James Wood
I stress unwanted, for those trying this for the first time, do not choose a precious family heirloom that you think might make a nice piece of ‘shabby chic’ furniture. Whether you choose something from your house, or locate through social media channels such as ‘for sale or swap’ (highly recommend), you will find something and do not have to pay much more than £10 for it. Another piece of advice is to search in social media channels like Facebook, for pages such as ‘Free to a good home’. I simply observed it was cluttering up our office and not being utilised to its full potential and thought everyone can thank me later after I have created a masterpiece…You can tell the wood was solid and of good quality from the image above, it did not require little or any sanding down and it made a lovely piece of furniture to paint. Once I discovered the bedside table and had my heart, mind and every single bone in my body set on painting it, I made a very quick trip to B&Q. To finish it recommends to use GoodHome lacquer or wax to provide heavily used surfaces such as table tops and chair seats extra durable protection.
During this time treat your new paintwork with extra care, gently wiping any spills or liquids from the paint immediately. It is resistant to water and household cleaners so you can wash away any marks or stains, making it really easy to maintain.
It enhances and nourishes the natural wood grain, and protects your painted furniture.
I laid them out on the kitchen floor, filled a jug with some water and my workshop was complete.
I envisioned a cliche moment of me being in dungarees, hair perfectly placed into a messy, but stylish bun, and paint delicately splattered on cute spots on my face. Although the knobs may be glued on the outside, they should tear off reasonably easily and you don’t need to worry about the mess you will make, thats the best bit!
I then lightly sanded down the entire piece of furniture with my sandpaper and wiped it off with a dry cloth to get rid of any residue. I don’t care what anyone says, the next steps in my upcycling venture were good for the mind and soul and I would highly recommend for those of a stressed composition.
I still consider this important, especially if the furniture is going to be used frequently, also if you are thinking of selling this, it adds more quality and standard to your work. Using a dry cloth I coated the bedside table in two lots of clear matt wax and I am impressed with the finish it has given it.
I originally was sourcing gold knobs which I thought would compliment the colour of the furniture well, however when I saw the more glamorous looking ones, I could not resist. To finish the draw off, I had an idea of sourcing some material like wallpaper to attach to the back of the drawer and the insides so nothing was left plain and untouched.
I set of AGAIN to B&1, as I had seen some wallpaper wth navy and mustard notes which I thought would compliment the colour of the furniture, however I came across this material. With a range of patterns in stock in B&Q, it is the answer to decorative finishings when up cycling furniture, giving it that extra wow factor. I placed the material over where I wanted to cover, took the measurements and calved it out with my Stanley knife and scissors.
It stuck on so easily with the self-adhesive back and has not required any more adhesive, nails or screws to secure it on more.
