Shabby Chic; Volume III

monkeysallsayboo

Hi everyone. I have been gathering my bits and now i feel i should actually get on and paint something. I have a mirror, in matt gold. i was thinking of painting it cream, and distressing it with a blue underneath. i also won a dresser on ebay, and cant decide between just doing up the pine with oil/wax or painting in a mix of cream and pine.
then lastly and the main reason i posted is because bought a vintage sewing box (see below). the material was stuck onto cardboard and nailed in. i have removed all the nails, cardboard and material, and even the little ledges that the tray rested on.
Now i dont knwo what to do with it! i am happy to sand the whole thing down and wax or stain it. maybe paint it. but i have no real use for it (dont tell my OH though lol) any ideas what i could use it for?
Anyway here it is
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130539238880&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
thanks, claire x

annie-c

monkeysallsayboo wrote: »

Hi everyone. I have been gathering my bits and now i feel i should actually get on and paint something. I have a mirror, in matt gold. i was thinking of painting it cream, and distressing it with a blue underneath. i also won a dresser on ebay, and cant decide between just doing up the pine with oil/wax or painting in a mix of cream and pine.
then lastly and the main reason i posted is because bought a vintage sewing box (see below). the material was stuck onto cardboard and nailed in. i have removed all the nails, cardboard and material, and even the little ledges that the tray rested on.
Now i dont knwo what to do with it! i am happy to sand the whole thing down and wax or stain it. maybe paint it. but i have no real use for it (dont tell my OH though lol) any ideas what i could use it for?
Anyway here it is
[link removed]
thanks, claire x

Hi Claire

Firstly - just a security suggestion. It is best not to link to your ebay purchases on here as there are far more readers than you might think and if anyone wanted to they could use your link to find out your personal information.

Secondly: wow that is a lovely box! I made over a similar one by sanding and painting the exterior and then relining the interior using card covered in fabric. I used the thin weight card that comes with kitchen/av appliances (the sort that is not corrugated) and I used diluted PVA glue to wrap the fabric round it. Then more PVA to glue each panel in place - 6 panels in total for the base, four sides and the lid. I took the project slowly and glued each panel on individually (turning the box as I went so the glued panel was alwasy on the 'bottom')and using heavy books to weight it down until dry. You could pad the lid if you wanted by adding batting under the fabric. I used cotton duck fabric (from IKEA I think) as it is thick enough not to wrinkle or show the glue marks on the 'right' side.

For the inner tray you could just sand and paint it and stick fabric just in the bottom of each compartment. I'm imagining that the support frame for the tray is made from some kind of lightweight batten which you could possible remove recover and replace after the lining is complete?

monkeysallsayboo

annie-c thanks for the advice.

well i tackled it today, i have sanded it down, filled some dog bites in the leg! i also removed the fabric. it was stuck onto card like you said, but they had put nails in the card before sticking on the fabric. the bits on either side holding up the tray were just random wood screwed into the sides. i removed it all.

the problem is what do i turn it into! i dont think i would use it for sewing, but i cant think what else to use it for.

uropachild

How tall is it? You don't necessarily have to use it for crafts, you could use it as a bedside table or just a side table. Or use it to store towels - leave the lid open and roll the towels up. Don't know how it would survive in a bathroom though. Orrrrrr could you have it in your hallway to put your keys and things in. Or what about in your bedroom for jewelery? Do you write letters? You could use it to store your writing things.

Um, that's all i can think of.

monkeysallsayboo

thanks uropachild - thats what i mean i need those ideas! it isnt high. i was prising ideas out of my other half last night to get some ideas too! i like the hallway idea, but we already have a similar sort of table out there, with my 3 year old shoes in. i will keep thinking! but thank you

uropachild

Have you tried pinterest for ideas?

You could use it to keep veg in, just line the inside in hessian or sacking type material.

What about keeping some of your 3 year olds toys in? Put it in a place where you usually need them to be occupied while you do something (where you put mke up on, or dry your hair, or cook or something) then put toys in there that they only get to play with in that place. You could then use kids material to line it, like Cath Kidston cowboys for a boy or that bright flowery one or the stars one for a girl. (Sorry, don't know the gender of your LO!)

Or you could use it to keep a collection of their favourite toys. Like their dolls or train track or something.

Kaz2904

Hi there.
monkeysallsayboo, I have to say, I think that's a lovely little box you've found yourself there. If you really don't know what to use it for, it may not be right for your house. It will take up quite a bit of space for something you are racking your brains for ideas for use if you know what I mean? I would be tempted to do it up and resell it if the idea hasn't sprung to you by the time it's finished. Personally, I would use it in my hallway for mail or keys but I don't have anything similar and would put a basket underneath for shoes. Or I would put it in my bedroom in front of the window and use it as a sewing table but I would probably find it not big enough to put the machine on. It depends what space you have and how much you love it really

Maysie

hi, i have enjoyed skim reading and browsing all the pics today. Bit of a mammoth task! Some fabulous ideas and beautiful bits and pieces.

When you do chest of drawers when you paint the front of the drawers where do you stop? do you paint the sides? I did these a while back but i got bored and never really finished the drawers to a good standard.



It had a horrible dark and badly scratched varnish and i sanded it off with a bargain sander i got from wollies when it was the closing down sale. I added new knobs. The old knobs were blocks of wood style with a design on but i couldn't sand them properly or get the paint to look good.

LJM

that lloks really nice xx

bensonsmum

:j

Maysie wrote: »

hi, i have enjoyed skim reading and browsing all the pics today. Bit of a mammoth task! Some fabulous ideas and beautiful bits and pieces.

When you do chest of drawers when you paint the front of the drawers where do you stop? do you paint the sides? I did these a while back but i got bored and never really finished the drawers to a good standard.



It had a horrible dark and badly scratched varnish and i sanded it off with a bargain sander i got from wollies when it was the closing down sale. I added new knobs. The old knobs were blocks of wood style with a design on but i couldn't sand them properly or get the paint to look good.

I can't knowledgably answer your question about where to stop with the paint im afraid, as i haven't yet got around to doing any big stuff, but if it were me i suspose i would paint to at least where the draw sits when you open it if you get what i mean. I think your chest looks lovely - i would be so proud if i could say i had worked on something that ended up looking like that - well done you :j:j