Shabby Chic Thread?

susieg

Thought it was just me - glad I'm not alone!!

chrisbethany

sandieb wrote: »

Kitchen pre-Farrow and Balling

and after .... still in progress ... flooring to be replaced and blind to be made. Wall units match wall colour - Clunch.

Hi Sandie - only read to here so far but had to say how much I liked your new colour scheme. Isn't it fantastic the difference a coat of paint can make? Our units were very drab and dated but I took the old/broken knobs off and replaced them with round, wooden ones and painted the whole lot in H'base cream gloss, and the walls in a lovely sagey green. The kitchen now looks like the really pricey ones in the mags - I'm also delighted how the paint took to the surfaces, and how it hasn't chipped or marked anywhere yet, a year later.

Chris :j

vivw_2

I'm about to paint the doors in my kitchen, so what paint did you use Chris?

DitaBombita

Hello Guys - Im going to try and `shabby chic my car. Its a little renault, anyone have some good ideas?

Im thinking some floral or polka dot seat covers if I can find some, some sweet cushions in back (will try to make myself). some nice pastel mats.....any other ideas? Thanks in advance!

Menolly_2

chrisbethany wrote: »

Hi Sandie - only read to here so far but had to say how much I liked your new colour scheme. Isn't it fantastic the difference a coat of paint can make? Our units were very drab and dated but I took the old/broken knobs off and replaced them with round, wooden ones and painted the whole lot in H'base cream gloss, and the walls in a lovely sagey green. The kitchen now looks like the really pricey ones in the mags - I'm also delighted how the paint took to the surfaces, and how it hasn't chipped or marked anywhere yet, a year later.

Chris :j

We've just done this in our kitchen - I wanted Farrow & Ball "cooking apple green" for the units and Farrow Cream for the walls, but the paint was outside our budget so I got as close as I could with Dulux Colourmatcher paints. We used Satinwood, having primed the wooden doors/drawer fronts wih Focus Primer/Undercoat and the melamine bits (the pelmet,cabinet frames and end panels) with melamine primer. We then looked at the wrought iron (I think they call them cage T-bar) handles in the kitchen area at B & Q and nearly passed out at the price £6 for 2 and we needed 40!!), but a snoop around the handles and knobs section in the same store unearthed a very similar style but with 8 in the pack for £8.00.
The old tiles which came four feet up the wall came off taking plaster with, so we put up battens and used tongue and groove wainscoting which we also painted green - this looks amazing! We bought the tiles for the splashback behind the hob from Homebase - these tiles look "hand-made" and were the cheapest we could find - they come in red, terracotta, pale green, pale blue, dark blue, egg yolk yellow, cream and white and we bought a box of each and had great fun working out how best to arrange them.

From eBay, I bought a pine wall-hung plate rack and chose a deeper green from the same paint family as the one we'd already used - it was a pain to paint (all those dowels!) but it came up really well and looks nicely shabby chic (also painted an old wheel-back chair in the same colour - nice comfy place to sit and admire my very expensive-looking country kitchen LOL!!!)

Definitely worth doing - we couldn't have afforded a complete new kitchen anyway and the units were still in very good condition so it would have felt awfully wasteful even if we HAD had the money!

chrisbethany

vivw wrote: »

I'm about to paint the doors in my kitchen, so what paint did you use Chris?

Hi Viv

I always use Homebase's own paints - the cupboard ones were done in cream gloss. I'll try to take pics tomorrow - after I clean the kitchen!:rolleyes: - and post them here.

Chris

DitaBombita

I was in B&M bargins in East Leeds and picked up a white shower curtain with little pastel coloured spots on Friday. £3.99 and quite Cath Kidston-esq. Has brightended up my bathroom lovely, and loads chepaer than other ones ive seen. They had quite a few left.

Bibbitybob

Menolly wrote: »

We've just done this in our kitchen - I wanted Farrow & Ball "cooking apple green" for the units and Farrow Cream for the walls, but the paint was outside our budget so I got as close as I could with Dulux Colourmatcher paints. We used Satinwood, having primed the wooden doors/drawer fronts wih Focus Primer/Undercoat and the melamine bits (the pelmet,cabinet frames and end panels) with melamine primer. We then looked at the wrought iron (I think they call them cage T-bar) handles in the kitchen area at B & Q and nearly passed out at the price £6 for 2 and we needed 40!!), but a snoop around the handles and knobs section in the same store unearthed a very similar style but with 8 in the pack for £8.00.
The old tiles which came four feet up the wall came off taking plaster with, so we put up battens and used tongue and groove wainscoting which we also painted green - this looks amazing! We bought the tiles for the splashback behind the hob from Homebase - these tiles look "hand-made" and were the cheapest we could find - they come in red, terracotta, pale green, pale blue, dark blue, egg yolk yellow, cream and white and we bought a box of each and had great fun working out how best to arrange them.

From eBay, I bought a pine wall-hung plate rack and chose a deeper green from the same paint family as the one we'd already used - it was a pain to paint (all those dowels!) but it came up really well and looks nicely shabby chic (also painted an old wheel-back chair in the same colour - nice comfy place to sit and admire my very expensive-looking country kitchen LOL!!!)

Definitely worth doing - we couldn't have afforded a complete new kitchen anyway and the units were still in very good condition so it would have felt awfully wasteful even if we HAD had the money!

Sounds gorgeous - I'd love to see pics if you have any!! You should head over to the new Shabby Chic forum (link a few posts back)...it's full of 'before and after' pics and would be lovely if you could add yours too

Menolly_2

I'll do that - we've nearly finished the kitchen - the new boiler is being fitted in the utility during next week and a radiator in the kitchen is being moved. We can then finish off the kitchen and start the utility refurb..........once again I have used Dulux Colourmatching service to replicate F & B's paints - we're using a "Tallow" lookalike on the walls and "Farrow Cream" lookalike on the wainscoting and unit doors. The floor is already quarry-tiled and just needs a good clean-up and the grout scrubbing out.
Will head off and find the Shabby Chic link - thanks for the heads-up!

chrisbethany

Hi Everyone

This is my third attempt - it's taken all afternoon to get this posted !!

I said I'd post pics of my kitchen so, here goes.

I'd always dreamt of living in a gipsy caravan or narrowboat (where to keep all my tat is another matter :rolleyes: !) but, since that was never likely to happen, ages ago I'd decorated my kitchen with that type of feel - the gloss work was holly green, the walls a sunny yellow, the curtains and blind you can see below, and I had vaguely wondered about painting roses and castles (like canal ware) on my cupboards - fortunately DH brought me to my senses and stopped me in time!!

Anyway, a year ago I decided I'd had enough - the cupboards were originally dark brown wood with metal handles (several had snapped by now) and the whole thing looked tired and sad, and needed some TLC. So -

I took off the handles, rubbed down the units and put wooden knobs on, gave them and the woodwork two coats of white u'coat and two of H'base cream gloss. I'm not a confident tiler so I bought small ones that you put on by the sheet. The walls were painted in H'base light green (mixed with white cos the green seemed very fierce), and were finished off with a border (the ceiling is two different heights and I wanted to knit the two halves together).


These are the orginal curtains and blind


DD1 put up the corner shelves to store my pots.


The double cupboard was a wall unit rescued from our lean-to, and a friend put it here, adding a piece of timber to the side, to box it in. I don't think you'd know if you weren't told. The tea cosy was made from left overs from my wedding dress material, so I remember my happy day 13 yrs ago whenever I use it


You can't see it too clearly but the bread bin is an ancient enamel one that looks worse for wear but I wouldn't want to part with


This shelf is about 5' long and holds my casserole dishes, etc - don't know about you but I haven't nearly enough storage space. I use white crockery so that, if a range is discontinued, any replacements match (sort of!!)


This rail was a pressie 20 years ago

and this one about 10 years ago - I love their country feel

Anyway, that's it - I was amazed at how much bigger the room seemed, after lightening the cupboards - the dark brown had made it seem ever so narrow (and it's only 6' to start with!! - by about 20')

Visitors thought we'd had a new kitchen until I put them right, and we've now got a brand new kitchen (sort of) for under £200!!

Hope this doesn't sound like showing off - it's not meant to - just to say that if I can do it, anyone can - so, if you're hovering - get stuck in!

I'll take some pics of the rest of the house when I get back the will to live:rotfl: !!

Love to all my virtual friends,

Chris