Make your own concrete art furniture
Concrete furniture is functional, strong and works well either outside or in your latest interior design. Because you have total creative control when you make your own concrete furniture you can turn traditional chairs and tables into works of art. Express your artistic flair by creating totally unique works of art that double as functional furniture.
Instructions
1. Build your mold. This is the time to let your creativity loose. Sketch out your ideas for the shape of your art furniture. Once you have an idea, take precise measurements of the outside edges of your piece. Take your time on this step and make sure that your final project will be light enough to lift and small enough to fit through any doors or gates. Melamine is a good material to use for making your mold. You will need to build a container that is solid enough to support your wet concrete and has no leaks. Use screws to hold your mold together so that you can easily release your project. Remember that the bottom of your mold will be the top of your project. If you want to add decorative items to the top of your art furniture you will want to place them at the bottom of your mold.
2. Mix your concrete. Add one part concrete to three parts sand and add enough water to create a mix with the consistency of oatmeal. Use your trowel to scrape the bottom and sides of your mixing container well and make sure that you have no unmixed bits of dry concrete. If you need a larger amount of concrete you will want to use a cement mixer for this step.
3. Add your decorative touches Here's another chance to express your artistic nature. You can add pigment to color your cement, colored glass to add some shine, or any other found objects to create added texture.
4. Pour and cure your cement. Pour a layer of concrete about 2-inches thick, and shake the mold or stir it to release any air bubbles. Continue pouring and shaking until your mold is full. You may want add wire mesh to your project in between layers if you think you will need more support.
5. Unmold and polish you piece. Your Art furniture will take about four to five days to cure. At that point you will want to unmold your piece and begin to polish it. Use a wet grinder and polishing pads. If you wish to expose more of the decorative objects at the surface of your piece you will need to grind down the top layer of cement. Start with a 50-grit pad and move up to a 400-grit pad. Once you have ground down as much as you wish you can fill in any gaps with a slurry mix of thin wet concrete mix. When your slurry is dry you are ready to polish your piece with 800-grit to 1500-grit pads. You can seal your polished art furniture with a coat of clear wax.
