So please with myself ! Managed to get the big pine welsh dresser finished and it's a beaut!
I sanded down the top of the base unit and sealed with a wax varnish which I find a bit more hardwearing than Annie Sloan wax. Then painted the base the same as the top, finishing with some dark wax to age. I replaced the brass handles with some coordinating cream porcelain knobs, which looks fab.
Here is the before pic, and I love it so much I am selling the cream one I currently have.
The cream one has an internal light, and the the new one looked quite dark in it's place, so I had to look for a little lamp to brighten it up. Bit difficult as the shelf area is only about 12" high.
Found this pretty little teapot lamp, the perfect size and gives a lovely soft glow. I should have moved the ironing board before I took this pic, sorry.
I had a very productive week and also finished off the two retro pieces. I don't usually go for this style as they are not shabby chic, so it will be interesting to see if I can ake some money on them.
This one is so cute. I have painted the top drawer in a custom mixed soft pink, and the bottom drawer in Original. The legs are also painted with Original and I have added some detail with gold rub 'n buff to match the vintage gold coloured handles. I also sanded down the top removing all the old varnish, and refinished with wax varnish.
The second retro piece is the spectacular vintage dressing table. I masked off the little top drawers which were a bit marked and painted in Original.
I removed the mirror, then sanded the old varnish from the top. I had a slight problem though as I sanded a bit too much on the right edge.
Because it is veneered you have to be careful just to sand enough to remove the varnish and not sand off the veneer, which I unfortunately did! We learn from our mistakes, and I will not be caught with this again.
Only solution was to paint the top, so I used Annie Sloan Original as it is so close to the lovely cream colour that was already on the two wee top drawers. Because I had sanded the varnish off some of the oil showed through the paint, and even after 3 coats you can still see it a bit.
I sanded one of the drawers, and painted the other, and I added some silver rub 'n buff to the handles and metal ends of the legs to freshen them up.
I think it looks amazing! I listed it on ebay last night and already have some interest :)
It is so nice to have space to move about in the conservatory now. I must try not to make it so cluttered again. My last project this week was a coffee table I started over a year ago. I painted in in Old White and added some pretty Laura Ashley wallpaper to the top, but the paper bubbled and crinkled and I had to remove it all (very messy).
I had to use the electric sander to get it all off, and once I had the wood looked too nice to cover up with paint or paper. I gave it a couple of coats of wax varnish, then stencilled with a pretty bird stencil I bought in New York. As you well know I LOVE stencilling!!
I started in the middle and applied slightly watered down Old White with a sponge applicator. I was going to repeat the pattern all over the top, but once I had stencilled the first row I decided to leave it there. Sometimes less is more!!
Couple more coats of varnish and reluctantly listed on ebay (another one I would love to keep). Maybe I should?
Well, that's just about all for this week. Russell is away this week in Cyprus for a medical education conference and doesn't get back till Sunday night. Thankfully we are both off work on Monday as it is a bank holiday here. There is also a bank holiday car boot sale on, so fingers crossed for a nice dry day. Autumn is nearly here and it is now dark by 9pm. Not really had a summer this year, never mind, maybe next year !
Last time I showed you this and asked you to guess what it is -
It is not a tortilla holder, although a good guess :)
It is a pretty lantern. The concertina part is made of a linen type cloth, and I have never seen one of these before, they are usually paper. There is a little hatch on the top to open for you to pop a tea light in. I love quirky unusual things like this !
From next week I am back to full time for a while at work so will have weekends only for my hobby. I have enjoyed all my extra time off.
Hope you have a wonderful week!
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