Shabby Chic; Volume III

Bibbitybob

irishgirl62 wrote: »

A quick question... I am almost out of FB white tie egg shell... was thinking of getting it in the emulison paint and then varnish it... if I did this would I still need to apply undercoat primer to it?

Always worth doing - it gives any paint a good surface to adhere to.

I have been known to use emulsion as an undercoat but never F&B (too expensive to waste as an undercoat!!), just a cheap value white that needed using up.

ETA: Eggshell gives a better finish on furniture imo - you have to be careful that varnish doesn't yellow.

Bibbitybob

I can't wait to see how your table & chairs ends up irishgirl!

Seeing as we're talking all things dining, I'm hoping once the floor in the living room has been laid this weekend I'll be able to shuffle furniture around and reclaim the dining area downstairs. Then I can drag my little dining table and chairs out. My friend gave them to me when I bought my flat - they were orange pine originally and the project kept me sane whilst I waited to complete!! I think it might need refinishing, it's had a bit of a battering. I'm hoping to get some spotted oil cloth for the top too now.

irishgirl62

Love your table and chairs bittibob! am i right in thinking i can use emulison as undercoat... budget its tight at the min I have one litre of fb egg shell loads of white emulsion and a tin of ronseal clear varnish

I dont have the patience to wait till pay day to buy more egg shell paint :-(

trixietoes

just as a 'nice to know' in my old house I painted the spare bedroom floorboards with white emulsion then topped with varnish... it turned out all yellow and patching and even bubbled I think in some parts - not very nice at all.

Thrifty_Sister

I am re inspired after all your lovely things and intend to get out in the garden to improve my garden furniture this weekend. After that I have a horrible tv stand that I will have a go at. Anything I do to it will be an improvement lol

Thrifty_Sister

trixietoes wrote: »

just as a 'nice to know' in my old house I painted the spare bedroom floorboards with white emulsion then topped with varnish... it turned out all yellow and patching and even bubbled I think in some parts - not very nice at all.

Thanks - I will certainly bear the info in mind. You've probably saved me a load of hassle posting this as it was something I was considering in our bedroom.:beer:

meames_2

Hi

This was left in my ouse when I moved in


I painted it and changed the handles with cupboard makeover paint


Its a bit patchy but for a first attempt. The chair was from a skip down the road, I painted that too.

This was left outside a house at the bottom of my street

I took the blue cover off and it was like this

so now I need some clarke and clark fabric to shabby it

Nicepeach

Hi all,

I'm quite new to the whole site - been getting MSE weekly e-mail for quite some time & reading some of the forums but only just plucked up to register & post!

Really enjoyed browsing through this forum & seeing some of your fabulous creations. Recently started knitting & would like to try making over furniture too - have a "pine" chest of drawers which started off life as a high street purchase for my son's nursery 17 years ago & has just been relegated to the garage so might have a go...!!!

Anyway, to the point! A friend of mine recently started knitting & sewing again since she retired & I thought I'd pass on this handy hint for fabric/material to you all. Friend recently acquired, think for £1, some sample swatches (you know those little pieces hung up on a tiny coat hanger) from a curtain making shop & turned them into a LOVELY cushion cover. Because all the swatches were the same material but in different colours it looked really nice, kind of like a patchwork.

I would never have even thought of this as a supply for material/fabric but it could work well, especially if you get the larger swatches which would maybe be big enough for a seat cover???

Maybe could also try upholsterers too, they maybe have sample swatches???

Also got me thinking, wonder if I could be cheeky enough to ask at the wallpaper shop to see what they do with their old sample books & could possibly use for drawer liners (thought could pop a few drops of favourite scent on them before putting in drawer so clothes smell nice). Was in wallpaper shop browsing for some paper for my bedroom & saw just what I wanted... VERY beautiful, VERY classy, VERY sparkly... didn't get it was £90 (yes, NINETY POUNDS) :eek: a roll! Toyed with the idea of just getting one roll for the wall behind the bed but Dad said he wouldn't dare hang it at that price!

Sorry for rambling on, not sure if there is a limited to length of posts? Just thought I'd share the idea.

Happy creating

Thrifty_Sister

Meames - would you like to tell me where you live as you seem to have some great pieces dumped near by lol . the sideboard & chair look lovely and the chair would make a lovely bedroom chair covered in a roses type of fabric. Please post the pics when you have transformed it.

irishgirl62

trixietoes wrote: »

just as a 'nice to know' in my old house I painted the spare bedroom floorboards with white emulsion then topped with varnish... it turned out all yellow and patching and even bubbled I think in some parts - not very nice at all.

I read somewhere on a diy forum this morning that would happen if you used oil based varnish, as with oil and water they cant mix or be together, luckily for me my varnish is water based so will give it a go half way through painting hoping to finish it tomorrow.

Meames I am green with envy at your dump finds!!! I love what you did to the side boards