Before and After - Baby Pink Desk

This mahogany desk languished for ages in my to-do pile...I guess other more exciting projects kept pushing in on it!

Here are the 'before' photos...

After priming it with BIN, I sprayed it with a baby pink Resene paint called Cosmos.

Here it is, all finished...

The retro office chair is also one of my recent projects, but I still have to paint the chair frame white.

I LOVE the glass bling handles!

I chose not to distress this piece, which was very unusual for me...I just felt this piece needed to be kept simple and pretty.

xx Karen

Before and After - Shabby Chic Apple Green Cabinet

First of all, sorry things have been a bit quiet on the post front lately.  Projects have slowed a bit since it is winter here, and really rather cold...not the best painting weather!  Besides that, our house is for sale so my ability to get stuck into projects seems to have been a bit sidelined.  On the plus side, there seem to be plenty of interested potential buyers, which is wonderful and gives me hopes of a quick result so we can make our next move...more on that in due course!

A wee while back, I picked up this little wooden cabinet at the local op shop.  It was rather plain and boring but something about it spoke to me.

It had some excellent little 'flaws' in the varnish that I knew would come up well once painted and distressed...I never sand these parts out, I love to keep them for the character they add...

It reminds me of tiger skin bread!

I chose to paint it a lovely apple green colour, and distressed it quite heavily so that the BIN primer and the timber showed through.  Here it is, all finished...

The blue rosebud stool is a recent client commission.

I chose some little porcelain rose knobs to finish it off.

I always paint the insides of cupboards, it doesn't feel 'finished' to me if you just slap paint on the outside and leave it all yucky and dark inside!

Sharing this with

 

and

 

 

xx Karen

Side Table - Before and After

Almost a year ago now, I did these Bar Stools for Deb.  To my delight she rang me a few weeks ago to ask if I would do a little side table for her.  Of course I was pleased to, I particularly love it when clients return to me, because it confirms that they like what I have done, and also that the previous work I completed must be holding up well (I don't doubt that it will, but it is still nice to know!)

This is the wee table - lovely shapes but far too 'Nana'.

Deb wanted a french country feel for the table so I primed it as usual, then painted it in Resene Pearl Lusta before distressing then adding my own recipe of antiquing glaze.  Here is the finished result...

The varnish on the table had an excellent little 'flaw' which you can see here, the varnish had crazed a bit which I never sand out as I like to use it to my advantage..it looks fantastic once painted and glazed and adds a very authentic 'shabby' look to a piece.  Imperfections are a good thing in this style of furniture!

This plate was a junk shop find on my recent North Island holiday...the colours are my favourites, and go with my kitchen beautifully!

Speaking of my kitchen, we are just about to list our home for sale, and since I have never fully shared a 'home tour' on my blog, I may do that once the estate agent has been and taken photos...watch this space!

xx Karen