Painted chairs - French look

I found these couple of chairs on Ebay and I was thrilled to start!. You wont believe how dirty they were. I cleaned them with sugar soap and the cloth was literaly black!.
This was my first project! I used Annie Sloan paints, 2 coats of Creme and then one of Paris Grey.

I love the finish, I love to see the Cream color through the grey


I'm very pleased with these chairs, they really make a difference in a room!.

*Follow me on Facebook*

Free standing shelves in Paris Grey

I'm always looking for furniture on Ebay, I tend to bid on many things at the same time, I don't win all the time but when I do....oh boy... I smile all day long! hehehehe....this is an addiction....a healthy one by the way!!!. I love to see how furniture can be transformed, from gloomy to bloomy in a blink of an eye.
I bought this free standing shelves with drawers some time ago.... the picture on Ebay was very bad although I was able to see the potential. I thought the piece was actually bigger, and when I went to collected I was surprised, but I liked it anyway and the price I paid was more than fair.

What I love the most about it is the cut out design on the sides and the small drawers.
It's 111 cms tall and 50 cms wide, it can stand on the floor but it also looks fab on top of a chest of drawers, so you can use it to store your jewelry, perfumes and other nice girly things.

I used Annie Sloan paint Paris Grey and Old White...

I really love the way it looks!!!





Follow me on Facebook

From ugly little duckling to beautiful swan

My husband has had this cabinet since he was 21, he told me that he got it in a second hand shop... I have to admit that I never liked it, but I found it very practical. Since we moved home in decemebr this year, it was stored in the garage....until one morning that I woke up with the brilliant idea of painting it to use it in the dining room to store glasses, mats, cutlery etc.

I used Annie Sloan's paints Old White for the drawers and a mixed of Paris Grey with Louis Blue for the outside of the cabinet and inside of drawers...
I had it all in my mind, even the new drawer knobs I wanted!:

Aren't they nice? I wanted to combine 2 colors to make of this cabinet something more informal and fun.

Want to see more?...



The fabrics you see on the drawer are from: Sanderson (left) and Ikea (right)

I love that compartment, ideal to store wine glasses, jugs, tea cups....


I think this is the story of the ugly little duckling who turned into a beautiful swan....don't you think?

Follow me on Facebook

Wax Vs Varnish or Eggshell Paint and Farrow & Ball

I have realized that waxed furniture is not really the ideal thing when you have little kids in the house, as it is my case. Cabinets, side tables are ok, but dining chairs and kids furniture need a different treatment, a different finish.
I painted a country bench and a chair for my dining room in Old White, they really look gorgeous... but the continuous wear was showing off in the shape of dark marks where my son has placed his shoes or dirty little fingers, tried to removed them with a damp cloth and they didn't go. So I started looking for a more durable finish. Clear varnish is one of them, Shellac is widely used in the US and I'm still trying to find the equivalent here in the UK. Then I saw other people painting furniture with the famous Farrow & Ball paint, called one of the retailers and they said that Estate Eggshell was the ideal paint for that, the finish is very durable and if you want, you can also use wax and varnish after distressing is done. If you don't distress the furniture, you don't really need to apply anything else...sounded great to me!, so I treated myself to a 2.5lt tin of F&B paint:

There are so many beautiful colors to choose!!!! but because I want to paint my dining chairs I went for Skimming Stone. I can't wait to try it!!!.

Fun shabby chic signs

I love painted signs, they add a touch of humour to your home. I always smile when I see a nice one and there are so many phrases to play with. I've recycled 3 boards of wood to paint 3 signs:

Home sweet home sign. I used a relatively new chopping board that I cleaned with sugar soap, sanded it and painted using a mix of Annie Sloan's Cream and Louis Blue paint. I painted letters and decoration around the board with AS Old white, waxed, distressed and waxed again.

I love this one hehehe... Be nice or leave! I used the same colors mentioned on the previous sign.
I recycled a piece of floor board I had left from my house.

I also love this one and I think I'll make more in different colors. Here I used Annie Sloan's Louis Blue mixed with a bit of Paris Grey for the backround, and brown acrylic paint for the letters and decoration.
I used another piece of floor board I had left from my house.

Follow me on Facebook

Shabby Chic Bread Box - Annie Sloan Paints

I found this boring bread box.... it needed urgent renovation, so there I went again...."brushes please.......paint please...", just like a surgeon does in theatre.
I used Annie Sloan's Cream paint, waxed, distressed, then another coat of clear wax and dark wax.... the result after the surgery?:
A lot nicer now uh? :-)

Follow me on Facebook

Painted country chair

We moved house in december 2010 and this lovely chair was left here. Its solid oak so very heavy. It has lovely carvings and the best of all, it's very comfy!
I gave it a coat of Louis Blue and then a coat of Old White, waxed it, distressed it and waxed it again.
I reapholstered it with Laura Ashley's Chambray gingham fabric.

Follow me on Facebook

Blue and white corner display cabinet

I found this corner unit on Ebay and it was a real bargain, I'm surprise nobody else put a bid....maybe because it was meant to be mine! ha!. The front is oak and the side panels are made of a light wood, which makes it very easy to move around.
I love the wavy sides of the shelves and the two small pillars on the top one.
It was sooooo dark and depressing to look at....oh dear....so there I went to the rescue! yay! when I collected it my hands were itching to grab brushes to start painting straight away. The couple I bought it from, could not believe how much I loved this piece of furniture it nearly went to the tip!! can you believe it?, they thought nobody would like it....how wrong they were!.

I knew exactly how I wanted to paint it...blue and white.

I used Annie Sloan's Old white for the outside and Louis Blue for the inside except the cupboard inside which is white. I waxed it, distressed it and waxed it again.

And voilá!, It looks really nice, it uplifts the space beautifully. My husband wanted to keep it....but I'm sorry...its SOLD!.

Follow me on Facebook

Side table

My second project was a side table I bought in a boot sale, it has two practical drawers and is the ideal piece that fits everywhere in the house.
I fell in love with it immediately, dark and boring as it looks....because I always had in mind to paint it!
This time I used Paris Grey as a first coat and then Cream...
I wanted to use dark wax but was a bit shy I have to admit, probably because I didn't want to ruin the table!....and what happened was, I gave it a coat of clear wax first, then I sanded by hand, after that I applied another coat of clear wax followed by a diluted dark wax that I was removing with a cloth before it dried....

The result was different than what I expected but I likeed it.
Before and after...


Follow me on Facebook

Painted Ercol Chairs

I bought these 2 chairs on Ebay, they seemed to be perfect for my first project with AS paints....

I gave them one coat of Cream color and then one coat of Paris Grey, waxed them, distressed them and waxed them again.... and voilá!


I do really love the result and the finish is delicious! so smooth!.

Visit my page on Facebook

Chalk Paint and lots of inspiration

For a long time I have longed for painting furniture, I did a few things but wasn't convinced about the paint, nor the finish...until a good friend of mine told me about Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint....checked her web site and immediately had the feeling "this is it!"..... bought her latest book, some paint and the fun begun....yup, that very day!.
The paint itself is a pleasure to work with and the finish you achieve by using wax is fabulous.
I will post some pics of what I have done so far, not too much, but oh dear-oh dear I love it!