Something for the deck!

About 6 years ago (well not really but it sure feels that way) I saw this little gem sitting on the nature strip near my mother is law's house. It was love at first sight and I'm sure you can see why!

I begged my husband to pick it up for me and being the good man he is, he did. And then it just sat in my shed. At least it wasn't lonely, it was joined by about fifty other half finished or never started projects.

But I did have plans for this one and now I am on holidays it is done!

It was my idea to do the different coloured drawers and my good friend Pinterest decided I should plant some flowers and succulents in two of the drawers. It may even get some herbs...one day...maybe in 6 years time!

Yellow and Pink Chest of Drawers Perfect for a Little Girl's Room

Oh I am so pleased to share with you my first custom order of 2014. The lovely Kate had seen a few of my pieces that I've put up on my Facebook page and wanted something for her little girl's room. She already had a yellow bookshelf so she was after something that would go, but not too matchy matchy. We decided that it would look really cute to have yellow on the outside and pink drawers.

This was the before shot..

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Before... solid pine but a little rough.

Here's a pic of the drawers painted as we described...

Yellow and pink, bright and fun, but missing something?

I liked the drawers but they didn't 'wow' me IYKWIM. I had wanted to replace the knobs but whoever had made these had glued those suckers in so tightly that it was near impossible. I contacted Kate and told her that I thought it would look cute to decoupage around the drawers, just to give them a little something, so it was off to Spotlight to search for paper. I think I've said this before but Spotlight do have really beautiful scrap booking paper. But if that's your thing, you probably already knew that, right? Here are the 5 options I narrowed it down to, before settling on the top left.

And here's what my son Wil got up to in Spotlight when I turned my back for 5 seconds....

So glad we jazzed it up a bit more, it looks fantastic!

Close up of the paper detail.

And just for a little fun, here's what it would look like if it were a sketch (thanks Nikon camera)

Thanks Kate for asking me to do this for you, hope it's exactly what you hoped for!

Are you interested in a custom piece of furniture? Please feel free to contact me and we can come up with something together to suit your needs perfectly.

Vintage Shabby Chic French Grey Buffet / Chest of Drawers with a Decoupage Top

Oh my it's a busy time of year, isn't it? So busy, in fact, that I finished this piece about 5 weeks ago and am only now getting the chance to photograph and write it up, but that's OK, gives it plenty of time to cure before it goes (hopefully) to it's new home.

I love the vintagey feel of this sideboard / chest of drawers / buffet / entertainment unit- truly this piece could be put in so many places in a home. I currently have it sitting in our pool room and the more I look at it the more I love it. The top is decoupaged with a gorgeous slightly shimmery pattern.

Here's some pics (sorry for the awful background and tiles- Imagine it in your beautiful home instead!

Check it out on my furniture for sale page.

So pretty in grey and white!

How to Decoupage Tutorial- A Shabby Chic Bookshelf

I wanted to share a proper tutorial on how I learned to decoupage and to share how effective it can look. Here is a book shelf that I completed for my friend Sarah.

 My first step was to stain the pine shelves. Sarah was looking for a browny-grey stain rather than paint because she wanted to be able to see the wood grain. Here's a pic showing what the shelves looked like when half completed:

To decoupage you need to have a good foam roller, some decoupaging glue (I buy mine from Spotlight), a paint brush for getting into corners and some fancy paper (Sarah chose this paper- her partner just loves how masculine it is!)

 Ensure the surface you are applying the paper to is clean and  smooth, then with your foam roller apply a thin layer of the glue to both the surface you are decoupaging and the backside of the paper. My picture doesn't show it as a thin layer, but that's about how much glue I used for the entire 30 x 30 cm area so it does get quite thinly spread.

Next, carefully place the sheet down on the area. You must work quickly for this part and work section by section so the glue doesn't dry in between. The glue dries incredibly quickly! 

 Smooth down the sheet, working out any air bubbles carefully.

 When you have completed the whole area you need to use the foam roller again and roll glue over the whole piece. This will seal it and leave a nice shine. If the surface will be used for something that gets a bit of use (eg a table top) you can spray a layer of poly over the whole piece. I skipped this step as it wasn't necessary for this particular piece.

For more projects and pieces of furniture check out my facebook page www.facebook.com/RetroVintageLove

Aqua and Coral Queen Anne Coffee Table with Decoupage

*Beware stream-of-conciousness rant* I originally had a vision for this coffee table to be painted blue and left at that, but then I thought the orange trim would look really cute and then I decided a stenciled table top would look gorgeous but I've tried (and failed) to do a nice stencil previously and didn't want to ruin the table... and then I hit Pinterest.

Decoupage! I read a few blogs including this one from Apartment Therapy and decided to give it a shot. If you want to see some of the other decoupage projects I looked at- have a look at my Pinterest collection 'Furniture Inspiration' you can find and follow my stuff here.

The final product- complete with glass top which doesn't make for great photographs!

So after painting the legs and trim I set about working on the decoupage top. First stop was Spotlight where I was very impressed with the range of Scrapbooking paper. Most decoupaging websites said that you had to be careful that the paper you chose was not too thick so I was a little worried, but I found this fine to use. While there I also picked up some glue. Every site I looked at recommended Modge Podge glue but I couldn't find this, so I bought some generic brand of glue labelled 'Decoupage Glue' and figured that would do the trick!

Next I procrastinated, not wanting to make a mistake.

Then, I set to work. I trimmed the scrapbooking sheets so that I would cover the whole table without the joins being too obvious. Then I worked out the order that I would place the sheets down, leaving the middle piece last, so that it would hide any overlap. I covered the whole of the table top with glue using a foam roller, this is to ensure an even consistency. Then I put the paper on, adding a layer of glue to the back of each piece of paper before placing them in position. I found that the glue dried very quickly and there was only a very narrow window of opportunity for re-positioning, so it's best to be sure before you place them down. I repeated this until the entire table was covered then used my hands and the roller to work out any air bubbles. This part of the process is very similar to when you were in school and had to contact your school books. Thanks Mum for the valuable experience! I used a paint brush to apply a top coat of the glue to seal the paper. I did this because I find the coverage more thorough with a paint bush than with a roller, but I'm sure you could use either.

The coffee table came with a glass overlay to protect the top of the table so I popped this back on, however if there were no protective layer I would recommend sealing the project again with a poly so that you can happily wipe down the surface and keep it clean. Unfortunately the glass makes it difficult to photograph and show the true beauty of this piece so I've taken a few photos without the glass on so that you have a better idea of the effect. This is definitely one of those pieces that looks better in real life though!

Without the glass top but still with a little reflection

I do love the look of this one, if I didn't already have an awesome coffee table I would be keeping it for myself!

Want to buy it? Check it out on my sales page.

Like some advice for decoupage or to have a piece of furniture done for your own sweet self? Contact me via my Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/RetroVintageLove

Ombré blue chest of drawers and matching bedside tables

Finally, finally, finally I have finished my new favourite pieces- a custom order painted chest of drawers and matching bedside table.
My cousin Kirsten phoned and told me she was looking for a chest of drawers that was painted in graduating shades of blue- sort of similar to a previous piece I had completed, but with vintagey looking handles.

The project had a number of challenges and I have to admit, every part had its own little drama- finding the furniture; fixing the furniture; sanding the furniture (I broke my sander- hello Santa?); finding the handles- impossible- I ended up buying them in bronze and spraying them white; painting both sets of drawers the same four shades (the paint dried between painting the drawers, forcing me to repaint all of them so they would be the same); attaching the handles and drilling the holes in the exact right position- I failed this the first time and had to fix the mistake... Everything just seemed to take so much longer than I anticipated!

However, the result is awesome! I love how these have turned out and I hope my cousin will love them too. 

The base colour, for those who care, is Waikiki Blue. Makes them even prettier to look at, doesn't it?

Remember if you're interested in a custom piece just let me know what you're after!

The larger chest of drawers before- very beat up!

Smaller chest before

For more bits and pieces remember to like my Facebook page- www.facebook.com/RetroVintageLove

Let your friends and family know and don't hesitate to ask any questions if you're thinking about tackling some projects yourself. 

I've found Knob Heaven!

That's a terrible title, I know, but I just had to share what I'm sure will quickly become my new favourite go-to place for knobs.
I do love my regular Riverclay, but my problem is that you can never get the right number of knobs that you need there- I'm currently working on my cousin's bedside table and chest of drawers set (which looks amazing, just quietly, but needs the knobs to finish it off before I can share) and I need 12 knobs to complete the projects. Riverclay only had 6 of the type I want- they did offer to order more in for me but I thought I might look elsewhere first. So I also checked out Masters and Bunnings, both are a massive FAIL. Only the very ugliest knobs seem to make it to those shops!
But have a look at this: online store Anthropologie has the most AMAZING range of quirky cool knobs. Here's some samples that I love:

Gorgeous huh?! Now to decide on the best ones to choose!