Ercol chair makeover with Annie Sloan paint

Just a quick post to show you a before & after shot of a chair I've been doing up this weekend. It's an original Ercol chair, probably a 1950s one. I have two, so once they're both done they'll make a great pair in someone's kitchen!

I painted them in Annie Sloan white chalk paint with on top a mix of the white with a bit of Farrow and Ball Old White through it. Distressed it with some fine sand paper at the end and put a clear wax coat on it.

How I became the proud owner of five neglected wishbone chairs

I always keep my eyes and ears open on the hunt for great vintage treasures. Last week I decided to randomly type in the words 'bentwood chair' in the search box of our local Gumtree and in the listings I found something that immediately caught my eye. I contacted the owner to arrange a viewing and in his back garden I found five battered, dirty, damaged chairs - but of an unmistakable design and the leftovers of the labels on the bottom made me smile from ear to ear: here I had no less than five original Hans Wegner wishbone chairs. He got them from a house-clearing somewhere, some time. I couldn't believe my eyes - nor the price: £60 for the lot! They do need complete re-lacquering and seat replacement at some point, but for now I am the proud owner of a beautiful set of salvaged Danish designer classics.

Looking good around our beech dining table!

I added cushions...to prevent my cats from getting their claws into those vintage paper cord seats!

Some more wishbone chair love (in much more grand and stylish homes than mine ;-) ...

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Thonet chair makeover using Annie Sloan chalk paint

I have started a new project for the nursery; painting a £20 old dark brown wardrobe, but as that hasn't been finished yet, I will show you a small project that I did while waiting for the paint to dry.

Some years ago I bought a couple of the classic type Thonet chairs for little money, the ones you often see in pubs. As I was attacking my old wardrobe with Aubusson Blue paint from Annie Sloan, I thought, hey, that might look good on a chair too! I left the seat unpainted (just gave it a coat of wax), which I think goes quite well with the blue-grey colour. What do you think? Improvement?

The chair before and after the paint layer:

 

Junk up your nursery with funky and colourful pieces

As I am expecting my first child I am obviously focussed (perhaps a little obsessed!) with finding some cool pieces for the nursery. Matching, expensive sets in white and oak from the big high street stores bore me to tears and as Aberdeen doesn't have any independent retailers catering for the more eclectic taste, I'm trawling the web looking for some originality and inspiration. Anyone know of some good sites? Let me know!

Meanwhile I am going to try and find an old chest of drawers that I can paint in a funky colour and transform into a changing table. We've been promised a wooden swinging crib already (yay!) and I may just turn the freestanding wardrobe that we own into one suitable for baby stuff.

I did buy some things from a few high street chains (oh no! *blushing*), but only because they had a nice vintage feel to them and of course with the purpose to mix and match them with my other finds. I bought this gorgeous stripey blanket from Mamas and Papas' 'gingerbread' range and I found some 1/2 price cute retro (Amy Butler-like) fabric at John Lewis last week, which I am going to make into cushions (see photo above). Bought both the pink-orange and blue-green variety, to suit both boy or girl. But hey, as the shop-lady said; baby won't notice anyway.

I wanted to share the link to the fabulous blog Bambino Goodies with you, which features heaps of inspiring articles about all things lovely for kids - including some smashing announcements of discounts and sales. It was here I found the link to the great looking Olli Ella Nursing chairs that are made in London. And - to be honest - they would look stunning in any home, whether you have kids or not! They're not cheap, but since you can 're-use' them in your louge, it seems a good investment. I'm really tempted to get one... what colour would you go for?

I also explored Apartment Therapy's kids' rooms site OhDeeDoh a bit more and found some really nice nursery examples:

Gotta love this big bright yellow cot! 

A bit of vintage and nostalgia here:

Loving the yellow-grey combination in this one:

Bambino Goodies also does 'Room tours' to give you inspiration, and these rooms sure did:

If you know of any good online shops or places for inspiration, do leave the links in the comments bit below. Thanks! x

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Hurray! My wonderful "mid-century meets Marimekko" chair project is finished!

Finally got around to finishing the chair today, in the Spring sunshine on the patio - lovely. I'm really pleased with the result! What do you think?

Work-in-progress: my £12 chair goes Marimekko

I originally wanted to wait until I completely finished redoing this chair so I could show you the before and after-shots, but I just can't help myself... I'm too impatient! Here's the in-between-shot instead after I finished reupholstering the seat yesterday with gorgeous Marimekko fabric.

Last weekend I started stripping the wooden frame out in the garden, but it's been pretty wet and snowy the past few days and I'd rather not do this messy job indoors...! I was pleasantly surprised how beautiful the wood turned out once I took off the glossy mahogany coloured varnish. Seems it's a light maple frame with darker teak wooden arm rests. It's gonna be a stunner when I'm done :-)

 

Chair make-over! Reupholstering a £20 find

We finally got around getting this chair reupholstered, which I bought over two years ago for £20 from a local junk shop. It was hard choosing the right fabric, as there is just so much to choose from. Ever been in a fabric store or department? It's like putting a kid in a sweet shop!
I wanted two contrasting fabrics that were not too "in your face" and would suit the rest of the room  - and I am pretty pleased with the result. The patterned fabric is Harlequin Azara (it comes in beautiful cerise, yellow, cream, black and dark blue). The other one I have forgotten the name of, but it's a Peacock blue velvet which a lot of different fabric brands do, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find a similar one. I bought them both from John Lewis.

Here's the before and after shots!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Creating an eclectic interior: add the Wow-factor to your home with a reupholstered chair

OK everyone, it's time for the second episode in the Creating an eclectic interior series... I thought I talk a bit about how to create the 'wow-factor' in your home by adding a totally unique reupholstered chair to it. Think about it: you can get a chair for next to nothing at an auction or even through Freecycle, you go and pick your favourite fabric and get the chair restored and recovered back to a perfect new state (or do it yourself if you're handy). You may have to spend a couple of hundred pounds on fabric and restoration, but just remember how much a chair like that would cost if you had to buy it new. The good thing about antique furniture is also that it was built to last, on solid wooden frames - unlike a lot of furniture in the high street stores these days.
And hey - you won't be able to find a chair like that anywhere else!
Design*Sponge is always a joy to browse for its inspirational Before & Afters. It is absolutely amazing how furniture gets a complete transformation just by covering it with new fabric and giving it a lick of paint or oil. Here's a few stunning make-overs:
 



Drop-seats on dining chairs are very easy to recover yourself with some foam, a staple gun and a beautiful piece of fabric. I love how this chair looks with the black paint and recovered seat (as featured on the blog Frilly Details).


These were recovered in antique coffee sacks (via Faded Plains).


Choice of fabric and how to avoid a bad headache caused by bold patterns
 It may be pretty obvious for most of you, but not everyone (including my husband!) can clearly imagine what a bold reupholstered armchair will look like in their home and some may be afraid that it won't go with what they've already got.
Here are some guidelines:

1. For the easy & safe option: pick a fabric in the same pattern/colour as the rest of your furniture, if you want it to be matching and 'calm on the eye'. I know, not rocket science, but it's worth remembering if you get carried away in the fabric department.
2. For the Wow-factor: pick a very contrasting pattern or colour to draw the attention to it. Even better, combine different fabrics on the same chair. This can create a real statement. If you want to use the chair in your living room, make sure the colours still make a good combination with the rest, even though they are standing out. Tip: take a couple of pictures of your room on your phone before you head out to buy fabric, just to remind yourself of your colour schemes.
3. For a focal point: to make a recovered chair really stand out, place it away from your sofa and armchairs, perhaps in a reading corner, the hallway or next to a dresser against the wall.
4. If you are combining patterns: unless you want to create a very busy living room I would keep patterns to a minimum, and not use various busy patterned chairs in the same space (or it may give you a bad headache!). If the rest of your furniture is plain, one bold patterned chair makes a great addition - or two of the same. If you have a patterned sofa already, going for a plain fabric is probably the best-looking option (but hey - it's all up to you!). Combining it with a different pattern but in the same colour scheme could however also work out ok (i.e. black and white stripes combined with black and white dots).
Here's an example of how one bold patterned bench is combined with plain upholstered furniture. See more photos of this interior on Apartment Therapy.

To give a chair the focus it deserves, place it away from other chairs and sofas. A stunning patchwork armchair (from House to Home):


This gorgeous reupholstered vintage chair (featured on Kristopher K) would look great on its own in a bedroom or hallway.

A great combination of a plain sofa and two of the same patterned chairs, creating a very stylish room (image: Studio Nouveau's Flickr):


Have you done something amazing with old furniture? Do share a link in the comments below - I would love to see it!

Creating an eclectic interior: how to decorate with vintage furniture and found objects

So you've spotted this gem of a chair, but how are you going to use it in your interior? It may be unlike anything else you have in your house, so what does it go with, where do you put it? And what about that vintage sideboard… how do you mix different types of wood in your interior? Chatting to various people I found that many love going to antiques shops and markets, but don’t always know whether something will actually look good in their own homes. I personally just buy it if I really like it (price-depending of course!), as somehow I find that if you buy items you love, no matter how random – they will blend in. After all, it is you who has chosen them because they are your taste, which is that one great thing all those items have in common. 

From now on I will regularly post about how to decorate with vintage items and unique pieces of furniture, to show you how to create a stylish home that reflects your personality. I will collect pictures that will hopefully inspire and give you creative ideas. Here we go! Top image: e-architect.co.uk
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Vintage cupboards and displays
The images below are from the great blog sfgirlbybay by decorator Victoria Smith. See how she mixes different types of wood and styles of chairs and still create a very 'balanced' look. Grouping artworks (instead of hanging them apart) can create a great display on the wall.




Covering a wall with lots of framed photos is another way to get a real 'wow-factor' (as well as displaying lots and lots of great pictures!). I've done it in my house too and visitors always love it - it's a great talking point.

 


Place an antique cupboard on its own and display your favourite collection on it (cameras or... vases, teapots, books, glassware, anything...?).


 
Mixing and matching dining chairs

The picture below is from the blog Things We Heart. Some people prefer the 'catalog approach', buying a brand new dining table and six matching chairs. Why not pick a beautiful antique wooden table and place six different chairs around it? They can be all different in different colours, all the same but in different colours or all different, painted in the same colour. Be creative! It sure creates an original, more characterful look.




Another example of mixing different styles, from the blog The Brick House: a big vintage dining table combined with the popular mid-century Eames chairs. I also love the collection of vintage vases in the background. Very stylish!




Here orange metal chairs are mixed with painted wooden ones, all put around a nice vintage table. They belong to Judy Kauffmann, whose colourful home was featured on Design*Sponge.




I'd like to finish this first 'themed' post with some top advice from fellow blogger DebutanteClothing; 

Here are 5 Tips to Decorate with Vintage:

1. Buy what you love.
   
Your home should be pleasing to your eye. You have to live there. If you don't love your decor, you will not feel comfortable in your own home. If you love that moose head, use it!
2. Don't be afraid to mix wood tones.
   
The 1957 Better Homes and Gardens decorating book reminds us that wood is a color. This doesn't just apply to vintage, but vintage furniture that was meant to last was made of wood. Check for tones in the wood grain that may be complimentary to one another.
3. Be patient. Shop often.
   
My furniture did not come home with me in one weekend. That's one of the luxuries of buying new - you can get a catalog looking living room in one shopping trip.  But in order to achieve decor with character, you may have to be patient for the right piece to come along. Check your local thrift store, flea market, and even Ebay, often.
4. Mix it up.
   
True design comes from mixing unexpected elements, colors, and textures. With vintage furniture, you run the risk of looking like you live in a time warp - same goes for vintage clothing.  Don't be afraid to mix decades, vintage and modern, and shapes.  I tied the straight and rounded lines of my dining room together with a really inexpensive ceiling lamp at IKEA - it has a straight wooden base with rounded white plastic light shades - a perfect blend of both lines in the room.
5. Don't be afraid to re-purpose.
   
The goal of decorating with vintage is two fold - owning quality constructed pieces and creating a one of a kind look.  If you happen to find a fabulous dresser, but have no room or need for one, try re-purposing it as a storage credenza in the living room.  Or use a telephone stand as a holder for remote controls.  We re-purposed a wardrobe cabinet as a TV cabinet.  My husband just sawed out the inner drawers and we use the lower drawers for media storage. It would be a shame to leave a beautiful piece of furniture or accessory behind simply because you have no use for it  in it's current purpose - get creative.

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