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

Vintage Record Player Cabinet Painted Pink!

Last time I wrote I promised that I would do a write up of the other piece of furniture that I picked up from my gorgeous friends' grandparent's home. It was this:

Before photo of this cute vintage cabinet. Yes that is my dog photo-bombing in the background!

A piece with lovely Queen Anne style legs, cute hardware and nice and solid but made in that funny streaky timber. I immediately loved it and wanted it all for myself. I have been on the hunt for somewhere to store our many DVDs without having to have them out in the open for all to see as they used to be. Also, I have a very adorable 7 month old son who is on the cusp of crawling. I could just envision him pulling down the whole tower and having them all fall on his little head! So the towers had to go.

I wanted colour for this piece. As I've mentioned many many times I love furniture painted bright colours. This is quite new for me. When I first started buying my own furniture I always went for the dark wood look, however when we bought our home I realised it was such a dark house with quite small rooms that the furniture was claustrophobic being so dark. That's where my hobby began- painting furniture for my own home to make it look brighter and more open. It has definitely helped- I am much happier in my home now!

But back to this piece... I undercoated the whole thing then mixed my own shade of paint using Dulux Orchid Orange as a base. I actually started painting in the straight colour but as I was looking at it it seemed too dark so I lightened it up with more white. Here is the 'After' photo.

My biggest problem was with the handles. They couldn't come off as they were not screwed on, but rather adheased with glue or something and I was scared I would do irreparable damage to the piece if I tried to get them off. So I tried to cover them off with masking tape and paint around them but due to the intricate nature of them this was just impossible. So I decided to go with the shabby chic look and sort of lightly paint them but do a really shoddy job of it so you could still see the black underneath! They actually look great in real life, but they haven't shown up all that well in photos. Here's a photo anyway...

I love it! It holds all of our DVDs (only just- we are going to have to stop buying new ones) and looks oh so cute with the photos from our wedding, my grandparents' wedding and our little keepsake box which has just the right shade of pink in it too!

Does anyone else have a great piece that hides all their DVDs?

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