Paint Project Inspiration

Remember this post about stenciling roller shades? I thought about when I came across this picture on Country Living...I was looking for this project. Still don't know if I will attempt this...
I would definitely try the shade project but I am not sure about the roller with the stencil. What do you think? Would you try it?

Well If You Say It Is Easy....

I may give it a try. It is only Tuesday but I have several projects planned for this weekend. Maybe I will try one of these easy ribbon ideas...Details of these projects and more on Midwest Living

DIY Kitchen Makeover

Thanks everyone for the lovely comments on my kitchen makeover, I'm so thrilled you like the results of all my blood, sweat and numerous tears! Today as promised I'll go through all the details of what I did, how I did it and what I products I used.

So, the first step was to remove all the cabinet doors ready for painting. As I mentioned here, I bought myself an airless spray gun, and I tell you, that baby is worth its weight in gold! The most important advice I can give is to set up a mini spray booth - you do get a bit of overspray and for some reason I don't think I'd have been too popular if I'd painted everything else along with the doors!

Once you're all set up, give the doors a light sand before applying a coat of sealer/primer/undercoat. The best, in my opinion, is Zinsser's BIN 123. It's spirit based, dries quickly and can be used with any top coat. This was followed by two coats of Dulux Wash and Wear 101 acrylic gloss, in Vivid White.

 

after undercoating

While the doors were an easy fix, I still had the problem of a particularly ugly brick island - remember this?

I love the look of beadboard, which proved to be the perfect solution. I bought three panels of Easycraft Easy Regency from Bunnings, and as they come pre-undercoated, all they needed was two coats of topcoat. Then, I glued them straight onto the bricks using Liquid Nails.

To finish off, I trimmed the corners with timber beading, and added skirting along the bottom edge, and also under the benchtop.

Besides the painting, I think replacing the knobs made a huge difference to the look of the room. I went for black cast iron, and although my original choice was this one, available online from here, in the interests of time I went with an almost exact version I found at Bunnings.

That's about it. After wrestling with the door hinges, all the doors went back on, I replaced the knobs, and voila - a whole new room. I do plan to replace the benchtop, splashback and possibly change the wall cutout down the track, and I'm on the lookout for some lovely pendant lights for above the island, but for now I'm loving the new look and I'm in no hurry to change a thing. But you know how, once you revamp one area, the others look shabby in comparison? My to-do list is growing by the second - I think that little spray gun of mine can expect a serious workout! Ok, just a few more before and afters to refresh your memory:

See you tomorrow!

Sweet little furniture makeover

Right, I'm back with the little project I hinted at in yesterday's post. I've had this stool for years, and thought it was about time I gave it some attention. When I first bought it, the frame was painted the most garish gold imaginable, complete with psychedelic fabric - the mind boggles at the thought of the house this little number came from! Anyway, I wasted no time stripping the trippy fabric off the cushion and painted the frame white. But that's as far as it went, and as this was way before I even knew what a blog was, I don't have any 'before' pics to share, more's the pity - it really was quite 'special'!

So when I was spray painting my kitchen cabinet doors, I decided to give a few other pieces the white treatment too. Here it is at frame stage:

The seat frame is timber, with webbing and hessian to support the cushion.

I could have replaced the webbing and hessian, but I didn't bother because a) it was still fine and b) the stool won't be getting much of a workout as anything other than a side table/resting spot in my daughter's bedroom. Also, by the time the hessian wears out, I'll be sick of the fabric, or the stool, or both, so then I'll replace everything and start again. I did vacuum it thoroughly and give it a wipe over with a damp cloth, to get rid of any dust. 

Next, I made a chair pad from some wadding, covered with a double layer of batting. You could go the purist route and make a pad from coconut fibre, but I chose not to bother. It pays to do it properly if you have an antique piece, but in this case it wasn't an issue.

Once you've made your chair pad, position your fabric and start stapling each side, working from the centre out to the edges. I trimmed the fabric as I went, making sure to keep the pattern in line, and folded the edges neatly. 

That's it! A quick and easy makeover, that really took no time at all.  There were, of course, a few things I learned along the way, and you may want to keep them in mind if you ever decided to tackle a project like this.

1. Choosing a geometric fabric like this one (Octagon canvas, from Spotlight ) is probably not the best idea for your first upholstery project! The reason being, any areas that aren't lined up perfectly will be glaringly obvious. I did need to unpick the fabric a few times, to make sure everything lined up properly. In hindsight, it would be easier to use an all-over pattern, without any straight lines.

2. The power stapler is your friend! We did have an electric stapler, which bit the dust about five minutes into my last upholstery project - recovering a two-seater sofa. This time around, I brought in the big gun. I used the compressor and power stapler attachment, and what a difference! No problems, plenty of power, and no fabric is too thick. Love it almost as much as my spray gun!

3. Make sure your chair pad is completely even in size shape, otherwise you have issues (see number 1 above!)

Ok, that's about it. I'm attempting to finish one of my other projects today, and I'll try very hard not to post any more teasers! I really can't help it though - I get all excited dreaming up new makeovers. TTFN!



all images by me 

By the way, this makover is also over at the link party at The Shabby Chic Cottage's Transformation Thursday. Go check it out, there are heaps of great DIY project and makeovers. 

Kitchen splashback ideas?

So with my kitchen makeover going along swimmingly, my thoughts have turned to the splashback. At the moment, the splashback is the same laminate as the benchtops. But after seeing so many gorgeous beadboard examples, I'm thinking that may be the way to go.

These photos show the existing laminate splashback, but I was thinking of something more like this....

 from Pure Style Home 

 

or these from The Lettered Cottage

or this...

...from here

Now, replacing the laminate with beadboard would be fairly straightforward, but I do have a few concerns. The beadboard I used to cover those hideous bricks is actually an MDF panel. So whether it will stand up to the rough and tumble of steam from the cooktop and the odd spill from the sink is what I need to consider.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has these beadboard splashbacks, and how practical they are. Would you have them again, or are they more trouble than they're worth? Or should I just tile the whole area with subway tile, which is my other option?  I know many of you are seasoned renovators, so I'm counting on you for the lowdown!

Vintage chalkboard DIY

On this fine Anzac day public holiday, with the kidlets working furiously on assignments due at school tomorrow (of course, they wouldn't dream of doing them ahead of time) I decided a quick and easy DIY project was the perfect way to spend the morning. So with my new favourite toy, my airless spray gun at the ready, I whipped this old vintage frame into shape. I still had the old backing board, so it was one of the quickest makeovers I think I've ever done.

Now, to make it even more functional,  I added some little hooks to the bottom of the frame. I'm on the lookout for some antique keys to display, but for now it will do double duty as a key rack.

had to show you my handbag keyring - isn't it cute?

Now, here's a little tip. You really don't need to use chalkboard paint; artists' acrylic works just as well. The only thing to remember is that the paint needs to be very matte, if it has the slightest shine to it the chalk won't adhere properly. Here I used a mid grey which gives an aged appearance, although the colour looks quite a bit darker in my photos.

 Jo Sonja or Matisse paints are my choice for this job

Here are some befores...

..and after.

all images by me - sorry about the rubbish quality - I definitely need a new camera (or maybe just some talent in the photographic department)

Not bad for about an hour's work, huh? Quick, easy and gorgeous - my favourite kind of makeover.

While I was tinkering with this little project, I came accross a few treasures I'd forgotten all about, stashed away in the dark depths of my shed. I can't wait to get started, my only problem is I have too many ideas and not enough hours in the day!

p.s. this little makeover is a part of the Sunday Showcase Party here, so pop in and see some of the other fantastic projects on show.

Enjoy your weekend,

Ta Da!!

Ok, I know this has been a long time coming, but I've finally finished the first of my vintage chair makeovers. I decided to paint the two seater white, so I can play around with colours and fabrics to my little heart's content. Here she is:

I've loved this black paisley for ages, and really like it for the seat cushion. I agonised over whether to paint the chair black, but now I can use fabric as the focus, and then change my mind when I get sick of it - which is often!

It was really a quick and easy way to give new life to a tired old piece. The set was in perfect condition, and all it needed was a quick clean, priming with a coat of sealer/undercoat (I always use Zinsser, it's fantastic and works on all finishes) and three coats of white gloss via my new best friend, this baby.

I seriously wish I'd bought one of these sooner - it's fantastic and so easy to use.

Here are the befores (sorry, forgot to take one of the two-seater, I was in far too much of a hurry to get going!)

And now...

 ...here she is all painted and pretty.

I did have one issue, for some reason I had this weird hot pink sap? leach out when the first coat went on. I have no idea why this happened - anyone have any ideas?

 Looks just as good with some neutral taupe cushions

 

I'd had this Ralph Lauren fabric stashed away, and initially thought it would look great on the seat cushion. After I saw it, I realised it was just wrong, so kept tweaking things until I was happy.

I threw a white matelasse quilt over the seat, and I quite like it in combination with the crisp blue on the cushions.

Ok, so now all I have to decide on is some gorgeous cushions. I like the black and blue and white so far, but then I was visiting the lovely Judy's blog, Verandah House, when I saw these:

Les Indiennes by Mary Mulcahy

 ...and these..

...and now I'm loving this green! I think I might paint a chinoiserie-style artwork for above chair, similar to the wallpaper above. And those of you who read Viv's lovely blog will recognise the piece on the wall, my daughter saw it and fell in love with it, so we just had to get one.

So, what do you think? You guys are all so chic and stylish I'm sure you'll give me even more pretties to add to the mix, but hey - that's the fun part! Oh, and this little makeover is a part of the Best DIY Projects in April Link Party over at Beneath my Heart blog, so go check out some of the other amazing transformations on show.

Enjoy the rest of your day,