All New Shabby Chic Thread!

rosieben

I needed info on updating metal filing cabinets and I just searched this thread and found some useful information - I knew I'd find it here! Thanks

MeganHerring

Where does everyone get most of their stuff do you do it yourself? I want to do up my room in a shabby chic style but everything I found seems so expensive!

Keli

You have inspired me to make ove some old bedside cabinets I purchassed from ebay.

Picked them up Thursday and renovated them over the weekend and im so happy with results.

Keli

I got my cabinets from ebay I have been looking out for ones priced right

RebekahR

Hi All,

I brieftly dipped into the world of upcycling last year. I had an old wooden trug in the garden that needed a coat of paint. So I sanded cleaned and painted it up with some garden wood paint and it came up ok.

I have a small photo frame I want to paint and stencil some flowers onto.
My main question is how do I do this? All I can see at the DIY store is big pots of paint for wood. I am ideally after tester sizes of alsorted colours for the flowers etc. Can you get a mixed paint pad similar to kids paints with all the colours? But obviously not kids! Don't want to waste money on tons of individuals or lots of bigger pots if I can get a pad of them somewhere.

Later on down the line I am looking at painting up an old mdf wardrobe and chest of drawers set. How do I go about that for the paint to "stick" to the shiny surface?

Thanks all in advance!

Gigervamp

For the photo frame, use acrylic artists paints. If you've got a The Works near you, they sell them, or some WH Smiths sell art supplies.

For MDF, there's a paint you can get which gives it a key, called ESP. It's a multi surface primer.
Alternatively, you can sand the surface with a course grade sandpaper to give it a key.

rdone

I have an obsession with finding old furniture and doing it up. My house is very clutter free apart from the abundance of furniture. Has anyone ever had any luck with selling anything? I'm very thrifty when I purchase items and use paint that I have at home anyway so not looking to return a profit really.

Any tips would be lovely!

rdone

MeganHerring wrote: »

Where does everyone get most of their stuff do you do it yourself? I want to do up my room in a shabby chic style but everything I found seems so expensive!

I tend to wait around until I find what I'm looking for. eBay is always expensive. We have a good flea market once a month near us and there's a second hand shop at the tip which is great - but you have to sort through the rubbish as well!
I walked out of my house a few weeks ago and someone on my street had put a nest of tables outside "free to a good home". They're now upcycled with maps on top.

triage999

I can’t believe this thread still kept going after I set up the original one in 2008 😳😳😳😁👌