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!

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 Yellow Distressed Painted Bedside Tables

They're done, finally!

Yellow painted vintage bedside tables.

Sometimes a piece just seems to take a long time to complete. These are an example of that. I suppose because it's actually two pieces it just seems to take that much longer. To paint these gorgeous little tables I used a couple of coats of Zinnser Smart Primer followed by Taubmans Calabash which is somewhere between a bright and a pastel colour but not specifically in either of those categories! The colour has proven quite hard to photograph, however- you'll notice in some pictures it looks lighter and in some darker- it seems to change a little depending on the light.

I really felt as soon as I saw these that they would come up better in colour than they looked in their natural timber state or in white because they are a pretty bold piece of furniture on their own with a great shape and lots of natural personality!

Just so you can compare, here's a picture of them before...

The tables before- notice that our grass has been cut since?! Love freshly cut grass!

I kept the original hardware but painted the handles black which looks great against the yellow and complements the dark distressed wood exposed underneath. Here's what that looks like up close.

Detail of the vintage handles and distressed paintwork.

Finally, I don't often do this, but here is a 'blooper' pic- can you spot the fault?

whoops!

Yep, I took about 10 photos of the tables then noticed that one looked a bit funny- then realised I had put the handle on upside down!

What do you think? I would love your feedback- please leave a comment below. Want to buy them? Contact me via email or Facebook- you'll find me here! Don't forget to like my page and share this post!
Happy Painting!

French country provincial style white and timber coffee table- cute as a button!

French Provincial coffee table, cute, no?

I never intended this coffee table to be a French Provincial style table. I bought it off eBay intending to make a twin of my own coffee table this turquoise and whitewash one which I just love so much.
When I picked up the coffee table though, it was a bit smaller than I had anticipated- my fault, the dimensions were listed and I ignored them due to my very poor spatial awareness skills and lack of any ability to visualise an item when given dimensions! I'm not sure why, but white was just calling out to me for this one. So white it ended up, not blue. Don't be sad, though, just this morning I picked up a Queen Anne style coffee table that I fully intend to paint my favourite aqua colour!

This is a little coffee table, perfect for a two seater sofa or a smaller lounge room. I think it has come up really well. The stained timber top is beautifully smooth and the timber itself has lots of lovely knots.

I thought I might also include a shot of the leg detail- last post my dog was photo-bombing, this time it's the cat's turn!

For those of you who love a before shot, here it is!

Before photo.... and time to cut the grass!

Yes, it is for sale- check it out on my items of sale page, complete with dimensions!
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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?

If you like reading about furniture refurbs please like my Facebook page Retro Vintage Love. You can also find me on Pinterest pinning all types of inspiring photos and you can sign up to my blog via email or Bloglovin'. Til next time xx

Painting Furniture White - The Vintage Dresser

There's no doubt about it, one of the most popular make-overs for old furniture is to paint it white. And it's easy to see why it is so popular- white is fresh but elegant and fits with nearly every decor style, whether that be retro (my personal favourite), shabby chic, French Provincial, vintage, farmhouse, coastal.... you get the idea.

Here's my latest white makeover. It is simply gorgeous. It's amazing how fresh an old piece can look with a fresh coat of paint.

I must admit, I found the prospect of this project quite daunting- but was pleasantly surprised. Even though there's a lot of detail in the woodwork, it sanded reasonably easily due to the age of the piece. And the smooth surface made painting easy too- time consuming due to the size of the piece, but not too challenging.

 

I used my trusty British Paints 4 in 1 Primer and British Paints Enamel White in Semi Gloss (only a tiny amount of shine- just enough to look fresh) 

 

Here are some before and after pics to compare:

 

 

I love this dresser for the little details too- in the top drawers of the dresser I found this gorgeous drawer lining paper. Pink paper with flowers and butterflies- you can't get much more shabby chic than that!

And check out the handles- so intricate and detailed, with just the right amount of ageing.

Also, the detail in the legs and bars that hold the mirror just make this piece so special.
Yep, I love it and could go on and on!

Do you have any pieces that you would like to paint white? Please share your own projects!

 

 

 

Little Blue Shabby Lamp Table

My Shabby Chic table after some Retro Vintage Love!

I cannot describe how much I love this little piece. I love the colour- I knew I wanted to do something blue after seeing some similar furniture in Revenge. See the gorgeous blue desk in the background?




Emily's furniture on Revenge. A shabby chic Hamptons dream!

Love it! I must admit, I am constantly distracted when I watch Revenge because I love both Emily and Victoria's furniture. And I'm not alone... read here for a whole Blog dedicated to Emily's house on Revenge. I have the same issue with A Place to Call Home. Gorgeous 1950s furniture everywhere.

Anyway, back to my latest piece. No long post about the process for painting this one as it was a very straight forward piece. The colour? I cheated! Remember my ombre chest of drawers? I had a heap of left over paint, in various shades of aqua which I mixed together to make this lighter colour.

I love this little hall table for it's natural distressed look. The original piece was a little worn down in parts, it had a few cracks and tiny holes which remained even when painted. All I had to do was distress it a little further after the paint had dried.

Love it too? Of course it's for sale! Check out my sales page for the link.

And just for those interested- the before and after shots.
Happy painting!

 

Gorgeous Shabby Chic Table

I finished this piece a while back, but it's finally up and ready for sale (we have the internet again-yay!) This table is divine but was in a pretty shabby condition. Here is a picture of the before...

I especially love the turned legs on this table, and I have to admit, I quite liked the 'before', but I knew it would look even better after I had given it a little love!

My first step was to sand the whole piece back. It had a pretty nasty varnish on it that was quite thick and peeling off in place, so it needed quite a lot of work to get it back to beutiful natural wood. Then, before finishing the top, I turned it over and painted the legs. Here's a pic of the undercoat. I used a Dulux spray undercoat, mostly because of the detail of the legs was quite intricate and I wanted to prevent drips.

After this, I painted a couple of coats of Dulux 'Green Buoy' on the legs. I love this colour, it is a gorgeous deep turquoise. I then sealed the legs with a glossy top coat and flipped the whole thing over, and giving the top a couple of layers of Cabot's Cedar Satin oil. This is a beautiful colour and the finish is smoth and silky.  Here are some more pics of the finished product...

Check it out on ebay Here!

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Happy Painting!