Red Polka Dot and Shabby Floral Stool Makeovers

Sarah came to me with these stools that were in dire need of some Restyled Vintage upcycling...

I got to work cleaning them up, and stripping the tops off them.  I primed, then painted them with a lovely off white, Resene Pearl Lusta.  Once the painting was done, I distressed the stools, then I handed them over to my upholsterer who made new oilcloth outfits for them.  Here they are, all done...

The cross-bar is so low on the stool because it has been cut down at some stage...still looks ok though.

To finish off the piano stool, I gave it a bit of a wash with Resene Linen to break up the clean white look, and give it a bit of character.  The 'Linen' colour is green so it ties in nicely with the green in the floral print oilcloth.

They certainly don't look dark and dingy anymore, and now belong in a home rather than a junk shop!

xx Karen

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!

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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

Butlers Tray - Before and After

This is a recent makeover I did for a client...she brought me this butler's tray which I believe was originally sold as an 'outdoor' piece of furniture, and was stained with teak oil.  Here is what it looked like...

Nice enough, but just didn't fit the french country theme my client was after.  I gave it a good sanding to remove the teak oil, then sprayed it liberally with Oil and Grease Remover, to make sure the paint would adhere (having learnt the hard way about oil contaminating wooden furniture!) before priming it with Zinsser BIN.  I painted it with Resene Pearl Lusta, gave it a light distressing and here it is now...

A simple paintjob really makes all the difference to the feel of a piece :)

It can transform a piece of furniture that is just functional and useful, into something that you love as well.

xx Karen

Some more Taupe Dotty Chairs

I forgot to take a before shot of these, but this is what they look like now, thanks to my fantastic upholsterer.

The nine chairs found by my client consisted of a set of four and a set of five.  My upholsterer made new curved plywood backs for four of them so that they all matched.

 

New white feet finish them off for a nice fresh look.

If you'd like your own set of upcycled retro chairs, you can email me for more information.

xx Karen