Monday, September 2, 2013

Vintage French Bed Makeover

Vintage French wicker bed by Lilyfield Life

I finally finished the vintage French bed and it's a beauty. I initially thought I'd paint this white but I wanted to bring out all the detail so in the end I decided to use a mix of greys.

Vintage French wicker bed by Lilyfield Life

Vintage French wicker bed by Lilyfield Life

The bed had a lot of damage so I use a fair bit of wood putty repairing it, then I primed with with 2 coats of Zinsser BIN. I initially was going to paint it white but after the primer it was lookig a little bland (could I possibly be saying that white looks bland? sacrilegious blasphemy).  Anyway I decided to spray it all with a dark grey lacquer primer that I had in the shed. I then painted it with several coats of differing greys finishing off with a home made white wax. I love how the different greys bring out the details. The white wax is a perfect finish.

Vintage French wicker bed by Lilyfield Life

Vintage French wicker bed by Lilyfield Life

This bed is so pretty but I got a bit fed up with it when painting it and was thinking of selling it but my daughter is desperate for it.
So we'll keep it for a while.

Vintage French wicker bed by Lilyfield Life

Vintage French wicker bed by Lilyfield Life

We've got friends staying from overseas with us for the week and they are camped in Sasha's bedroom hence why I've staged the bed out in the garden (where I'd just finished building the slats system)

How pretty are these legs?

Vintage French wicker bed by Lilyfield Life

Once the bed is all set up in Sasha's bedroom I'll show you. I'm not sure how it's going to look with her pale blue walls, and I'm not sure if we'll keep it or sell or down the track but she can use it for a while. 

Vintage French wicker bed by Lilyfield Life

The quilt cover is from Adairs, the cushion I bought in a little shop years ago in Noosa.

Here are some before photos: well actually the one of the bed head is after I'd been scrubbing and scrubbing it with cleaner and it's it's still disgusting.  There was also big wads of chewing gum all over the bed.


You can see one here in the photo below.


I also replaced the bed bracketing mechanism and made new slats for it. It's very sturdy now.

Vintage French wicker bed by Lilyfield Life

No chewing gum now... thank goodness

Hope you all have a good week

Fiona xx






11 comments:

  1. OMG Fiona how can you say you may sell it ...that is terrible NO!!! it has to stay with your little girl and then she can pass it on to her children you have made a beautiful heirloom piece here you cant let it go.I like painted furniture but I have never fallen for any piece yet until now.This bed would /will be stunning in your little girls room-love dee x

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  2. this is the most beautiful bed i have ever ever seen. the end.

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  3. OMG Fiona - absolutely out of this world GORGEOUS !!!
    What an amazIng transformation - pinning this RIGHT NOW
    XOXOXO

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  4. I agree with the comments above. It's the most beautiful bed I've ever seen. Don't sell it. It's an heirloom piece. :-)

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  5. Fiona,
    The bed is lovely as is every project you share with us! Beautiful!
    Robin

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  6. Wow Fiona, this is very beautiful and you've done an amazing job painting it. So much better than plain white and it looks beautiful in your pretty garden. I bet your daughter is over the moon.
    Beth x

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  7. It's such a pretty bed and the grey really brings out the detail. Good choice I think. K xx

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  8. What an amazing piece Fiona! I just love, and like others can't believe you might sell it!

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  9. That bed is just gorgeous!! Love the colors you picked! Was also looking at your other blog posts and Sydney is just beautiful. I was lucky enough to visit Brisbane years ago and loved it there as well. :)

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    1. Thanks Stephanie, yes Sydney is pretty stunning especially the beaches and harbour. Thanks, I'm chuffed how the bed turned out also.
      Fiona

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  10. That is the prettiest bed I'll ever see! Good thing I only have one (grown) son, or I'd be rowing out to Australia to convince you to part with it... seriously!

    Thank you for providing me with all the information I was wondering about on making and using white wax - your blog is a real find!

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Thanks for taking the time to comment! Sorry if you have trouble commenting, you can always email me at lilyfieldlife@bigpond.com