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.

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.