thinner is more complex then what written here. There are many thing need to be consider in the paint manufacturer. The knowledge about thinner in this article is purposed to understand the water based paint and help us in the application. There some tips to apply the water based paint.

•  Use the protective and safety equipment.

In fact the water based paint also contains some solvents and chemicals that potentially interfere the human health. Then when we do the mixing and application of the water based paint, then we still need to wear the safety equipment. Wear the gloves to protect the skin and masks to protect the respiratory. The drying process of the paint will release some solvent fumes, then make sure the air circulation is work well when paint is coated and dried. If spray application is chosen, then the spray booth is needed.

• Use the "clean" water when diluting the water based paint.

Some time we need to thin the water based paint at the application. We can add little water to the water based paint, but make sure the water is not interfering the paint mixture. Pure water is probably the best choice, but usually the normal water for drinking or daily necessities can be used as long as it is clean and neutral.

•   Do the small mixing according to the consumption.

Bacteria are the enemy for the water based paint. The water based paint in the closed containers is in a hermetically sealed so no bacteria or fungi that can live in it. But when the can is opened, then there could be some bacteria entering and live in a mixture of paint, moreover when we add some water into the mixture. Although the mixture contained anti-bacterial additive, but there is a possibility the bacteria could live in the mix and potentially to damage the paint mixture. Therefore, try to store the paint in the closed cane. The paint in the opened should be applied as soon as possible since it has higher risk to be damaged.

Tips and consideration to build the wood kiln dry.

The (wood) kiln dry is a large building that requires special equipment and tools. To build and operate the kiln dry is considered big work. The fact is the kiln dry is the most important facility to process the wood. But, then we need to do carefully calculation to find the best suitable facility according to our need. There are many method to drying the wood and many type of kiln dry are available.  We have written about the drying of wood (kiln dry in the woodworking industry), and now in this article we want to share about the considerations needed when we are going to build a dry kiln.

Here are some tips and consideration when we want to build the kiln dry to the wood.

• Calculate the volume of the dry wood needed.

The volume of dry wood, the size and the required moisture content of the wood is the first thing to be considered when we are going to build a kiln dry. The calculation to the building, facilities and types of the kiln is mainly based to the capacity and the type of the kiln dry. Some type of kiln dry is more proper to work at low wood m.c., while some types are more economic to dry the wood at the moderate moisture content that may be enough for construction wood. Pre drier or naturally drier may quite well to dry the wood for construction that works well at about 20% m.c. level. But the woods for woodworking, furniture or architectural product always need the lower moisture content (m.c. level at 8%-10%).

The building and the equipment for the kiln dry is calculated based to the capacity of the kiln. The room, the heater and the type of kiln dry has to follow the calculation result from the capacity of the kiln dry.

• The species of the wood.

Wood is a life material that has unique properties. Each type of wood has different properties and may require different drying process. Generally, wood can be divided into two types: the hard wood and soft wood. The hard wood usually has higher risk to get cracked, swelling, splitting, honeycombing or other defect caused by too fast drying. The carefully drying schedule for the hard wood is needed.  Especially when we are going to use the wood for the visible part which need the best performance dry wood.

The softwood usually can be dried in quicker schedule. It less risk to get defect and naturally  can be dried faster. The softwood is also most used for the interior part at which some small defect is not a problem.

The data of wood moisture content versus the volume of the wood is very important. The wood with big shrinkage is more risk to get damaged by the too fast drying. The wood hardness is also important; the harder wood usually is more risk to be cracked or splitting.

• Environmental conditions.

Wood is a hygroscopic material. The naked wood will always absorb or release its water to make balance with its environmental humidity. Then we need to find the data about the environment condition especially the air humidity. Wood will release his moisture if it is placed in the open air until its moisture content is in balance with the air humidity. The moisture content of the naked wood will fluctuate according to its environment air humidity changing.

The data of the air humidity can help us to find the final m.c. needed. If the wood is going to be used in the same area, then we can dry the wood until it reach the moisture content in balance with the average of air humidity in the area.  But if the wood is going to send to another place then we may need to make some treatment for the dry wood. The dehumidifier room may be needed keep the wood m.c.

• The types of kiln dry.

There are several types of kiln dry can be selected to get the most suitable facility according to our need. For the areas that are quite hot with lot of sunshine, the solar kiln dry could be considered as good choice. It uses the solar energy to reduce the energy consumption.

For the small volume, the dehumidifier kiln dry is good option. It less use energy and can give the low wood m.c. If the rapid drying is needed, then the high temperature or vacuum kiln dry kiln is the choice. The Vacuum kiln dry can dry quickly, but requires relatively expensive operating costs with small capacity.
To drying the wood with large volume, then conventional kiln dry is still the best choice. It is quite simple, can be set to arrange the drying schedule. It can be combined with the pre drier or naturally drier. To save the energy consumption we can use the wood wastes from the woodworking process as the fuel.  

Upholstery for furniture.

Upholstery is part of the furniture that is used to sit. Chair, sofa, bench and seat require upholstery to make them to be comfortable when they are used. The upholstery is also used to form the appearance of the furniture to be more beautiful and attractive. The upholstery become the important part for some furniture; it function to make the comfort and at the same time it also built the appearance. As its attached to the furniture, then he has to match with the wood frame.

 furniture upholstery

Generally the upholstery is built from three parts: support, cushion and cover.

1. Support.

Support is the bottom part of the upholstery that holds the whole upholstery and also the person who sits on. There are several types of support can be used, webbing, spring and board. Webbing is a material most widely used. It is made of elastic rubber that is woven to make elastic holder. With proper material and weaving techniques it can provide a flexible yet strong support to the upholstery.

Spring as a support can also be used and will bring the comfort, but it can be considered rather expensive. It is also metal that is risk to hurt when it is broken.

For some design and construction, the wood panel can be used for support. If it used then, the  softer cushion is needed to generate the comfortable.

2. Cushions.

It is the inside part of the upholstery that makes the upholstery is soft, elastic and comfortable to be seated. There are some materials that can be used such as; goose feather, cotton, cloth or burlap. There also some synthetic materials; foam and dacron are used.
Goose feather is very expensive but can be very subtle, natural, safe and soft. It is an expensive material, it should be wrapped in a cloth before placed on as the upholstery.
Kapok is also a natural material that can be used as well. It also should be wrapped in a cloth before installed as cousin. As a natural material he has advantages by providing the natural and comfortable atmosphere.
Foam is a synthetic material, it is the main material for cushion today. It has different density that will give different softness. Foam is available in a wide range of specification and types to fulfill the upholstery requirement. The foam also can be made with some special additive such as fire-resistant, anti-fungal, anti-allergic, etc.

3. Cover

Cover is the visible part of the upholstery. The upholstery cover is not only has to serve the comfort, but also work to form the appearance of the product. Then he must match with the whole furniture set. There are several types of materials can be used; fabric, leather either synthetics or natural, and some natural product such as rattan or bamboo.

•  Fabric.

It is the most widely used material for furniture upholstery. Fabrics are available in lot variety of motifs, colors and quality to meet the models and style of the furniture. It is also available in different standard of quality and specifications. There also some type with texture form that can produce more attractive appearance. As an industrial product, then the fabric can be made in special specifications according to the furniture industry need, for example: fireproof, waterproof or anti fungal anti-allergy, etc.

• Leather.

Leather for upholstery leather is very attractive. It gives the impression expensive and luxury. The leather can also be finished with variety finishing model. Leather with antique finish will bring to the impression of old, unique but expensive, while leather with a clean and neat finish will bring an impression of luxury, elegant and expensive.
There are also synthetics leather available which also nice and interesting. The synthetic leather may have more varied model and color with less expensive than genuine leather. Synthetic leather is available many textured form with variety of colors.

•   Natural substrates.

Natural materials are other option that is no less interesting. The material must be flexible enough and be able to follow the movement of the cushion. Some natural substrates such as: rattan, bamboo wicker can be used. The rattan and bamboo are fairly strong but flexible enough to be used as a cushion.
The natural substrates will provide a cool, comfortable and natural atmosphere.

 upholstery for rattan furniture

Tips in choosing upholstery.
 
 When we buy furniture, the upholstery usually have been installed and become part of the product. But now, there are some furniture companies who give his buyer freedom to choose the upholstery. There are also some furniture shops that can serve upholstery installation. Now and in the future, there will be more freedom to choose the product according to our own tasted including to the upholstery.

 Here are some tips for choosing the upholstery.

•   Consider the safety and healthy.

The upholstery is used for sitting; there will be lot of interaction with our bodies. Therefore, make sure that it is safe and does not create problems to our health. If we have the allergies to certain ingredients, then we should choose materials that do not cause the allergies.
Upholstery should also must safe. If necessary we can find out the construction of the upholstery and make sure it is properly assembled.

• Choose the color and appearance to match with the furniture and room decoration.

The upholstery could be the main part for some furniture. For sofa, or bench, then the furniture appearance is determined by the upholstery, the wood is only the small portion. Then the upholstery needs to match with the room decoration.

• Consider the way to clean and care.

Upholstery can be dirty, dusty or damaged. It also requires a proper caring. When we decide to choose the upholstery, then make sure we know how to care it. Make sure we can do the maintenance and cleaning the upholstery.