A Story About an Ordinary G-Plan Sideboard

One thing I knew I wanted in the Prague apartment was a sideboard. A beautiful, wooden, retro sideboard. I even knew what it should look like - teak, thin legs, some shelves, some drawers and a bar cabinet. But one thing you can't find in Czech is a sideboard. A sideboard which is long, wooden and isn't too high (we couldn't find anything slightly similar). We placed adverts in newspapers, on social media, visited many antique shops, dealers, car boot sales, flea markets but no luck. 

In the end, we purchased something from Ikea - it was grey and yes, long and no too high. It was ok and did the job but it wasn't right. When I returned to the UK, my sideboard hunting continued and then one day I found a sideboard which matched my imagination EXACTLY.  A large, teak G-Plan with double doors, 4 drawers and a bar cabinet and at a bargain price.

Restoring started as soon as I got it home (it had a bad water mark right in the middle of the top) and after some sanding, oiling and waxing it was as good as new.  I was **thrilled** with the result. And as usual, with every beautiful piece of furniture, I fell in love with it and wanted to keep it. 

So I had my dream sideboard, and now it was time to transport it to Prague. For the first time I used SpeedeGo Logistics which does regular CZ-->UK-->CZ trips. And to be honest, the communication with them was excellent, they were very friendly and helpful, it didn't cost an arm and a leg, and they didn't run away when they saw the wrapped beast :). *

Long story short, found it on Friday, restored on Saturday, it was collected on Monday and on Wednesday it arrived in Prague. I have seen  photos only but I must say it looks GREAT! This big piece of furniture needs a big open space and the apartment is just perfect. 

I'm ever so happy how it looks in the apartment and can't wait to see it for real :) 

retro TV :D

* This is not a paid commercial- it is my honest opinion

** Last 2 photos by my lovely friend Klara, first 3 by lovely me :)

How to remove Annie Sloan chalk paint

A while ago I purchased a lovely midcentury teak coffee table. Unfortunately it was painted with Annie Sloan chalk paint and then waxed. I say unfortunately as there are certain pieces of furniture which shouldn't be painted as 1) they have historical value 2) the "shabby chic" doesn't go with every style. (Don't get me wrong- I have nothing against Annie Sloan paint- it's a great product and works marvellous!)

I couldn't find any information about how to REMOVE the chalk paint so I've contacted Annie Sloan via email and they recommended sanding down as the paint is water-based.

This was my first attempt at removing water based or chalk paint but hopefully I can share some tips with you that may help with your restoration.
I'm guessing that this tutorial will work with any water based paint.

You will need:
- white spirit
- sponges
- steel wool (I used fine 000 & ultrafine 0000)
- water. Lots of water!
- bucket or garden hose
- sandpaper (150 and fine 240)
- sander
- danish oil (or whatever your wood is)
- lint free cloth
- wax
- sunshine!

1) Firstly remove the wax using a white spirit and sponge. While I was doing this I realised the paint underneath comes off quite easily

2) Continue scrubbing with water and the sponge. The more water that I used, the more easily it came off. It's best doing this on a sunny day so the wood dries quickly and doesn't leave black marks. I used both sides of the sponge; the rough one and the soft one. I kept the sponge clean of the paint at all times, otherwise the the wood grain started to stain.

3) When most of the paint is removed, use fine steel wool to remove the paint from the grains.

3) After the paint is removed and the wood is dry, sand it down. For the flat areas I used a sander, and for curvy areas I used sheet of a sand paper. There are 2 simple rules when sanding wood:

 - Always sand in the direction of grains,

 - Never use sandpaper finer than 280 as it will fill the grains and the wood will look unnatural

This article has some great tips about how to sand wood furniture.

4) For difficult areas such as corners, I've used a small engraving tool with a sanding head (sorry no photo).

5) After everything is sanded down, clean it with white spirit. When it's all dry and dust free, rub in the dutch oil using lint free cloth. In total I used 3 layers of oil leaving 4-6 hour gaps between re-coating. Finally, I applied the wax. I like using clear Briwax brand as it leaves a lovely shiny finish.

There are still small remains of the paint in the wood grains and around the cane edges but hardly noticeable unless you're inspecting it very closely ;)

Ta daa! :)

For more tips and ideas follow my "upholstery & restoration" Pinterest board.

Update:
Here is a similar picture of the engraving tool I've used for difficult areas. I really can't remember where I got it from but the bits in the wooden box are from Lidl.

9 DIY gifts

Here are 9 DIY gift tutorials which caught my eye. They all look easy and inexpensive to do.

    1. Gorgeous gold sprayed mug.  Tutorials here

    2. Suede clutch with 8 different cords for different occasions. Clever! How to here.

         3. Stick horses for every little cowboy and cowgirl! Full tutorials over here

    4. Bath bombs over here.

    5. Moon clock. Tutorials here
 

    6. This cool scarf is knitted on the arms. Tutorials here

    7. Raindrop pillow for day dreamers. How to here.

    8. Go here for this geometric jewellery

    9. Cat toe shoes. Here.

Happy crafting!

Cushions

Our fabric is great for making cushion covers. A 1x1.5 metre piece is enough to make two* puffy cushions for your sofa or as a present for your dearest. 

There are many DIY cushion cover tutorials and videos - from a simple one piece fabric to a more advanced tutorial with added zipper and/or piping. 

Here is a great tutorial using one piece of fabric, or here (made of three pieces of fabric) or youtube video here. All tutorials are pretty simple so any beginner can make them.

*Use 50x50cm cushion padding for a 47x47cm cover, giving nicely puffed up cushions. 
Or cut the fabric into 6 50x50 squares to make 6 cushion fronts!

lighting

I think the lack of sunshine here in the UK is the reason why my "lighting" board on Pinterest is getting fuller and fuller.
Here are just few of my favourites:

And some lovely DIY ideas:

 

 

For more designers and DIY lights see my Pinterest board.

1 milk bottle

2 creased

3 roza

4 glass

5 rolled paper

6 LED cloud

7 spoons

8 drops

9 torch

Happy Easter!

I'm not really into the Easter this year- I blame the cold weather here in the UK. I managed some simple decoration and baked some gingerbread bunnies, chicks and flowers for my dearest. Some inspiration from other blogs:

Alice in Wonderland styling {via}

For more Easter inspiration and DIY ideas visit here

1&2 bunnies&light green
3 simple
4 gingerbread by me
5 vintage
6 DIY concrete eggs
7 DIY hanging posies
8 Alice in Wonderland

Happy Easter!