Thursday, November 26, 2015

Latest pieces: Lilyfield Life

Happy Friday!! Can't believe I've had to edit it as I've just realised it's only Thursday :)

We are waiting on the cool change to come = thank goodness for Sydney's southerly buster. It's been a hot day to paint furniture.

Sage green grey sideboard for a lovely customer





And before:


A chalkboard made from a vintage fire screen for my friend Belinda. 



The view from Cafe Sydney last night: a fantastic Christmas party. 



These white drawers are still for sale.



Hope the week has treated you well
Fiona xx

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Vintage White Oak Drawers and Mirrors


These are gorgeous old oak drawers that I've just finished painting in a crisp bright white. I am so happy with how these turned out as when I got them the top had completely split into three boards so it too a bit of work and fiddling around to re-join the top so no splits showed. I had to remove the top completely which has a little tricky as it had been nailed in but I love how it all turned out.


So many uses for this piece: bedroom, hallway, sideboard, lounge room or baby's nursery
The drawers are all solid timber and slide well.
106w x 48d x 77h cm
Pickup Lilyfield $325
Call me on 0405766445 if you are interested in purchasing the drawers.

I also have been painting a few mirrors.
This one for my friend Belinda.



And then these all for sale (although they have all sold already)

Elegant rose gold


French washed blue


and this one also in a washed French blue that Sasha desperately wanted for her room. It goes well with all her pops of turquoise. can you see her bunting and her cushion she made on the bed?


So we sold the white vintage one that she used to have on her drawers. I am a bit sad to see that one go as I bought it when I was visiting my mum in Canberra hospital after a hip replacement. There were great markets right outside my hotel. 


Here are the other treasures I bought. I'm not the best seller actually looking at that as we kept quite a bit of that stash.  We still have the birdcage (now white) in the garden, the old tin with the boat on it and the timber teddy are in Jonty's room and the lantern is in the lounge room. The mirror sold already and Lisa is picking it up today. Maybe I should go to Canberra again as that was a good haul :)


Fiona xx

Monday, November 23, 2015

Around my home


Good morning. I have a studio jammed packed full of furniture  - currently all brown and unpainted but hopefully I have a full day of painting and make good progress. I can barely move in there:)

So much brown that I can't bring myself to share a photo of it. Instead I took some photos of my white dining room with this gorgeous crate of flowers. 
Way more pleasing to the eye.


On the home renovation front, we have very nearly finished our long to do list. Nothing like having friends coming to stay for Christmas to get us motivated to do the remaining tasks. Our lawn that Phil laid recently is doing so well after all the rain - it's a sea of lush green...and one small patch of clover but I think Phil is onto it. It won't be there for long under his green thumb. Pavers will be laid in the next few weeks for the basketball area. We are just using the tumbled travertine the same as our terrace so it's not all a mish-mash of surfaces in our small backyard.

I'm getting on with finishing the remaining painting of the cabinetry and a few other details. It's been 99% finished for ages but having the energy and time to do that last 1% has proven difficult. Especially when it's my business to paint, painting in my spare time for us is not all that attractive sometimes.  This mirror below will also get a new coat of paint while I'm at it.



Well I'm off to take the kids to school then pick up a lovely big mirror and some gorgeous bedsides to add to my furniture list to paint. As if I needed more projects but who can resist pretty things. 

Have a great day
Fiona xx



Friday, November 20, 2015

Good morning and a french hutch

hi, just a quick note for me as Phil is having some surgery this morning and needs to be at the hospital by 6:30am (way on the other side of Sydney). Just day surgery and I'm sure he'll be fine. Touch wood.


I bought these flowers cheaply at the supermarket. I usually get flowers on Saturdays at our markets but at $6 a huge bunch I could resist these.  Love them in my vintage beer crate. I took them outside for the afternoon yesterday and sat at our BBQ table for a while in the shade to cool down. Moving furniture, sanding and painting is tough on days like these.


My lovely customer who bought the footstool I posted about yesterday sent me this photo. I must have been channeling her when I painted it as it fits in perfectly.  I also painted her bedside tables. Nice seeing it all together in her pretty bedroom.


This is the top of a big hutch I bought this week. The bottom is still in the car but it is so gorgeous. I can't wait to start painting this one.  Big job but I think  will enjoy every last minute of it. Famous last words, ha ha. Things never go to plan.

Anyway I had better get on with things. keep Phil in your thoughts today

thanks for all your lovely emails, comments and support, it really means a lot to me.
Fiona xx

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Upholstered Bench Seat and my daughter's cushion

A few years ago I bought some beautiful taupe hemp fabric that I just loved but didn't have a particular project in mind for. Yesterday I was finally able to put the fabric to use. It was the perfect size for an upholstered bench seat I was restoring.


Lovely fluted details on the legs



Perfect for the end of your bed
(SOLD)

On the weekend I spent some time teaching my daughter to sew. I've given her lessons in the past but it's a gradual process. She made her own bunting and also a cushion. I'll share the bunting soon but here's the cushion. Didn't she do a great job with scrap fabric we had stashed away?



I'm a proud mumma. She's learning on my mum's old machine that I inherited. My mum would love that.



I'm getting stuck into the painting again today. I have almost finished a china cabinet for a lovely lady who wants it heavily antiqued. I'll hopefully finish it today and share it tomorrow.
Fiona xx

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Latest pieces - some beauties here

Good morning on such a beautiful day in Sydney. I'm off to swim squad this morning and know I will enjoy it - a good workout but also a mental reprieve for my overactive brain.  I have a few lovely pieces to share today. First up is a gorgeous ornate white hall table. I have painted this one in a beautiful soft white and love the simplicity of this.


Much bigger than it looks in this photo. Check the dimensions. 100w x 50d x 78h cm. $450



I actually have two of these ornate consoles and the other is still unpainted so I can do a matching pair if you are interested. Or I can paint the other one a different way. Just call me on 0405766445 to discuss.

I also finished this rustic low cupboard and have decided to sell it much cheaper than I usually would as I need the space and am hoping for a quick sale. It is painted in a beautiful pale grey and waxed and sanded to a very smooth finished. I have heavily distressed this one to bring out the character. The doors are not perfectly aligned when closed but open and close easily. Solid timber and old. Gorgeous. 
Perfect by your front door for shoes and school bags or even as a TV cabinet.
117w x 50d x 64hcm 
$265


Also available for sale are the following:

Pine Console: this was sold but the lady's son bought her another piece so she decided to not buy this. Perfect as a sofa table or a narrow hallway.
 120w x 40d x 80h cm. $260



Vintage blanket box
This piece is even more beautiful in real life than in photos.  Also good as a toy box. Gorgeous little castors on the legs also. ASCP French Linen wash with Louis Blue interior.
97w x 50d x 72h
$350



For other pieces still available please check my for sale page.

Later today I'm picking up a few small pieces and a massive french hutch/bookcase. I'm very much looking forward to painting this. I can't wait to show you.

In the meantime check out our gorgeous white roses from the garden. So pretty and abundant this year.


Fiona xx


Tuesday, November 17, 2015

A beautiful French Armoire

Good morning lovelies. We are gearing up for a hot week here in Sydney. Around 40 degrees for Friday so I'm trying to get a lot of painting done today and tomorrow when the weather is still reasonable. 

home grown roses

Beautiful roses given to me by a customer. 
They smell divine.

hand painted french armoire Lilyfield Life

Paul who came for a furniture class a few weeks ago, has finally finished painting his french armoire. It has come up absolutely beautifully.


hand painted french armoire

Paul followed the process I recommended and even came back for an additional tuition on waxing for aged patina.  He first did two coats of primer to cover the dark mahogany and make sure the tannins didn't bleed into his paint, then two coats of ASCP Old Ochre. Once the Old Ochre was dry the painted the details on with ASCP Old White. The piece has then been waxed with clear wax and dark wax has been used on the crevices and details to add interest and authenticity.

hand painted french armoire Lilyfield Life

and before:

hand painted french armoire Lilyfield Life

I am so happy to be able to share my knowledge and help people gain skills and confidence. It is so good to see someone who has never painted furniture before tackle a huge project such as this and do it so well.

if you want to learn to paint your furniture then why not book into one of my workshops.

have a great day - take time to stop and smell the roses :)
Fiona xx







  

Monday, November 16, 2015

Restoring timber with Oxalic Acid

My beautiful sideboard that I painted years ago got wrecked a few months ago when I used a vase that wasn't really a vase (despite the lady who sold it to me saying it was) and the water leaked through and left a massive black mark on the beautiful walnut top. For months I didn't get around to fixing it and just covered it up with a jug or ornament.  Finally I bought some oxalic acid and bleached out the black mark however the whole top was then dried out and patchy.  ASCP Dark Wax to the rescue. First I sanded down the whole sideboard using finer and finer grades of sand paper. Once I was happy with how smooth it was I wiped on dark wax and scrubbed it straight into the timber then buffed it off. The sideboard now looks back to brand new and is silky smooth.  the whole process took around 30 minutes and I'm thrilled.




It looks patchy but in real life it isn't. There's a skylight above the sideboard so it throws light around and makes it hard to capture the sideboard correctly. 

This is one of those projects that I was wondering why on earth it took me so long to do.

I've got a few of them...best I get stuck into them and tick them off the list as I swear I spend more time thinking about them than it would actually take to just do them. Lots of mental space being taken up by my to do list.

Fiona xx

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Painted Pine Sideboard before and after

It's a drizzly Saturday morning here in Sydney but my thoughts are in Paris with the terrible situation there. Desperate times it seems.

I'm sharing today a sideboard that Sharon asked me to paint ASCP Paris Grey. The photos aren't the best as I couldn't get the light even over the sideboard but you get the idea.


Below you can see the difference that the wax makes. It deepens the colour and adds sheen to the otherwise matte paint.


I sprayed the handles with an etch primer and then painted ASCP Graphite and waxed them.


Here's the before photo.


Fiona xx