Vintage white drawers for Rochelle and Sean

Just before we headed off to Italy, I painted these drawers for Sean and Rochelle. These had been painted about 30 years ago by Sean's parents in a peach oil paint. Sean and Rochelle now wanted to use these in their daughter's bedroom so asked me to paint them in a crisp white. They live in Canberra so Sean brought them up to me in Lilyfield in his trailer and then the next weekend Rochelle's parents came and picked them up.  Such great customers.

I wish I had a photo of the peach - it was very dated as you can imagine. 

Don't you love white paint for instant freshness.

PS thanks for all the lovely emails yesterday about Jonty's new school. He is so happy.

Fiona xx

Available console hall tables and a new start

Hi everyone, I've been missing in action as we've made a few changes. Jonty's changing schools (to where he is going to high school next year, they are taking him early in a high achievers class) and last week was a week of school tours and uniform fittings.  Very exciting times for him and he's so thrilled and looking forward to an academic challenge for the rest of the year.

and on the furniture front....

I've also been staying up late to get my work done. One piece that's still available is this console table. It's such a great size and very elegant. As soon as I spied this piece I knew what I wanted to do with it. It actually was an old drop leaf dining table. I removed the leaves (and will use them for another project) and voila it's a lovely console table. Much more practical I think.

Painted in a pale grey and gently distressed. Nice little details very elegant.
152w x 48d x 77h cm
$425
Pickup Lilyfield

I also have a sweet demi-lune console table that I finished yesterday. I painted this in a navy chalk paint (ASCP Napoleonic) then deepened the colour even further with antiquing wax. I just love it.

 This is a lovely simple piece and will look amazing with all your blue and white accessories 💙

82w x 38d x 77h cm

$345

Wish us luck for Jonty's new start today. I'm as excited and happy as he is.

Fiona xx

Alice in Wonderland afternoon tea birthday party

Sasha chose to celebrate her birthday with an Alice in Wonderland afternoon tea party. She and her friends all got dressed up and they looked amazing. I love these girls - so creative and fun.

When we were setting up we needed a 9th chair and I realised this painted tufted chair was perfect as Alice's chair.  If you want to see how I revamped this chair you can see the makeover here. 

Aren't the girls' costumes just fantastic.

Jonty and I made these caramel cupcakes - (recipe here - nice and easy) - he's becoming quite a good cook. 

And Phil made a vanilla sponge with cream and strawberries as the birthday cake. He's the best cake maker of all of us.

Happy birthday to our gorgeous girl. We love you so much. 

Sasha is so lucky to have such lovely friends.

We are so lucky to have such a lovely daughter.

Fiona xx

How to white wash furniture with chalk paint

If you love the white washed look and want to replicate it, then I have made a little video you may find helpful. I think the most important step in white washing is that you start off with raw timber. Any varnish or previous coating on your timber will mean that the white wash won't be absorbed evenly.

Step 1 - Remove Old Finish. Sand or chemically strip the old finish off. If you are white washing unfinished timber like the wine crate I have in my video then you can just start with the next step.

Step 2 - Wash the furniture with vinegar and water. Dilute white vinegar with an equal part of water and use it to wash the timber. This solution will remove stains and dirt that may cause the whitewash to apply unevenly. This also enhances the timber's ability to absorb the whitewash. Wait for the furniture to dry completely before continuing.

Step 3 - Mix your whitewash. I have used one part Annie Sloan Chalk Paint to one part water. I used some left over paint I had on hand from another project.  You can play with the mixture if you don't like the color, and add more paint or water as needed. If you don't have ASCP you can easily substitute any water based paint.

Step 4: Paint the Furniture - with a brush or even a sponge or roller paint the furniture with the whitewash. I like to work in small sections at a time so the paint doesn't dry too much. 

Step 5: Wipe down - Wipe the surface of the timber with a slightly damp rag. This will remove excess paint and will give it a unique, whitewashed look. You can wipe as much or as little as you like. If you make a mistake, you can always put some more paint on it. Once you achieve the look that you want, allow the paint to dry fully.

Step 6: Top Coat - for the wine crate in the video I didn't bother with a top coat but for furniture I recommend you seal with a water based clear coat or wax for a finished look and durability.

Another Black beauty - vintage dresser

This is a piece I painted and sold prior to our Italian holiday. When i say painted and sold I really mean ; spied, bought, lugged home all by myself, maneuvered in and out to the car, removed hardware, vacuumed, cleaned, sanded, painted, waxed, buffed, replaced hardware, styled, photographed, priced, listed for sale and sold :)

How gorgeous are these drawers and hardware.

This week has been a funny one.... and by funny I don't mean fun. Somethings have gone well and other things have been crappy. I feel a bit buffeted by a storm. Nothing life changing or health related (I got a nice all clear letter from my recent mammogram) but just enough to take the shine off the week :)

On a lovely note, I did receive beautiful feedback on these black French Provincial bedsides that were recently shipped to Melbourne. Thank you Roseanna for being such a lovely customer. All the best for your new house and life xx

Here's to a lovely weekend for all of us. I have Sasha's friends coming for an Alice in Wonderland afternoon tea on Sunday so we have lots of baking to do. 

Fiona xx

Stunning! French enamel blue hall table

I love a pop of blue for furniture. I think it really ties in well with a neutral palette. This blue is a custom mix and I think it looks very like the old French enamel pitchers that you see. 

I distressed this piece much more than I normally would because I thought it suited it. Such a nice little hall table. I had a little of the paint left over so I mixed a bright blue for this little bench seat below. This would be a great piece to sit on and put your shoes on in the hallway or good at the end of a kid's bed.

Available: Super cute: I couldn't pass this one up. Little rustic oak chest of drawers for the end of a single bed or in the hallway. Good place to sit to slip your shoes on. Could also work to pop the tv on it. Small split in timber top. Painted in a custom mix chalk paint. 
87w x 43d x 45h cm
$245
Pickup Lilyfield

cheers Fiona xx

Another upholstered ottoman

When I shared the ottoman I painted and upholstered for our lounge room a few months ago a lot of people asked for one. I came across another beautiful ottoman, this second one was a beautiful vintage French piece not a reproduction. I tried to sell it stripped and natural at first because I think it was absolutely lovely that way but then when it didn't sell for a month or so I decided to do it up the same as mine and it sold within seconds. Just goes to show that your market wants what they follow you for. Painted furniture :)

My beautiful girl's birthday today so I will keep this blog post short. have a great day

Fiona xx

A beautiful French commode in ASCP Graphite

Good morning! I hope you had a lovely weekend. I spent a lot of time re-potting my orchids. They were my Grandad's and I treasure them. I have loads of fronds this year so I'm even more motivated to take care of them :)  It really does your soul good to garden doesn't it - getting your hands dirty and taking care of a living things. Saying that my hands are always dirty with paint but nice to feel the soil between your fingers.

I also had a chance to rephotograph a beautiful old french commode that I have for sale at the moment. I love this piece. Such a beautiful shape. I have painted this piece in ASCP Graphite with a waxed finish. 

 A stunning old commode from France. A statement piece for any room: Solid timber and easy sliding dovetailed drawers. Painted in ASCP Graphite with a waxed finish. Beautifully silky smooth to touch, minimal brush marks as always. A piece to treasure: I think it would be amazing in an entrance way or bedroom: even as a very large bedside table; imagine it between two single beds. 
92w x 48d x 78h cm
$685
Pick up Lilyfield or ask for a delivery quote.

How beautiful is the shape of this one. 

I am also hoping to finish a French cupboard today. I'm just waiting on a new piece of marble for the top. A bit of an extravagance but it will make this piece amazing. 

Fiona x

It's good to be home

We're home and slowly settling back to normal programming :) I'll be back blogging regularly with lots of painted furniture and tutorials. I've got some great things to share and also still a few posts from the end of our trip. 

In the meantime here's some photos of the house. It's been lovely coming back, being here in our nice cosy home and catching up with friends. 

Lots of blue and white: my favourite combination. And a new little Gail McCormark painting. Love her work.

Believe it or not, I still have lots of little projects to do around the house. The house itself is finished but I haven't got all the furniture looking how I want and still have some empty walls for art. As you all know, it's an ongoing process isn't it. I prefer a slowly gathered, curated home that evolves over time even if it means you always have a to do list in the back of your mind. 

Have a lovely day. I'm off to Jonty's class room for Education week. Last year of primary school. The years are flying by quickly.

Fiona xx