Makeover your old furniture (in four easy steps!)

So I found this hulking big dresser on the sidewalk a few months back. A little Italian grandpa saw me trying to push it along the road (with little success) and kindly got out a nifty wheelie gadget from his garden to help me trundle it home.

At there it's sat in the corner of the bedroom for months; looking a bit forlorn, very yellow and rather out of place, as I pondered what was to be done with it. The thought of sanding the whole thing down (boring) or even worse having to weld some sort of paint stripper (dangerous if you are as clumsy as me) was hugely off putting. I just want to paint: paint is fun! Then joy, I discovered that a primer paint was all that was needed to prep its sheeny exterior.

So what follows is the quick, lazy girls guide to getting this job done. It's ridiculously easy. If I can do it then truly anyone can. I'm already eyeing up every piece of furniture I own for a revamp!

Here's what you'll need...

1.PRIMER PAINT: One can of Zinsser 123 primer paint (this stuff helps your paint to adhere to the surface of your furniture: essential if you painting on pretty much anything but clean sanded-down wood).
2. BASE COAT PAINT Benjamin Moore low luster acrylic paint in Anchor Gray. This is the colour you want to peep through your top coat, when you distress it down. You can choose any colour of course. I toyed with hot pink and deep Burgundy. But then decided to play safe with gray.
3. TOP COAT PAINT  Benjamin Moore low luster acrylic paint in Decorators white. Again this can be any colour. But I thought this white (white a hint of grey would be perfect).
4. SUPER TUFF CLOTH. For cleaning of dirt from your furniture before you start (and between coats) to create a smooth squeaky clean surface for your paint.
5. MASKING TAPE. For covering up bits you don't want to get painty.
6. ROLLER (for speedy application of base coats) & PAINT BRUSHES (for getting a lovely effect on your final coat and getting to tricky to reach spots).
7) CANDLE. To stop your final coat sticking in certain places (not pictured).
8) SANDPAPER. To give your piece a shabby, distressed feel.

PS all this cost me around $80

STEP ONE: After a quick wiping down the dresser with a Tuff cloth (to get rid of any dirt and dust) I taped over the glass front, unscrewed knobs and handles and did a quick two coats of the primer paint. Leaving 2 hours dry time between coats.

STEP TWO: Next up the Anchor Gray went all over. After four hours drying its time to get your candle out for some artful pre-distressing. Simply rub your candle over the edges of your furniture (parts of the piece that would naturally become bashed up and worn over time: corners, edges of drawers, legs etc.)

The areas you cover will not adhere to your next coat of paint and allow the gray undercoat to show through. So the more you wax the more distressed it'll look. Its up to you. I was a little bit sheepish with the wax as I wanted the effect to be super-subtle.

STEP THREE:Now your are ready for your final coat (in this case Decorators White). If you're painting over a very dark color you'll probably need two coats. Once it's totally dry (four hours later) you can simply rub over the edges with some sand paper.

STEP FOUR: Erm there isn't really one. It's that easy. You're done. Just pop the handles back on, and feel smug. One super chic revamped piece of furniture for well under $100.

You might want to treat yourself to some new handles and knobs (liking these ones) and give the dresser some zappy innards with a bit of leftover wallpaper to make it 100% fabulous and finished.

HAPPY PAINTING! x

My Crowning Glory

Hi everyone, Well the Scott's show is over. I always get a mix of feeling about it being over. In one respect I like doing the show, and talking and having fun with other dealers. On the other hand its a lot of work. I'm relaxing today and cleaning my house, nothing else to do today being its kind of misty and rainy. I feel kind of melancholy, so I might as well keep busy. I want to show you my best purchase at the show, my newest crown. As you all know I love crowns (I try to keep the number down, after all I think the Queen of England would have a hard time keeping up with me if I got everyone I loved). This is the same type that Shabby Chic used to have (I love Shabby Chic the store, but I'm not paying $200.00 for a crown. I'm an addict, not insane). Every time I would go in there I wanted one, but could not justify that much money for a tcokche (I hope I spelled it right). So I said to myself I'll get it one day. When I started doing Scott's I noticed in Amy's booth she had the same crown for a lot less. It took me a while to do it, but I finally just went for it, I'm glad I did. It looks perfect on the coffee table in the silver bowl with the shells (where the smaller crown was).

Great old rusty details and the stones look old also. Why look for one in Europe when you can find great reproductions on the market for a lot less (Anyway how many real and old crowns are floating around).
If you are interested in your own crown, contact Amy at http://www.hiveforthehome.com/ and tell her you are interested in a crown, as they are not on the website. Tell her you saw it on The Swedish Room (sorry it won't get you a discount, she just wants to see how many of you respond).

Oh and the other crown, it found a good home. BTW she sells this one too.
See everyone next time........