Vintage French Dresser turned TV Cabinet

This is a beautiful antique French low dresser that had lost it's mirror by the time it came to me. That's okay as I'm not really a fan of dressing tales with matching mirrors. I think this dresser would make a fantastic TV stand as at 63cm high it is a perfect height.

The curves on this piece just make my heart sing. When I first saw this dresser it was much worse for wear but I fell in love with it straight away. I was out shopping with a couple of friends and we all thought it was sold and I was lamenting missing out on it. A  few days later I got separate messages from both of my friends that the sale must have fallen though as it was back for sale. I literally raced to buy it. I knew I wanted it for Lilyfield Life. A perfect fit for my brand if there ever was one.

I painted it in a very similar style to my coffee table that I made/painted. 

ASCP Paris Grey with White trim and I used ASCP Dark wax for the antiquing in the details.

I distressed this piece well as I wanted the beautiful walnut to show through. It really suited this old piece.  I also added a few of the porcelain crackle handles that are made in Limoges, France. I have had such good use from these. I bought them from a lady who removed them from her beautiful French style kitchen. They are stamped with the place of manufacture on the base. She was changing over to a modern style kitchen. Lucky for me I say.

Here is the before photo: Gorgeous but needing work.

Today I'm hoping to finish a big cupboard painted in a Restoration Hardware technique and a white painted bathroom vanity. The rain has slowed me down somewhat this week. Tomorrow I need to start a beautiful old sideboard for a client and then Thursday is another painting class. Friday I would like a day off painting but I don't think it's going to happen...

I hope you are having a good week
Fiona xx

Vintage Pink Painted Sideboard and a Birthday Girl

Thank you for all your sweet comments and emails from my last post. I'm glad you love reading here and seeing my latest furniture projects. I've got something quite special but definitely different to my normal style to share today. A huge PINK sideboard. Not something I ever thought I would be doing but I love the end result (in the right setting...probably not something I could live with though as I'm not a pink girl).

But this piece will be centre stage at events styled by the gorgeous Mary Ronis from Scribble and Style. and I think it will be fabulous.

I didn't take the best photos as it was too heavy for me to move inside by myself and the light was fading but I'll make sure Mary sends me some photos from when she has styled it for an event.

This breakfront sideboard originates from Egypt, painted in the French style. It was pretty enough before I painted it but was not the look Mary wanted and it was badly chipped and worn.

Mary has asked for me to paint it using this piece below she'd found on the Internet as inspiration. One of the problems I faced was the inspiration sideboard below had lots of ornate detail for the dark wax to settle in but the sideboard I was asked to paint was relatively plain. I solved that problem by adding moldings and using a cross hatch style of painting to create brush marks for the wax to settle in.

The paint is still drying in the above photo but you can see how plain the sideboard is. In the photo below the left side has been antiqued and the right side is still to be waxed. it makes a big difference doesn't it.

Here is a close up of the finished detail.

I spent a lot of time and effort on this sideboard. I gave it a couple of coats of primer because the sideboard had been chemically treated on importation. The initial colour that Mary's client selected was a good tone way too dark so I then painted it half strength and it was still no where near the inspiration photo so I diluted the paint to quarter strength. I then applied several coats of a water based sealer to the top of the sideboard so Mary can easily clean it. As this is used at events I can just imagine people spilling drinks on it or leaving half eaten cake on it and I don't feel that wax is the best sealer for that. For the rest of the sideboard I applied clear and dark wax.'I also replaced the hardware on the doors and added the mouldings. Some pieces are a tonne of work but finally Mary and I were happy with the piece.

Even James Gordon approved on Instagram which was a little thrill. He described it as heavenly!

What do you think of my big pink sideboard?

I also held a painting class this week and it was a lovely day. I have received such beautiful feedback from the painting classes participants and I love seeing people improve their skills and gain confidence. The August classes are now fully booked so if you are interested in learning to paint or improving your furniture painting skills then stay tuned for the next released of dates.

I finished the week with my sweet daughter's birthday and a party for her last night. 

These girls are all so gorgeous and fun. They played basketball for a few hours before having homemade pizza, frozen yoghurt and some chocolate macarons I made (using an adaptation of this recipe) in front of an old favourite movie (Ella Enchanted). Just a lovely afternoon.

I need to do some painting today to finish a vanity for a client but I'm exhausted and finding it hard to get motivated ...maybe another cup of coffee is needed.

Wishing you a good weekend
Fiona xx

Rustic Painted Cabinet in ASCP Old White

I've been working very hard for the last few months and I have so many projects to share with you. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth keeping up my blog as there isn't a lot of interaction here compared to facebook and Instagram but I get a lot of my clients from google searches and I also like being able to share my projects and furniture painting knowledge in a longer blog format than the brief social media posts.

A little project I did this week was to paint a very rustic chest of drawers that a client uses for her sewing paraphernalia. It's just a fabulous piece of vintage furniture that had lived a hard working honourable life. I think it's a piece that was hand made in someone shed.The little legs are new additions but work very well. After some discussion with my clients on what look they wanted for the piece, we decided on ASCP Old White and to leave the timber handles with their original painted finish. The little round knobs on the central small drawers are brass and my clients husband wants to buff them up.

This piece had so many scratches and dings and rough edges that there was no way I wanted to sand it right back and loose all that history. I did sand the piece before painting to remove some of the more recent damage and also prepare the timber for painting. I then sanded the piece before and during the waxing process so the paint was smooth and so that the edges were authentically distressed.

I'm a big believer in letting the furniture speak for itself and this piece needed to stay rustic!

Another piece of furniture refreshed with paint and another happy customer. Just what I like!

have a good week

Fiona xx

Products Used

ASCP Old White

ASCP Clear Wax

Get a beachy weathered look with paint

A question I regularly get asked is how to achieve a weathered wash look with paint. I have painted several pieces of furniture with this look and have two different methods to share. Both give very similar results so I suggest you try both and work out which way suits you best.

The first method is the Annie Sloan method in her book Colour Recipes for Painted Furniture that I used on the above french chest of drawers. I think this is a slightly more complicated method (But still only a few steps) but the result is more dramatic. 

To do this I painted the drawers with two solid coats of ASCP French Linen. (you possibly could just do one coat but I always like full opacity). Once the paint was fully dry, I then prepared the white paint for the wash layer. Annie suggests you mix equal parts of grey and white and then water down with water until the paint flows freely and is a little translucent. However, for these drawers I just just ASCP Pure White watered down for a slightly different look. 

Working in small areas apply ASCP Clear wax and wipe it down but don't fully work it in.  Then while the wax is still wet, so pretty much immediately, brush on the watered down paint with long even strokes and in the direction of the wood grain and your base coat. Have some clean clothes handy to wipe off the paint to give the effect you desire. The more you wipe off the more subtle the look will be. The clear wax will allow you to manipulate the paint relatively easily.  Before the paint is completely dry apply another layer of clear wax to create a washed, dragged look. For more detailed description of this method, get a hold of Annie's book as she has a great tutorial on it.

Then last week I had a very similar chest of drawers to paint and I decided to try a different method. Instead of the clear wax and watered down paint, I used liming wax instead. It gave a very similar look. On my drawers I used the effect much more subtly but you could get the exact same effect if that is what you wanted. it will all depend on how much liming wax and how you apply it.

For the drawers above I gave them two to three coats of ASCP French Linen and then sanded the smooth and applied Porters Paint Liming Wax ( but you could use any white wax such as Miss Mustard Seed's etc).  For these drawers I didn't want such a weathered look so I rubbed the liming wax in a lot and made it less streaky but you can get the exact same look as the Annie Sloan method above.  

The more weathered drawers above were sold to a customer in the country  a while ago and she mentioned she was looking for a second set. A few weeks ago I found another matching set that Karen decided to paint herself due to my time constraints and busy paint schedule. I gave Karen a little lesson and demonstration and she used the liming wax method on the second set of drawers that now sit side by side the drawers above and you can't tell the difference.

Karen did a great job and now has two matching sets of huge french drawers for her children's bedroom. Love them side by side.

I hope that helps. My best advice is to practice on scraps of wood until you get the look you want.

cheers Fiona

Limited spots left: furniture painting class

I just thought I'd let you know that if you are keen to learn or improve your furniture painting with me, then I have a couple of spots available in my August classes. 

After these three classes, I probably won't be running classes for about 6 months because of our house renovations and limited space. 

Details are:

14th August: 1 spot left

21st August: 1 spots left

28th August: fully booked

Cost $195

Start time: 10am

What to bring: a small piece of furniture or I can provide you with sample boards to learn on. 

Where: my home in Lilyfield. Address provided on booking.

How to book: email lilyfieldlife@bigpond.com 

or call Fiona on 0405766445

French Bedside table and stool makeover

I recently bought a matching bedroom stool and bedside table that were in need of painting or restoration but were solid and had very pretty details. I decided to paint them in ASCP Paris Grey which is one of my favourite colours. To add interest and highlight the details I painted them in ASCP Pure White and antiqued with dark wax.

I painted the handle to as I didn't want it as an obvious detail. When you paint hardware make sure you wax it also to cure the paint. Someone wrote to me today saying they had painted a metal bed but not used a top coat and after two days they were still able to scratch off the paint with their finger nails. My first thought is don't try and scratch your paint work. Treat your paint work gently. Paint takes weeks to cure properly and ASCP Chalk Paint need as a top coat to fully cure. Once you have waxed or sealed your piece and it's had time to harden (at least a week but often longer) then you won't be able to scratch it off with your finger nails and it will be able to withstand gentle wear and tear.

On these pieces I waxed with ASCP clear wax then used ASCP Dark wax to antique the details. I also lightly sanded the paint for a gentle distressed look. 

I was pleased to be able to keep the original turquoise velvet on the stool. It had a small mark so initially I thought I'd need to recover it but it cleaned right out so that was great as the colour is so pretty.

Painting your furniture is such a great way to give your home a new look. I forgot to take a before photo but these pieces are totally refreshed and will hopefully bring someone else much joy and a little prettiness to their bedroom.

These pieces are for sale at Meshea Lifestyle in Leichhardt or contact me to purchase.

cheers Fiona

Cotton Candy Upholstered Chairs

I recently bought some old Edwardian chairs that had been covered in tan corduroy that had definitely seen better days. The chairs are very solid and heavy and well made but I thought they could do with some visual enlightening. I stripped the upholstery, repainted the frames in ASCP Old White and used some pretty pink velvet I had on hand to create a whole new look.

I think they would be perfect in a little girl's bedroom. Very shabby chic!

To make the trim I just sewed some of the velvet into stripes and glued it on.  I thought that would look a whole lot better than gimp braid.

To get the details of the painted timber frames to stand out, you could either use a glaze or dark wax but instead I chose to not get the paint in to the crevices in the first place. I think this is a great way to show off the details of a piece. I also gave the edges of the chairs a light sand to distress them. Shabby chic all the way for these chairs.

Here they are before: a big difference and clean!

These french carvers below are something I am working on at the moment. They have been stripped and the frames started to be painted, first coat down in a grey. The upholstery on these was disgusting.

To see more of my upholstery tutorials and projects click on the links below.

Easy Upholstering of French Louis chair

 Woven upholstery tutorial on a French Chair

My first blog post: A child's French chair.

My Second Chair I ever did

Recovering a lounge

Striped French Chair

Rattan Upholstered Chair

French Chair Upholstery

Upholstered French Chair

French Chair in ASCP Graphite and Damask

My french painted dining room chairs

A Jarvi Chair makeover

The pink velvet chairs will be available at Meshea  Lifestyle at Leichhardt.

cheers Fiona xx

Furniture Painting Workshop

Lilyfield Life

Furniture Painting Workshop

This is a hands-on workshop that will teach you all the basics of furniture painting. Learn how to prepare your piece, how to achieve different looks with your choice of chalk paint, acrylics or milk paint; how to distress, antique and achieve a beautiful finish with clear and dark wax. Bring a small piece of furniture to work on or I can provide you with sample boards.

The workshop price is $195 per person. This includes all materials that you require in the class as well as morning tea and lunch. Max 5 people.

Time: 10am - 2pm

Available dates in August: Thursday 14th , Thursday 21st or Thursday 28th

Location: my home in Lilyfield (address supplied on booking)

To book: email lilyfieldlife@bigpond.com or call Fiona 0405766445