I am back. Inspired and ready to unleash my energy and motivation on the creative world. :-)
I love sewing, up cycling and craft of all shapes and sizes and since moving here I am without a sewing machine and over locker (they became my extra limb) I have been a little lost. Introducing... Up cycling. True to my star sign and all those stereotypes. I have two sides. Not as in Jekyll and Hyde. Rather I am someone who is all or nothing. B is the same. So you can imagine when two Gemini's are married to each other, really there are four people in the relationship.
I am the sort of person to give a 1000% and then fall off the bandwagon in a gigantic heap (explains my fluctuating waistline). Included in this is my craft/sewing/DIY. There were a few weeks when you could not have pried me from my DIY (unless you were a screaming 8mth old or destructive 2yr old). Then I fell into the big heap and lost the motivation to create (I am using the lack of undercoat as an excuse). However, before I had my big motivation meltdown I was able to complete the most GORGEOUS (and my most daring) DIY. The retro buffet.
When I bought the buffet (thank you eBay), I was MEGA excited. I could see the potential and all the different ways that I could complete it were swimming through my head. Hmm. Now to decide on just one. Pfft. ONE! Yeah right. I was going to mesh all my ideas into one. It was either going to be one triumphant piece or one massive disaster. My mother and her friend J (who is so gorgeously honest) were baffled that I was in love with the things that they grew up with (and by the subtle hinting they weren't fans of these items). These are two women who have the most impeccable taste in antiques (pfft antique smantique- I'm penny pinching remember). Trying to be "spending savvy" as I like to tell B. Anyhoo. I found this buffet and although there was no lead lighting and the door latches were not the same and it was painted... It took me back to my childhood, where my gorgeous Aunty, used to have a 'similar' buffet in the kitchen of her holiday house where she used it as a pantry. AND if I am to go even further back where the same aunty had a gorgeous meat safe (you know the ones with the mesh panelling down the side) in her house and as a child under ten I used to sit next to it to peek at the delectable treats that she had stored in there. In case you haven't gathered, I come from a family of domestic goddesses. Admittedly unlike Nigella Lawson they don't sneak to the fridge in a satin gown, but people. The women in this family CAN COOK. Some of the "Goddard grand kids" have also inherited the love of all this "Goddard" (even if they don't wish to admit it) cooking. (I really do have the most amazingly talented and creative and mechanical family- another blog hey).
Again I digress.
This buffet... It caught my eye the moment the gorgeous owner posted it for sale. Unlike some of my previous eBay purchases I won this one (clearly).
Now. Anyone that knows me well. Knows that I love the colour pink. I think it is feminine and pretty and I find it calming. HOWEVER. I wasn't sure that this was going to suit my beach theme decor and my new found obsession with turquoise. So. It was going to have to go.
I started by removing the doors and drawers and cleaning this baby. It had been beautifully taken care of and had just gathered dust in storage.
Then I made the next decision. Rather than use the noisy sander (I figured it would take me hours). I used the paint stripper. I STILL HATE IT. But it wasn't as bad as when I used it on the table. For some reason it was easier on the straight flat lines of the buffet but it hated the turned legs of the table (that's ok I have learnt)
As you can see, it stripped back the 30+ years perfectly (Especially the old school beige). At this point despite it actually stripping back really well I decided to give it a sand back just to ensure that all surfaces were smooth before I slapped on the paint. Now because the acrylic paint (USA Antique White) I had been using was perfect and so easy to apply etc. I decided that I would continue to use it. The real challenge was picking the right blue. Now when I went to Bunnings (with two screaming children) I thought that I had the right blue. I had ensured it tied in with all the blue accents in my house and then when I was painting (see pic below) I began to feel the tight warm feeling of panic (OMG IT ISN'T RIGHT). I had to walk away and have a POT of tea to calm my nerves and gather perspective. I had been running around with the paint swatch for days checking and rechecking. So I thought bugger it. I am going to continue and see where it takes me...
Now I am not going to lie... It was blue. I mean really blue. My heart sank. So I rang my #1 go to person. Mum. She told me to not panic. So I sent her pictures so she could understand my panic. She remained calm and told me to take the paint of the hinges (clever lady) and put things into the buffet. If it still looked too blue then I could reevaluate. So I began to find all the beautiful pieces I wanted in the cabinet...
Ah! That was better. It looked less like Isabella had gotten her Crayola Blue onto it.
The weekend after I had completed this beautiful piece we were going to Ikea. YAY! I knew that I needed a big picture or something for that bottom centre shelf... Hmm. Now when I got the decorator section of Ikea the girls were being good but it was my darling husband who was having the meltdown. He wanted out and was trying to rush me and make quick decisions for me so he could get out of the "one way sheep maze" (funnily enough, it isn't one way). I found this pitcher and I thought. Well it cant hurt to try. So I loaded it up and we continued on our merry way (side note- B has a 6 month release from all things Ikea. After 6 months he WILL be coming for another shop. Unbeknown to him I have a big Brisbane shopping trip planned. ;-) Ikea is just one of the stops on the way.
Now my buffet was never going to be complete without STUNNING handles so I found these gorgeous beauties on eBay for $7.00 (free postage)
Drum roll... TA DA!!!!
Here is my final masterpiece. I think that in the end the blue was perfect. I am not going to deny that there was a few moments there I truly believed that it was not right but am so thrilled that I took my mothers advice and kept going.
Hope that you all love (even though I know that it wont be some people's cup of tea) and I have some more gorgeous DIY to share soon.
Keep smiling
xx
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