“Capito” or carriage coupler is one of the most luxurious types of furniture and interior finishing. Volumetric diamonds or squares, covered with expensive fabrics, decorated with buttons or rhinestones, are able to transform and enliven any environment.
Its history began in the mid-eighteenth century, in France, during the reign of Emperor Napoleon III. At that time, this type of decoration was associated only with luxury and chic. The name “carriage coupler” is due to the fact that such decor was used for the interior decoration of carriages. The unique finishing technique quickly became widespread throughout Europe.
Today, the popularity of carriage coupler is still as wide. For example, the authentic, legendary design of the Chesterfield sofa is still incredibly popular among people who want to make their interior elegant and luxurious.
Currently, the Capitone technique is used to decorate wall panels, furniture elements; its design can be used on wall finishing materials and decorative items. Its distinctive feature is soft upholstery, pulled tight with buttons, while the folds between them form a pattern of the finished product - diamonds or squares. For such upholstery, high-quality, wear-resistant fabrics with a dense texture are used - natural and artificial leather, suede, velvet, velour, flock. For tightening, covered buttons or furniture nails with rhinestones and pearls are used.
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DIY Headboard
Carriage coupler can also be used to update boring furniture. For example, you can update an old bed by making a headboard with a “Capito” finish with your own hands. Of course, this will require a lot of effort, but the result will definitely justify it. Self-production has a number of obvious advantages over a purchased product:
- it is possible to bring to life an individual bed design that best suits the interior, to create a product of non-standard sizes and unusual shapes;
- you can choose the color, texture and quality of the fabric, materials and fittings yourself;
- significant savings compared to finished and custom-made products.
In order for a bed reupholstered with your own hands to look perfect, it is necessary to strictly follow the instructions for making carriage couplers.
Sketch
First, you should decide on the decor pattern - a rhombus or a square, as well as the design and shape of the future structure. For the first experience, it is recommended to start with simple headboard shapes - a rectangle or a square. Next, you need to think about what material will be used for upholstery. Here it is recommended to choose from durable furniture fabrics that can withstand high loads during use, since thin material not intended for upholstery can tear already during the tightening of buttons. The choice of color is at the discretion of the master, but it is preferable to use plain fabrics. Large drawings and patterns are deformed during re-upholstery and can spoil the appearance of the product. If you plan to use covered buttons, then you should take care of this in advance - buy a special press and make blanks, or order their manufacture in a specialized workshop. With ready-made furniture buttons it is much easier - they can be selected in a furniture fittings store.
Materials and tools
Once the sketch is made, you can proceed directly to the manufacturing process.
List of necessary materials and tools.
- A sheet of plywood as the base of the structure (of suitable shape and size).
- Furniture fabric (with a large reserve, since a lot of it is used up when forming folds).
- Furniture buttons.
- Foam rubber with a thickness of 5 cm (according to the size of the headboard).
- Sintepon.
- Glue.
- Furniture stapler.
- Scissors, bookbinding needles, high-strength threads, stationery knife.
- Drill.
- “Cutter drill” attachment for a drill (necessary for making even holes in foam rubber).
When choosing foam rubber, you need to pay attention to its density, elasticity and purpose. The service life of the finished product depends on these parameters.
The choice of glue also requires special attention. It is highly recommended not to use adhesive solutions containing toxic and flammable components such as trichloroethane and toluene. In addition to the obvious harm to health, the strength of their bonding also leaves much to be desired. It is recommended to use adhesives based on polyurethane, neoprene, butadiene styrene. High-quality foam adhesive should be safe for humans and the environment, form a strong seam, be elastic and moisture-resistant, and be non-flammable.
Preparing the headboard base
The first step is to draw a diagram of the future carriage coupler on a sheet of foam rubber. The easiest way is to cut out a diamond template of the desired size and mark the entire sheet according to it. First, draw 2 axes intersecting in the center of the sheet - vertical and horizontal. Attach the diamond template with the center to the center of the intersection of the axes and thus draw the entire working area.
The tops of the diamonds will be the points for tightening the buttons. In these places, it is necessary to make round holes in the foam rubber. They are made using a special drill attachment - "tsifenbor", but if you don't have one, you can replace it with a metal tube of a suitable diameter. It is installed in the right place and even slits are cut out by hitting the tube. In extreme cases, they can be cut with a stationery knife, but then the edges of the holes are uneven. This is not critical and does not affect the appearance of the product.
After all the slots are ready, you need to mark them on the plywood sheet. To do this, apply the foam rubber to the plywood and mark the points at the holes. Using a drill, drill a hole in the plywood board at each marked point.
Next, you need to glue the foam rubber to the plywood panel, making sure that the edges and all the holes of these two parts match. Do not use glue that corrodes the porous structure of the foam rubber, otherwise the finished product will not last long. It is recommended to use a special glue for foam rubber, safe for health and characterized by high adhesion to various surfaces.
Sometimes, a certain amount of time is required for strong bonding. The characteristics of adhesives of different brands differ from each other. It is necessary to study the information indicated on the label.
After the foam rubber is firmly glued to the plywood, you need to carefully cover it with thin padding polyester. Secure the edges of the padding polyester with a stapler on the back side of the plywood.
Fabric upholstery
When the base of the headboard is ready, you can begin the process of covering the frame with furniture fabric. You should start from the extreme point of the headboard, gradually moving to the opposite side. Two needles with a strong thread are inserted into each hole at the same time, pulled out, stretching the fabric, to the back side of the plywood and secured with a stapler several times in a zigzag pattern.
As the fabric is laid, folds are formed from it between the tension points, in accordance with the intended pattern (diamonds, squares). When the entire carriage coupler pattern is ready, it is necessary to wrap the edges of the fabric to the wrong side of the frame and securely fasten it with a stapler along the entire perimeter.
Decorating the headboard
Lastly, buttons are sewn into the holes, or attached in the manner described above, using two long needles that bring the thread holding the button to the back side. There is another method, in which the folds are immediately attached to the button, but in this case there is a risk of damaging the pattern if it comes off during use.
After the front side of the back is completely ready, its reverse side is carefully covered with technical fabric (spunbond, calico).
The headboard with carriage coupling can be framed in a carved baguette or used without it. It can be mounted on the wall near which the bed will be installed, or it can be attached directly to the bed frame - this is left to the user's choice.
If desired, the bed frame can be covered with the same furniture fabric that was used to make the soft headboard. Thin foam rubber is placed on the bed frame and wrapped with padding polyester. The prepared structure is covered with fabric, which is secured with a stapler along the inside of the bed frame. The outside of the frame, as well as the borders of the headboard, can be decorated with furniture nails or decorative cords.
With a certain amount of skill, attention and creativity, making a headboard with “Capito” is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. But such a detail can become a decoration of the bedroom and an object of pride for its owner.
Video: Bed, carriage coupler. Simple method.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp5E9D6RrKE
50 photos of beds with carriage couplers in the interior:
