A Story About Making Old Furniture Lovely Again

We have a new addition to our family.

Actually, we have two but i'll tell you about this one first; our new Welsh dresser.

Way back in February my other half happened to mention that there was a Welsh dresser for sale.  It was being advertised in the little cafe over the road and he'd had a look at it and thought right away how it could be done up and made to look lovely.  As this is something I have long wished to have in my home I went to have a look at it.  Standing in the corner it was very tired, shabby and 80's looking with it's awful dark varnish, but I could see the potential same as he had and immediately got rather excited, envisioning it standing in our little house adorned with all our favourite bits and pieces.

We bought it for £25.00 and got to work sanding back that nasty varnish...

I'm afraid I don't have an actual before shot of it to show you just how dark and awful it really was, but you get the idea...

However this renovation business was not plain sailing.  After choosing and buying the undercoats, primers and paints we got to work making this old bit of furniture look good as new, but we hit a problem:  Staining.  Yes, the lovely milky white shade of paint we had originally chosen turned a rather sickly yellow as the old varnish leached through.

It was left a while as we worked out what to do.  I contacted a furniture restoration specialist who suggested sanding it back and then coating the whole thing in shellac.  It seemed like there was a light at the end of the tunnel but as some of you may know, shellac is not the cheapest product to buy and we had a heck of a surface area to cover.  Back to the drawing board then!!  My Dad had a lightbulb moment and went up to see his old friend John Carrack (brother of the famous Paul) who has run their family paint business in Crookes for years.  John sent him home with a tin of some special sealant and my Dad took over the project of re-sanding, sealing, re-undercoating and the like, whilst I danced off happily to buy pretty coloured door knobs and some new paint!

After months of hard work and nothing happening, it was ready:

It has moved into our little house and looks as if it's been there forever.  Typically I got rather excited and immediately started to adorn it with bits and bobs...(and did I mention that it needs bunting?  I didn't?  Oh it so does!!)

I found the toadstools in John Lewis recently, they're actually tree decorations but for now I'm liking them just sitting companionably together on my new dresser :)

The paint I chose was Porcelain Blue by the Craig & Rose 1829 paint company.  The door and drawer knobs came from a selection at Chatsworth House and a lovely little shop in Holmfirth called The Gift Horse.

Prior to my Welsh dresser moving in, I finally got myself a proper desk to work from.  For absolutely long enough I have been working and painting away at my dining room table and this has been fine up to a point but I was feeling that I'd really like a little chunk of my home where I could do my computer work and smaller pieces of art; a work space I could call my own, that I didn't have to clear off to serve meals etc.  Now as some of you know we live in a very SMALL house, there really isn't space for an individual studio and so I have chosen my favourite corner, by my inspiring bookshelves and back window for my new desk.

I found my desk in an antiques centre in Sheffield, I saw it just over a month ago and I fell instantly in love.  I saw it in my mind as being the perfect desk;  it was big enough for my bits and pieces, but small enough to fit in our room without overpowering it.  It has an unusually long drawer that opens from the side for keeping all my Important Things in.  I also get to leave my painting stuff on it, and I love doing that.

I think it's important that we cultivate a creative space that makes our hearts sing, that bring us joy.  A good place to work from is good for the soul.

It's also a dream to sit here and work, glancing up to see the birds fluttering about and watch the sun orbit our riverside garden.  Although I'm still in my little house, working in the same room, having my own desk here gives me my own little sanctuary to retreat to for work and painting stuff.  I love it.  It's all mine.

So!  Before I go today, I'd just like to thank all of you for your lovely comments about my crochet work ~ you're so kind and I do appreciate the time you spend reading my blog and writing your thoughts.  I also appreciate all of you lovely folks who read and leave quietly, thank you too for stopping by :)

Well, I have a few Christmas Card orders I need to be cracking on with now, so I'm off!  I hope you're all having a smashing week, sending love and mugs of warm gluhwein to you!

Julia x x x