Saturday, July 16, 2016

Duck Egg Blue Long Console

We had an amazing day yesterday snorkeling on the outer reef. The weather was superb and the visibility was so good. We even found clown fish which made the kids' day. Apparently you don't normally see them snorkeling- mainly scuba diving. We also swam over some reef sharks. I was very brave :)

We are now staying in Cairns to catch up with some friends who live in the hinterland. The hotel is amazing: gorgeous old thing with a divine atrium.  I'm currently blogging on my iPhone sipping coffee. We've all woken up with slight head colds so taking it easy this morning. The pool is amazing so the kids will be happy.  


I am now looking forward to picking up a paint brush again. It's good to have a break and get inspired again. I have a gorgeous lady who occasionally brings me lovely pieces of furniture. Free delivery and a good price for lovely pieces so she's a good person to know :)



I love it when she brings me especially beautiful pieces. This one is a beauty - a long solid console. Solid timber and a lovely shape - the back is the same pretty shape as front so I've painted it also in case someone wants to use as a sofa table. The top has been stripped, sanded smooth and finished in antique wax and the base is a lovely duck egg chalk paint, waxed and very gently distressed.  I love it. 

It is sold pending pickup but let me know if you wish to be next in line. 
180w x 48d x 80h cm
$600
Pickup Lilyfield

I have some lovely pieces to work on when I get home. We are all looking forward to getting home and seeing our dog Charlie. 

Fiona xx

Matching Pair : Pale Grey Chests of Drawers

Good morning: we are still on holidays. Our last day at Green Island today and despite the rain it's been very beautiful and peaceful here. We have done a bit of snorkeling even in the rain. We swam right over a huge green turtle which was just magical. 


The sunsets and sunrises are also magical. Worth getting up early for. I love the beach in the early morning. So quiet and good for the soul. 





We are heading to the outer reef today for some more snorkeling. The kids are hoping to see a dugong. I'm hoping no one gets sea sick :) 

Okay...back to painted furniture makeovers. I recently painted a matching chest of drawers that I bought from a guy in Coogee. They were quite modern but very well made and an interesting shape. I had some good customers wanting a matching pair of drawers for their guest room so I offered the set to Rach and Luke. They wanted something soft and pale so I suggested a pale grey chalk paint with white wash finish. 


 And before : 


To achieve this look I gave the pieces a good sand and I primed them as there were a few spots where I thought it would bleed through. I then painted the chests in a pale grey chalk paint. For this I actually used a mix of greys and whites: the end of tins but you could easily achieve this look with ASCP Paris Grey. I then white washed it with watered down white chalk paint and once it was all dry, I used liming wax to seal it. Below are the drawers in Rach and Luke's guest room. They swapped over the crystal handles which I had just used for the photographs.  



I'm looking forward to getting back into painting next week. Thanks for all your lovely comments and emails. I'll respond individually once I'm home.

Fiona xx

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Lime washed chest of drawers

It is always good to have a little holiday and time away from your business. I hadn't realised how tired Phil and I both were. Isn't it funny that when you stop and rest you actually feel more tired. I been had an afternoon sleep yesterday which is just very unusual for me. Palm Cove is such a pretty, peaceful place and we are loving our time here. 




Good friends of ours from Sydney were holidaying in Port Douglas and came to our resort for lunch and a swim today. Great to catch up when we are all so relaxed. We are off to Green Island tomorrow for a few days and will be sorry to leave here although I'm sure we are in for a treat on the island also. 

I thought I'd share a recent project. I had a nice shaped chest of drawers that were pine and modern with metal runners. Not the vintage pieces I normally work on but a good practical piece. I thought it would look good with a limed finish (possibly to make up for its pine-ness). 

lime wash finish chest of drawers in chalk paint by lilyfield life

For this piece, I gave it a good clean and light sand and painted two coats of a beautiful taupe chalk emulsion then once it was all dry I used a white liming wax to give it a beautiful subtle limed finish. 

lime wash finish chest of drawers in chalk paint by lilyfield life

I replaced the timber knobs with pretty crystal handles. So much nicer. 



lime wash finish chest of drawers in chalk paint by lilyfield life

Here's the before. I actually bought it as a full bedroom set but sold the bedsides separately.



The bedside tables were bought as a custom paint job and I painted them in ASCP country grey and dark waxed them. 


I would love to hear from you if you are still reading. I know I've been erratic with my blog and that's against all blogging rules isn't it :) 

It's very nice to sunbake by the pool and write a blog post when I'm taking a break from reading my book. Maybe it's time to order a mojito :) 

Chin chin
Fiona xxx

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Crushing on Navy furniture!

I have fallen in love with navy - well I have always been a fan of navy blue but I'm now officially in love with navy blue paint. 



Recently I've been using a Dulux colour (which I've forgotten the name of and can't check as I'm on holidays) and also ASCP Napoleonic Blue. 

I love it paired with a natural timber top.  I love sanding back old timber and refinishing it. 


This is a such an old piece but wears its age well now after a little rehab in my furniture studio. Beautiful timber top and deep base navy with light distressing. I've even given the handles a little European gilt finish. There are three fine scratches in the timber top that were too deep to sand out but they don't detract, just think of them as wrinkles or better yet laugh lines. Great piece for a dressing table, change table, hallway, sideboard. 
120w x 48w x 78h cm
$475


The below piece is similar and sold already. I've included the before photo which just shows the magic of paint and elbow grease. 







This chair below is the Dulux colour. I loved this set. So cute for a little boy. Inspired by my love of grain sacks. (Already sold)



Have you any navy furniture? 

Sorry if the formatting is weird in this post. I'm blogging from my iPhone lying by the pool in Palm Cove. Just divine. 


And a photo from our walk this morning - so serene. Good to relax.



Fiona xx

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Around home

Good morning from Lilyfield on this rainy winter's day. A day for rugging up and doing some painting I think. Always a good day for painting :)  I finished this pair of vintage cedar bedside tables yesterday. They have been painted in ASCP French Linen and finished with liming wax for a lovely soft sheen. If you are interested just drop me an email or sms 0405766445.

Lime washed french bedside tables Lilyfield life

Lime washed french bedside tables Lilyfield life

We can now say we have fully finished out renovations. Every last corner is painted, hooray :) I can't tell you the relief to not have it hanging over our heads. I would much rather paint furniture than walls and windows.

Lilyfield life french lounge room

Lilyfield life french lounge room

I have some artwork getting framed to hang above this dresser upstairs in the landing. I recently did a little swap with Michelle from Sprout Gallery and I now am the proud owner of three of her prints. I can't wait to hang them.

Lilyfield Life white drawers

Even the front door got a new coat of paint to match the new trim and guttering. This is Dulux Basalt and its a very good grey as it has no green undertone, so in the evenings it doesn't look khaki.

Dulux Basalt front door

Charlie approves :)

Cavoodle

The final room to take shape in the house was our study/guest room. I recently sold my desk and gave away our expedit bookcase and installed this long desk instead. The top is laminate from Austria and looks very much like the marble in our lounge room and laundry. I used IKEA slim drawers each end and then in the middle a lateral filing cabinet. The benchtop just rests on these and isn't wall mounted as our 120 year old lime plastered walls are terrible to drill into and can't take the weight.

desk idea benchtop marble

This lateral filing cabinet was a great find. I bought it second hand for $105 but it was brand new with tags still. I had to cut of the legs and build a plinth to get it the correct height for my desk and the i painted and gently distressed it.

french style filing cabinet Lilyfield Life

french style filing cabinet Lilyfield Life

It is now full of all my filing - it holds so much an I'm so pleased with how it all turned out. The long bench means that we can have the sewing machine set up permanently which means we are much more likely to use it :) Sash and I have been having fun. I will be making some cushions soon for sale.

Lilyfield Life french style dining room

french style bedroom Lilyfield life juju hat

Lilyfield life french lounge room

ikea farmhouse ceramic sink

fire pit

Hope you enjoyed the little house update. I am so happy with it all especially my studio which is such a nice place to work. Very blessed to have a supportive husband and kids.

Fiona xx





Monday, July 4, 2016

Catching up - Available pieces

Good morning! It's been a lovely few weeks here:  school holidays, my birthday and just normal life but it's all good. I have been painting but not quite so much last week as we had our house painters come to finish a few things that I said I would do after the renovation and of course I never did (the front windows, my studio, the side of the house, front door). In the end I would rather earn my money painting furniture and not be up a ladder painting the house (with very high ceilings). We are so happy to have it all finished!  I will share some house photos tomorrow.  Today I have a several pieces of painted furniture that are available for sale.

This lovely Victorian cabinet is low and solid  - it would work well at the foot of a bed, as a tv cabinet, shoe cabinet, a coffee table, even as a large bedside table. 
Two separate cupboards inside. 
Vintage castors. 
Painted in a lovely taupe chalk paint and waxed.
115w x 52d x 58h cm
$350



Lilyfield life hand painted Victorian cabinet - work well as TV cabinet or in bedroom

Lilyfield Life hand painted Victorian cabinet - work well as TV cabinet or in bedroom

I can't resist buying and painting these ornate side tables when i find them. I've painted several before exactly the same - ASCP Paris Grey with white trim and gently antiqued. This single side table is great for a lamp or for resting your drink in between sips. 
Solid mahogany and very sturdy.
60w x 45d x 60h
$225



hand painted Lamp table Lilyfield life

hand painted Lamp table Lilyfield life

I also couldn't go past this lattice coffee table. The details are amazing. The glass has a few scratches on it so i'm reducing this to $285. It would cost around $100 for a new piece of glass so it's still a a great price for such a pretty coffee table. 
103w x 53d x 43h
was $375 now $285



White ornate coffee table - lilyfield life

White ornate coffee table - lilyfield life


This red bench was the perfect piece to try out Annie Sloan's new black wax. The black wax really gave this an added dimension and created a lovely patina. A perfect sized bench for your hallway :)
100w x 37d x 48h
$125

Red painted bench Lilyfield Life

The larger squarer bedside table below has sold but the one on the left is still available. Painted in ASCP Paris grey with a limed finish, this bedside has a beautiful sheen and would be so pretty next to a bed made up with white linen (my favourite is white linen, I choose my hotels and holidays houses to stay in on whether the beds in the photos have white linen but really of course it would look great next to any linen) 46w x 42d (at deepest bow front )x 77h including little backing board
$220


beautiful vintage cedar bedside table Lilyfield Life

beautiful vintage cedar bedside table Lilyfield Life

beautiful vintage cedar bedside table Lilyfield Life

Today I am finishing very similar cedar bedsides and will have them for sale later this afternoon if you want a pair.

If you are interested in any of the above painted furniture then just sms me on 0405766445 or drop me an email.

cheers Fiona xx