Shabby Chic; Volume III

tiff

thanks for all that information cheeswright, I am well into doing things with pallets as we have made wood stores out of them for firewood, and I had thought of that for the top of a table but forgotten about it. I may see what I can dig up for the frame then. More mooching about charity warehouses and car boots!

emma_kate

I have a pine table in my garden. The legs have little splits and it has generally gotten grayish and weathered. I have oil cloth stapled on the top and this needs replacing every year as it fades. The table top also gets a bit mildewy so I scrub it with bleach once a year. It was waxed pine. The wax didn't offer much protection!
If you're going to make a table top, you can buy ready made table legs. Someone I know has a table made from a door in their garden and it's gone wonderfully chippy!

I also bought a £10 dining table and cut the legs in half and painted it pale pink gloss for one of my daughters birthday parties. It went mouldy in the garage eventually but it looked great on the day!

tiff

I will see what I can come up with, it needs to be left outside as we dont have a garage, but if we had metal legs and had to replace the top every so often that wouldnt be so bad. Will see what I can come up with.

whitesatin

meames wrote: »

Been a busy bee, got an Old suitcase from the charity shop for 50p and the man from the antique shop gave me a manky vanity case, with some unidentified liquids in bottles in it.
















I also painted a manky plastic garden chair with some left over home made chalk paint.

Lovely cases. I have just come back from my home town, Glasgow and just love the mix of styles in the bars, restaurants and shops in the West End there. I have come back full of ideas and your cases reminded me of an idea that I saw in the Ladies' loo in a really interesting place. The little open vanity case was lined with a Cath Kidston type fabric and was filled with soaps, hand creams and pretty tissues and stuff, for the use of.

I am thinking of how I can do something similar and just thought I would say well done.

Seakay

meames wrote: »

Wax, or Vaseline!

Vaseline would be different! Does it make a dustable surface like wax does or or does it stay a bit sticky?

Using the cardboard to support and attach the fabric is a really good idea - filing that one away for future reference!

meames_2

I did use wax, but I used to use Vaseline on my doc martins and it never went sticky,

esmy

Help!

Inspired by some of your makeovers I made up some chalk paint and painted 2 folding wooden chairs for my daughters garden which I've varnished and looked great.

I then had a go at my orange pine bedside drawers which covered beautifully with 3 coats of more homemade chalk paint. However when I started to buff the wax, great strips of paint peeled off.

What have I done wrong and how can I put it right? It looks like the paint didn't stick in places. The drawers were varnished originally and I assumed I could just paint over them with no preparation except a wipe over. Will I need to sand off the wax or can I repaint over it?

emma_kate

esmy wrote: »

Help!

Inspired by some of your makeovers I made up some chalk paint and painted 2 folding wooden chairs for my daughters garden which I've varnished and looked great.

I then had a go at my orange pine bedside drawers which covered beautifully with 3 coats of more homemade chalk paint. However when I started to buff the wax, great strips of paint peeled off.

What have I done wrong and how can I put it right? It looks like the paint didn't stick in places. The drawers were varnished originally and I assumed I could just paint over them with no preparation except a wipe over. Will I need to sand off the wax or can I repaint over it?

Did you use sugar soap? It cuts through the layers of polish that build up on the wood and make it more dull, giving the paint a chance to adhere. It's really a vital step.

Also what recipe did you use? Some are better than others. The one with plaster of paris or unsanded grout will add adhesive properties over the recipe with, what is it again? Bicarbonate of Soda? Can't remember. But I can't see that adding any 'glue' to the paint. You might get away with it on some surfaces due to the adhesion properties of the paint. But I wouldn't use that one.

If you used Annie Sloan wax you can paint over it. If you used other wax, try to lift as much as poss with white spirit on a rag or fine wire wool. If that doesnt work, a gentle sand and you should be good to go.

Alternatively, you could use ESP/ Liquid sandpaper. Try to remove all the peely bits before you start again, with a scraper or sandpaper. Keep at it!

hmo

ive posted this in crochet too but i feel such a sense of achievement that i had to post it here too, details on my blog but i love it its for my little girls bed.

p4tti

Hi Everyone,
I've been following this thread for some time and want to thank you all for your inspiration.
I wanted some storage in the recess in the dining room and finally came up with the answer due mostly to this thread.
Bought the cupboard in a nearby furniture shop and it took a lot of hard work but the result is amazing.
I didn't realise how good the coloured glass would look afterwards I must admit I am finding myself looking around to see what else can be painted.
Thanks again for all your fab tips. Hope this works and you can see the pics.

https://pinterest.com/p4tti/unloved-to-loved/