Magazine rack

Magazine racks are items I see in charity shops quite often.  They are usually between £5-£7 so I've decided to give some a makeover.

This was a mahogany rack.  It was really easy to take apart, once I unscrewed the the side knobs, it practically fell apart.

I decided on two tone, the spindles, knobs and base I painted baby blue.  The knobs where quite difficult to paint, I kept leaving finger marks!! After a bit of rummaging in the kitchen drawers I found  wooden skewers that fit perfectly.  I stuck the skewers into an old shoe box, it made painting soooo much easier.  I forgot to take a photograph at this point sorry.

Once put back together I stressed it slightly around the edges.  To be honest this project took longer than expected due to the amount of individual components that required painting.  

I think it was worth the extra hassle.  It turned out beautiful. 

Pastel Nest of tables

The side table I found in a cancer research store.  I thought it looked really retro.  

I didn't take a photo of its original state sorry.   

I decided to go with pastel tones to match the floral colours that seem in style at the minute, blue/green and white.  They turn out fantastic and sold really quickly.  

Check out my Facebook page Claire's shabby chic furniture 

Bring back plant holders

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How sweet do these look?  

I see these mahogany plant stands every where, in charity shops, car boot sales going for a few pounds.  

Once painted they brighten up any room.  I've found so many corners in my house that call out for one. 

I believe these are a forgotten past time, I'm going to promote bring back the plant stand holder!!! I'm using them as picture stands or candle holders.  So universal and pretty.

You can get really creative by selecting bold colours and if it doesn't look right, paint it again.  Experiment and have fun.

I found this little Beauty at a local auction. First time bidding so had to put my poker face on.  The auction was real good fun, if you haven't tried one, then you must!  It was amazing to see what price furniture sold for and the decanters and tea sets where to die for!! 

Anyway I had a plan and a budget so that stopped me from buying items like decanters and vintage tea sets that I don't need.

The hall table as you can see was dark dirty and unloved.  My first thought was red! I'm going to paint it red and the leather inset will look fab.

WRONG!!!!! No red does not look fab Claire, ok get the white out.

So much better.

I've lightly stressed the corners and sides to let the red show through.  I could pretend that was the desired look all along but we'd all know I was lying!!  

You can see more of my work through Facebook Claire's Shabby Chic Furniture 

Pretty Side table

I received this lovely pine side table from my aunt.  She knew I'd have some colourful plan for it. 

I used similar colours on this side table, that I used on the stripy drawers (previous post) I thought the two units would look gorgeous as a bedroom set ..... and I had paint left over. 

It's all about recycling after all!!

From what was a plain simple pine side table, with a lick of paint and a steady hand, Ive created another piece of furniture that's unique and pretty.

I'm selling these items through my Facebook page. 

Claire's shabby chic furniture

Stripy retro drawers

I found this quirky set of drawers through Gumtree and thought they could turn out really cute with a bit of work

 

  

Once I got them home to be honest I didn't know if just plain white would do it any justice.  

1st coat of white paint went on..... Definitely too boring for its shape, my husband suggested drawers 1 colour and legs sides and top another.  

Mmmmmmmm I need inspiration.

That evening I found my inspiration, someone had painted one drawer stripy on a lovely dresser. Perfect!

Colour picked, masking tape at the ready 

The hardest part was fixing the slight bleed into the white, I found a fine paintbrush and with a very steady hand!

I was able to fix it....phew!!

To finish off I reused the original handles and painted them white ( I also painted inside of the drawers too) it has to match.

The drawers are from the 70s and it has a few nicks on the right side on the first two drawers, I think it's little imperfections makes it look aged, but still modern.  

Hopefully my project will inspire someone else, reuse what's out there guys its cheaper and sturdier plus you feel great knowing you've made something quite beautiful.