The weekend at home

Just a quick little hello from me on Sunday morning. Hope you are having a beautiful day. We are having amazing weather this weekend in Sydney and both Phil and I are getting excited about the summer and also how our house will be in the warmer months. The light in the back lounge room is beautiful and having the three french doors open wide on to the terrace is just beautiful. We still need to do a huge amount of work in the garden : re-turf and leveling the soil is also on the agenda. I have been having a play with some succulents and a vintage sieve. I havent got it sorted yet but I think when I do it will look great hanging on our fence.

We had friends over for dinner last night and sat outside for the meal. We lit a fire and it was so pleasant. Still no outdoor table but I just chucked a nice french tablecloth over the plastic trestle table and all is good. who cares when there is good company, yummy food, champagne and a chandelier-turned-candelabra. 

My friend is hilarious - such a funny evening. She turned up with flowers for me but said she's tripped over and broken most of them - the remaining ones still look good. I love ranunculus and am glad to make the most of them in springtime. (and no she didn't hurt herself)

I have a few pieces of furniture available as is if you are interested. This beautiful french sofa which is in amazing condition and doesn't need re-upholstering if you don't mind the current fabric. 1.3m long - perfect for a bedroom. If no one wants as is I have a lovely plan for its makeover.  (SOFA HAS SOLD)

I also have a stunning vintage large blanket box on castors available. Custom painted $500 or buy as is for $295. 100cm wide x 50cm deep x 72cm high. pickup Lilyfield or some delivery available

I would love to be spending the day at home relaxing but I'm heading out to Olympic Park to take Sasha to a party. Mother duties are never ending aren't they. Her social life is way better than mine these days!

have a lovely day

Fiona xx

A map makes this piece pop

A $7.95 wrapping paper map makes this piece of furniture!

I recently bought an old Queen Anne long legged cabinet. It had lost the drop down front some time ago I would say but I just loved it and new I could bring it back to life.  Actually when I first saw the piece I didn't even notice the shelves inside, I just loved the outside shape and little drawers. What a great added bonus are the internal desk details

This is one of those pieces that jumped the queue and I started painting as soon as I walked in my front door with it. I pulled the back off to be able to access the shelves properly and also because the inside of the back was painted in a chalky red coating that I knew I wouldn't be able to paint over properly.  I painted the internal in the seafoam colour I mixed recently for a chest of drawers.  The outside I painted in a ASCP mix out of several cans of paint that were almost finished  -it's a lovely soft taupe that I am going to mix again for a huge chest of French drawers that I have sitting in my studio awaiting my paint brush.

To adhere the map to the back of the cabinet I first coated the red chalky paint in a sealant spray so that it wouldn''t show through onto the wrapping paper. This paper is more like thick calendar paper, not the thin wrapping paper that comes in rolls. I used modge podge to both adhere the paper and to give it a sealant to protect it. then I screwed the board back onto the piece.

Isn't it fantastic! (Forgive me for saying so myself).

My friend Belinda from Bella Emporio Roxelle stopped by yesterday while I was working on it. She was dropping off a mirror for me to paint and when she saw this piece she asked to buy it. So in the afternoon as soon as i'd finished it I dropped it up to her. It's in her shop for display and no doubt for sale.

Last night I had two enormous wardrobes dropped off for custom painting.  Call me crazy as that's bucket loads of white paint to transom them. Luckily I love painting!

Fiona xx

Old Chiffonier - perfect hall table or dining room

Yesterday was a busy day with people and furniture coming in and out and lots of waxing to finish off pieces. I finally finished the lovely old chiffonier I've been working on. I painted it in ASCP Paris Grey with Pure White highlights and distressed and antiqued.

Because this is such old timber I decided to use a shellac based primer to ensure that the tannins didn't bleed through all of my nice paint work.  I actually love how it looked even after one coat of primer.

I gave it two more coats of paint -ASCP Paris Grey and the with a small brush I highlighted the details with ASCP Pure White. Once it was all dry I then distressed the piece and waxed it with first clear wax then on the detailed areas I brush on some dark wax to age it.

It's quite a rustic old piece with a few dints showing a well loved life but I really think it's pretty and very practical. Great storage for a hall way or dining room, even the corner of a bedroom. 

$495 
103w x 150h x 38d cm

Please sms or call me on 0405766445 if you are interested in this piece. Delivery available. **EDITED - SOLD**

Pop back tomorrow also as I have the cutest piece to share. I've got some great pieces at the moment and my head is full of creative ideas. I love it when that happens.

Wishing you a great day also
Fiona xx

Latest painted furniture from Lilyfield Life

I've been blogging now for almost 5 years about painted furniture and sometimes I wonder that you and I aren't bored out of our brains reading about it. Just how many before and afters can we look at and remain interested? I suppose people come and go, and stay while they are inspired and learning. Thank you for reading and writing to me. I love this blog community and the richness it's added to my life with the relationships that has developed here.

I've got several pieces of furniture finished and ready to be picked up. A good thing too as I've agreed to paint two enormous wardrobes that are being delivered on Friday night and i need to clear some space. Times like this I want to go out and rent a huge studio but then I'd lose the flexibility of working from home so i'll just make it work for the time being.

This beautiful Art Nouveau secretaire was my aunt's. Dated from 1910 its a beautiful solid piece and just lovely. It probably didn't need painting you can see the before photo below and the patina is beautiful, but try as I might I never seem to be able to sell a piece unpainted.  My aunt actually wanted me to paint it which is half the reason she gave it to me I think. Anyway I decided to paint it a crisp white and lightly distress the edges. I used two coats of Zinsser BIN and then about 5 coats of ASCP Pure White which I love but it's very translucent so you need a lot of coats for full coverage. The fitted interior is cedar so I decided to leave that unpainted and it's a beautiful contrast. the piece has already sold and my customer, Cheryl, is going to use it in her bedroom to store jewellery and precious things.

 

Below is a progress photo but shows the interior drawers.

When Cheryl came to look at the secretaire she mentioned she was also looking for some french style bedside tables. I love it when I can say "oh I have some right here" and they are exactly what my client had in mind. Cheryl wanted a neutral colour for the bedsides but not white, so I suggested ASCP Old Ochre. They came up very nicely. Such a beautiful shape.

I also finished the demi lune hall table that I showed the before photo in yesterday's post. The base is ASCP Old Ochre and the top is a black enamel paint. I really love this mix - elegant.

and before - isn't paint just magic :)

Sasha came home from camp last night full of fun stories and excitement. I had a lovely bunch of roses to welcome her. She's gone off to school this morning, very tired but I think the whole class will be the same. An early night for her tonight I think.

When I took the above photo (that is actually in our upstairs landing), I noticed that everything in this photo is a revamped vintage find except the vase and statue which were gifts. How good is second hand stuff and paint!

Lastly today, I wanted to share my grandad's orchids that are still going (and growing) strong after more than 70 years. They make me so happy every year. I loved him so much. A nice connection to him and to my mum. I miss them both so much, Mum especially. Grief is just weird. So not linear. 

Anyway I hope you have a great day. I'm finishing off the cutest little cabinet and a chiffonier. Best I get cracking...

Fiona xx

Pieces in progress

Good morning on this sunshiny day! My little okay not so little girl is away at school camp in Canberra but she;ll be home tonight and I can't wait to hear all about it. She is going to be so tired though and probably a bit grumpy tomorrow so I'm gearing myself up to not react badly - just be super loving and cuddle her. I find that is what works best. 

I don't have any finished pieces to show you but thought you might like to see some in progess.

I bought this beautiful chiffonier from an English guy who was living in a small apartment in Bondi with his family. They had lots of antiquates packed in the house but his wife is expecting twins so they were selling off much of their furniture rather than move suburbs to a bigger house. 

I used a grey primer as my base coat and actually love how it looks below  - rustically elegant.

Here it is below with two more coats of grey chalk paint and the details highlighted in white. It's all ready for waxing and antiquing. I think that is when the furniture really comes alive and looks authentic.  I should have it finished today, all going well. it will be for sale.

Actually I forgot when I said that I don't have any finished pieces to show you. I have finished this french style commode. (reproduction but solid timber dovetailed and sturdy). $375. Painted in pale grey and a charcoal top, waxed and perfectly smooth. Perfect for a little Parisian chic in your home. (95w x 45d x 80h cm)

I have also been on the look out for a demi lune hall table that is only 90cm wide. Deb who bought a pair of french coffee tables wanted one to match. I found one on Monday and am currently painting it  - photos soon.

It's getting painted to match these below.

...but first I'd better finish making Jonty's lunch and get him to school, a quick coffee meeting in Balmain with a business consulting client and an osteo appointment for my sore hip. Then it's time to paint.

have a great day.

Fiona

Vintage Furniture to Bathroom Vanity

Years ago, well definitely before it was popular or even seen on blogs, I bought an old french music cabinet to turn it into our bathroom vanity. It was a great project - still looks absolutely beautiful and was way less expensive than a modern poly-pac vanity - which I always think are a little boring anyway. You can see my bathroom here if you are interested.

A customer recently contacted me to assist her in doing the same. She had bought two old dressers and asked me to paint them and transform them. At the time I was very busy with my own house renovations so I suggested that instead of me doing all the work, I could show her what to do. I gave her some private painting classes and I also sourced the marble for the top and the crystal handles. For bathroom furniture, I suggest using Dulux AquaEnamel and it's quite different to using chalk paint. Getting a beautiful even sheen takes some practice so that's what I concentrated on in my lessons with Emily. 

The bathrooms turned out beautifully - so elegant and glamorous.

So much personality and prettiness.

If I can help you with a similar project, please contact me on lilyfieldlife@bigpond.com

Fiona xx

A special piece for a new mumma

Sometimes things just turn out perfectly. I bought a bedroom set recently from a lovely old couple. It was solid timber and dovetailed and in perfect condition. It had been their wedding present to each other, god knows, a million years ago ... okay not a million but they were all (the furniture and the couple) pretty old :)

I had to drive to Castle Hill one night to pick it all up and I had forgotten how far it is. It's a different world out there, the house are just enormous - like American houses. So different to the inner city with our small blocks of land and modest houses.

I had a customer wanting a little pair of bedsides so I split the bedroom set and painted the bedsides in a Restoration Hardware style using Annie Sloan french Linen, Paris Grey and Pure White. I've blogged this effect many many times so I won't bore you again with details of how to achieve this look. 

I had planned to paint the dresser the same but one afternoon I was playing with some colours and mixed a beautiful sea foam and decided that I knew exactly how I wanted to paint the chest of drawers. It's a small piece so I imagined it in a baby's room.

I love the colour - quite different to Duck Egg in real life. Very reminiscent of the ocean. I thought the crystal knobs and white top also lift the piece. Fresh and clean.

When I listed it for sale I had a call from Tammy in Melbourne who wanted to buy it for her baby (not born yet). Sadly her dad passed away a few weeks ago but before he died he had given Tammy some money to buy some things for the baby and she is buying these drawers. So bittersweet and it really touched me. I decided to give Tammy the matching bed stool as well and when I told her she started crying and so of course then I was crying. I'm glad to have made her happy - despite our tears. I painted the stool white and just covered it in linen so it's easily recovered in a fabric that matches the baby's room.

Nice to be able to do kind things for people. I wish her all the best for the baby and am touched she has chosen my furniture as a remembrance from her dad.  I've got a great courier who travels Sydney to Melbourne down the Hume highway so it's a very reasonable way to purchase my furniture if you are interstate.

Have a lovely weekend. I am so tired today - one of those days I've just hit the wall. Sasha and I are having a quiet day as the boys are away for the weekend and it's just the two of us.

Fiona xx

How to achieve a painted washed effect on your furniture

Sabine recently asked me paint some of her furniture. One of the pieces was this pine sideboard.  She wanted a duck egg blue and a washed effect. I thought it was a great example to share with you step by step on how to achieve this look.

The sideboard's original varnish had turned quite orange. This is very common and is due to the alkyds in the oil based vanish. Over time the alkyds will yellow, turning the pine orange. One of the reasons I never use oil paints.  You can slow down this process by ensure the paint is exposed to natural sunlight but so often in our houses that just isn't possible. Anyway there is nothing better than a makeover that gets rid of ugly orange pine :)

I sanded the sideboard gently to reduce the gloss surface and create a key for the paint to adhere to. I did some minor repairs to the sideboard including filling a dent in the top with timber putty and gluing in a drawer support. Wipe down your piece with a semi damp cloth, let the piece dry and get ready to paint.  I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for this piece so skipped the primer for this piece.

To create the bluish duck egg that Sabine desired, I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Duck Egg as my base. ASCP Duck Egg is actually quite green so I added Pure White, lots of Greek Blue and a little bit of Louis Blue to create the end colour. It's very lovely and soft. Below is a photo of the first coat drying - you can see what great coverage this colour has.

And then the second coat drying.

After you have your base coat down, now comes the fun part. Adding the wash!  To me this is the creative part of painting furniture - what will set the pieces apart.  To do this wash, I mixed white paint and water so the paint is a little translucent and easy to spread. I then waxed my piece in sections and while the wax was still wet, I apply the wash and wipe it off immediately. I then distressed the piece and sand smooth. It's a beautiful soft look. You could also using liming wax. 

Sabine was thrilled with her sideboard and other furniture. Such beautiful feedback on these pieces that really made me happy.

What do you think? 

Do you like this big blue sideboard?

I'm finishing off two other pieces today and will be listing them for sale tonight. 

Have a great day - beautiful sunshine here. A great day to paint.

Fiona xx