Shabby Chic; Volume III

Nicnax

Keli wrote: »

I purchassed some bedside cabinets from ebay as I wanted to paint them cream, hubby thought I was mad when I brought them home but after sanding them down and priming them and painting cream I love the end result as does hubby.

I was thinking of changing handles to glass ones but I quite like the originals now its finished.

Before



After

They look lovely x

Seakay

They look great Keli - may I be very cheeky and ask about the wallpaper as well? It's really pretty!

steve_2012

very neatly finished piece of work keli.

are there any issues with chalking up satin emulsion, its a bit late to ask as ive done it now but thought id ask anyway before waxing.
as for wax are there any favoured and easy ish to use brands, will do a search as well but be good to get recent opinions.

marris

Seakay wrote: »

They look great Keli - may I be very cheeky and ask about the wallpaper as well? It's really pretty!

ohh it's laura ashley i know all of them i think :rotfl:

emma_kate

steve_2012 wrote: »

very neatly finished piece of work keli.

are there any issues with chalking up satin emulsion, its a bit late to ask as ive done it now but thought id ask anyway before waxing.
as for wax are there any favoured and easy ish to use brands, will do a search as well but be good to get recent opinions.

To look like 'true' chalk paint that is really matt and er, chalky, you would use matt emulsion. But others on here have used satin and even waterbased eggshell. Totally up to you.
A more satin or eggshell finish will absorb less wax.
Any soft wax will do. I like Liberon beeswax paste with turpentine. Others use Annies. Start with clear before you move onto dark as it will stain your work if you don't. If you overdo dark wax you can lift it with clear wax.

Pooky

Keli - Gorgeous make over on those bedside tables - it still amazes me what a coat of paint can do to an item.

Well, the kitchen is finally finished! I'm soooooo looking forward to a break from the DIY for a while (although I did dig out the paint for the bathroom and check I've got enough rollers/brushes left....) It never ends!

Florenceem

emma_kate wrote: »

To look like 'true' chalk paint that is really matt and er, chalky, you would use matt emulsion. But others on here have used satin and even waterbased eggshell. Totally up to you.
A more satin or eggshell finish will absorb less wax.
Any soft wax will do. I like Liberon beeswax paste with turpentine. Others use Annies. Start with clear before you move onto dark as it will stain your work if you don't. If you overdo dark wax you can lift it with clear wax.

Does using a water based varnish give a more durable finish than using the wax?

Florenceem

Pooky wrote: »

Keli - Gorgeous make over on those bedside tables - it still amazes me what a coat of paint can do to an item.

Well, the kitchen is finally finished! I'm soooooo looking forward to a break from the DIY for a while (although I did dig out the paint for the bathroom and check I've got enough rollers/brushes left....) It never ends!

Love the kitchen. Mine is still wip. Still unpacking boxes! Had problems with the work on the cloakroom and bathroom today.

chalkysoil

I use wax & varnish. I think wax is classy, but really gathers dust if you are a slob like me, and will probably need rewaxing periodically. I use varnish on picture frames always as the one time I did an ornate one with wax it took hours instead of minutes. I've done some small furniture with varnish recently and it's hard to tell the difference, but I'd use wax on anything important.
The varnish I've been using is Wilkos matt waterbased indoor clear quick drying. I can't see it on their website. It's about £7 for a tin of possibly 750ml.

I had a bad experience with a waterproof exterior "clear" varnish which was actually brown due to the resins blah blah in it. No one knows of a waterproof clear varnish unless it's some tiny hobby craft tin maybe. Or nail varnish.

everything I've done has endured, and I've not read of any probs with either, indoors.

Seakay

Pooky wrote: »

Keli - Gorgeous make over on those bedside tables - it still amazes me what a coat of paint can do to an item.

Well, the kitchen is finally finished! I'm soooooo looking forward to a break from the DIY for a while (although I did dig out the paint for the bathroom and check I've got enough rollers/brushes left....) It never ends!

just checked the pics on your blog - really fantastic! Well done you! I know it's been really hard work and very uncomfortable to live with but the result are fabulous!