After spending weeks and weeks of sanding in a workshop full of dust then painting white wash coat after coat, then sanding some more the Dinning room table is no longer wanted or needed as the church pew is longer so now my wife wants a longer table to fit the pew and will then I expect want another pew to match the other rather than having chairs and a pew.
Dinning room table anyone??????
In my last post I blogged about a church pew that I had kindly been given by a friend of ours that was over 100 years old (the pew, not the friend ;o) ).
Well as luck would have it, on checking it the following morning, the two coats of white wash seemed to have done just the trick.
My wife came downstairs in the morning, we both wished each other Happy Anniversary, exchanged cards and had a quick kiss and a loving tight cwtch.
I hung a mirror in the dinning room that we picked up that was black, but I had sprayed white the moved the table and chairs away from the wall and brought the pew in and put it in it’s place.
Looks really good too, on stepping back from it, it really suits the room and looks as if it has always been there.
Although it is not completely finished yet as I want to try some stencil work work on certain areas of butterflies and birds on branches, but first I have to design them and then create the stencil before painting over them.
As far as furniture in this room now, I am pretty certain that there is no more room in the room for any more, although I am on the lookout for a large piece of wood to use as a mantle to go over the fire place and shelving above our two armchairs in both alcoves, then I am pretty sure that this room will be complete.
I would have liked to have been a little more adventurous in the room by using a different colour than just white, maybe a sage colour, but it was decided from the very beginning that my wife was has control over the house and I am in charge of the garden, so I suppose there is not much I can say about that is there now.
Besides, now the room is as full as it can be, maybe now I can finish off the commission pieces I have left and then start getting some more new stock in to start selling again………….maybe.
Anyway, here is a pic of the pew in the dinning room, not a brilliant shot I am afraid, but I have man flu at the moment and my hand was not as steady as it could have been, so out of the ten pics I did take, I am afraid the bottom pic is the only one that was worth sharing with you.
Here is the pew as I had it:
CHURCH PEW BEFORE
CHURCH PEW BEFORE
And here it is in the dining room:
CHURCH PEW AFTER
I did not realise that it had been so long since I last posted. My health has not been what it could have been these past few weeks, after having a week or two with less pain in my back and leg, I thought I was on the mend, but these past 2 weeks I have been suffering pretty bad.
I have been trying to cut down on a few of my different pain killers as I am sure that 217 a week is far too much, but it seems that after all I do in fact need them, so I have added them back into the pots and today I finally started to feel a little better.
So I sanded a 100 year old church pew and added an undercoat. As it was supposed to have been a gift for my wife for tomorrow (our 5th wedding anniversary), I am afraid I did not take a picof it sanded, but here is a pic of it as I had it:
CHURCH PEW BEFORE
Not the best pics I am afraid, I left it a little late before putting it into the workshop. It is about 11 foot long and around 4.5 foot high.
I had it from a very good friend our our that was the caretaker of a local chapel with a congregation of 6 that has recently been sold, so rather than the 16 pews being used as fire wood, our friend asked the new owner if he could have one or two. So we had one each.
The pews are the original pews from when the chapel was built in 1891, so they are a very good age.
At first I must be honest I did think about sanding the awful brown gloss away from the pew and using a very dark bee’s wax to rub into the Oak and selling it on, but it is not every day that someone is given a church pew, made of solid Oak (which makes it very, very heavy) and being well over 100 years old. So either way, the gloss had to come off.
All in all it took me around 14 hours to sand what I could from the pew, a very difficult job as I am sure my friend said that up until a few years ago he would re-paint them every year as did the care taker before him, so I am afraid I dug out the electric sander, something I avoid using whenever possible.
After it was sanded as best as I could I gave it 2 coats of white wash and I think by the morning it may even need a third, as I really want the wooden pegs and cut wooden joints to stand out, but I am not too sure what my sweet wife will think of it, we will just have to wait and see what happens.
There seems to be a theme starting in our dinning room, butterflies, and pink birds on twigs, which I think looks lovely, but as every thing I am either given, find or buy seems to end up in the house, I am never going to be able to afford the wood that I need to build shelving to display all of my wife’s carefully selected ornaments and other bits and bobs.
I am thinking of making some templates following the theme and painting them onto the pew, but again, until my wife is happy with it, that will stay an idea.
Anyway, visitors this weekend, so I am sure this is bedtime, oh and as soon as the pew is finished, I will be sure to post pics.
Ok, I am going now, have a good sleep or day where ever you are, and remember
……….BE GOOD!
Don’t seem to have the time these past few days to blog much, but thought I would post a really quick on of the pine table and 4 other chairs:
Pine table for the house. My wife chose it so I get to work on it and she gets to keep it.
sanded pine table
chairs to go with table
Finished chairs and dining table
A few nights ago, I tried adding more patches to the quilt, and I don’t know what I did wrong, but for some reason it would not match. Every patch was out of line, stitching coming undone the lot. I was so upset as this is the first time I had touched a sewing machine in over 20 years when I was in school, so I was quite pleased with what I had done so far. In a little hast I screwed it up and put it ready for the bin. An hour later I took it out and put it back in the bag for another time. Well I had another look at this evening and added about another 60 patches and somehow it is all in line and looking good for a very first attempt.
This is only practice for a larger quilt which I will be padding for our bed at home, with maybe more subtle, matching patches.
practice patchwork quilt
As we have only recently moved to our new home, while out walking one morning I got chatting to a neighbour of ours. When I say neighbour, I mean someone that lives close, our nearest neighbour is about 300 yards away then the next is around half a mile away.
Anyway, back tho the Bedroom Chair, we were chatting and the neighbour asked what I do for a living, so explained to him about my back and leg, but I also told him that as a hobby (when my pain allows me) I refurbish old or antique furniture. He seemed very interested and asked that when I finish a piece if I could give him a ring and if he could come and take a look. I agreed and took his telephone number.
Well it seemed that I completed three items all on the same weekend, so I gave the chap a ring.
He turned up within minutes with a trailer hooked onto his Landrover.
He came into the house and we had a cup of tea and introduced our neighbour to my wife.
After the tea and chatting was becoming a little laboured I suggested that we go out to the work shop for him to take a look at what I do in my spare time. As I knew he was coming I had a quick tidy up after taking pics of the items in the house ready for the website ( http://www.cottageshabbychic.co.uk ) and maybe even Ebay.
“So what is your plan for these then”, pointing at a pine dining table and chairs my neighbour asked. I told him that they were for the house for our dining room.
The he asked about a dresser that I am also in the middle of, I explained to him that I also take on commission work from clients of mine.
I explained the situation that it is much more of a hobby than a business, as I am not as able these days to work as long as I once used to.
He asked about the Bedroom Chair, “What about this? Is this for sale? And that mirror too, are these going on your computer for sale?”.
I said that I was going to put them on my website and facebook, he just looked at me with a blank face, not really understanding what the hell I was talking about, what with him in his late sixties.
He asked me what sort of money was I going to be asking for them, so I said that £185 for the chair and £45 for the mirror.
He held his hand out to shake my hand and said “SOLD THEN”!
My jaw hit the ground, I honestly could not believe my luck. His grand daughter is moving into her new house in a few months and he is trying to get some things together for her.
Well I was over the moon with the deal and I hope his Grandaughter will be too with the lovely gift from her Grandfather.
Here are a few pics, both before, during and after:
Mirror as I bought it
mirror after restoration
Now for the Bedroom Chair:
bedroom chair
Bedroom Chair after refurbishment
Bedroom Chair after refurbishment
Bedroom Chair after refurbishment
Bedroom Chair after refurbishment
They both took a lot of work and everything was done by hand, there was over 18 hours of sanding by hand the chair and the amount of different techniques I tried to get the mirror to the standard I was happy with was ridiculous. So I was very happy with the price he plaid, and I think he was too as he said let me know when you have any more.
So both very happy.
After too much time sanding this chair by hand (around 12 hours) I primed it with Farrow & Ball Wimborne White, sanded, re-applied the paint, three times. But on the third coat I was finally happy with it.
I then mixed Pitch Blue and Saxon Green (Farrow & Ball) to try to make a Sage Green colour, but it turned out much more of an Aqua colour, which was not what I wanted, but I really liked it, so went with it.
After being so gentle and subtle with the pieces I have done for commission work, it was nice to just go for it on a piece that I was refurbishing for sale.
And go for it I certainly did!!
Here as many pics as wordpress will allow me to post of the process from bought to finished product:
Captains chair as I bought it
After 15 – 20 hours of hand sanding this chair, this is how it turned out, and I was glad to see it finished
Aqua Green (Farrow & Ball) painted Shabby Chic Captain;s Chair. £65
Aqua Green (Farrow & Ball) painted Shabby Chic Captain;s Chair. £65
This hoop was sp;it when I bought iy, but thisis about the best I could do to secure it and steady the legs, hence the price.
Captain’s Chair for sale. £65
Captain’s Chair for sale. £65
If you are interested in this chair, please comment on this post with your email address and I will get back to you ASAP
Many thanks
I have probably spent over 60 hours in the work shop these past few 2 months trying to compete commission work, items that I have already sold, items I hope to sell and a few for the home too.
The commission pieces (thankfully) are fine as when the item is delivered so are the materials ( paint, stain, wax, grit sand paper, etc) so I know what I am doing and what the customer wants.
Items that I have already sold are items that my customers just drop off as and when they find a new piece for their home, again, with all materials.
Pieces for the home and that I have collected sometimes seem a little more difficult for me.
The ‘Captain’s Chair’ was causing me some worries, as it really is a lovely piece and I have so much looking forward to finishing it off. It has been collecting dust in the workshop for weeks all primed in a water based white primer, just waiting for me to decide what on earth I am going to do with it.
Well I finally made my decision last night and put it in to action first thing this morning. I mixed two Farrow & Ball paints that I had left ( not really enough to do anything with either tin) so I got my washed out paint bowl and mixed the two together. I was so pleased with the result, although I was hoping for a Sage colour, what actually mixed was more of an Aqua colour which looks great on the chair now I have Shabbed it up. I am unsure if I should varnish it with my clear, non-yellowing, expensive vaenish, as I so love the way it looks now, but I think if I am going to sell it, I best had.
The ‘Bedroom Chair’ that has been painted in Farrow & Ball Wimborne White, again, several layers after and many, many hours of sanding by hand, (why so many layers?) and after spraying the back of the weaved seat with a mat white spray, was ready for varnishing. I have already re-upholstered the seat which I am very pleased with indeed. So I brought it in to the house to fix the seat back to the chair and as soon as I got it out through the workshop door, I soon noticed places on the chair that just did not look right. Weather or not this is a little OCD, but I noticed a small area on the weaved back area’s that really could do with a little more spraying. There was also a few area’s that need re sanding and re painting. Considering the price of Farrow and Ball paint, I would hope that 1 or 2nd at the most layers should really do the job.
The mirror on the other hand seems to look OK with it not being sprayed correctly, the copper and black undercoat coming through the white spray looks quit effective, so although it does not look as I first though, I am quite happy with it.
So tomorrow morning the 60 Watt light bulb that hangs above my head in the workshop will be changed to a 100 Watt bulb so these silly mistakes are not made again.
I know you have seen them before, but tomorrow I will be able to finish off the items I have mentioned, so here are a few pics of how they looked when I first bought them;-
Captains chair as I bought it
Mirror as I bought it
Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to add photographs of how they have been transformed.
Finally, a job started and, well, almost finished all but for a wooden button.
My last blog was about my visit to Hay on Wye and I mentioned the hessian coffee sacks I bought from ‘Vintage Mercantile’. Now I had always thought these were just printed hessian made to look like original coffee sacks, but while cutting them open I certainly did find coffee beans in the corners of the sack, I was a little worried of what else I might have found, would probably cry if there were any foreign bugs or crawlies in there too.
Anyway here is one after I cut it open:-
To those that have read any of my blogs before this one, you will know the relationship I have with my sewing machine. We are not always the best of pals.
After the three of us, my wife and daughter and I managed to figure out the correct folds and hems to create this duck down cushion:-
Cushion from Hessian Coffee Sack
Here is a pic of the back of the cushion, earlier I said almost finished. I need to visit Hay on Wye in the morning and pick up a few large wooden buttons, to keep the back closed.:-
back of cushion
I will be making more over the next few days as my medication does not seem to be working quite as well as the used to any more, I have had a few bad days, think I should make another appointment to see the doc again, having terrible pain in my leg again Pft, just as I thought things were getting better too ;o(
I will soon be adding these cushions to my website http://www.cottageshabbychic.co.uk as soon as I have sorted out the prices of the items I need to make them.
I hope you like them, this is about the only thing that has gone right for me all week.
My daughter went to her friends house for a sleep over birthday party in Hay on Wye and we were to collect her at 10 am which was great.
This meant that we could have a good nosey around the antique and charity shops. Something I have missed so much as what with the snow and waiting for our car to be delivered, I was so looking forward to it.
Hay on Wye is our nearest town, but we only ever really go there to show it off to our visitors or to visit the Co Op, but the Co Op is another story. We parked up in the street after collecting our daughter, who was very tired, put my blue badge in the window and we were off.
I knew exactly what shops I wanted to visit and tried as hard as I could what with my back and leg being in total agony (again, another story).
As relaxed as Hay on Wye is (nothing much really opens until 10 – 10:30 am there is nothing more frustrating when you are stood outside the Old Curiosity Shop in the castle grounds staring at the opening times sign on the door that states ‘Sat, open 10:30 am when you are stood out side at 10:45 am and there is no sign of anyone there. When I have money to spend, I like to spend and was so looking forward to rummaging through their goods, never mind though.
I next visited ‘Vintage Mercantile’, and I am so glad I did too!
I have always loved this shop and their website too. As I said before, I struggle to get about, but visiting ‘Vintage Mercantile’ made the struggle and pain so much worth it. I have chatted to Louise, the owner a few times via email and so on, but had never really spoke to her.
She has one of those shops that as soon as you walk in through the door, you make sure that you warn your children not to touch anything.
Before we even walked through the door I had decided on my first purchase of the day. Outside with a huge stunning sheet draped over it was a off yellow, wooden step ladder. Well used with other paint colours dabbed on it from the previous owners carelessness, which I am so happy about. My wife and I walked into the shop and there was not an item there I would not have loved to have bought, from a large wood chest of draws to a hessian coffee sack from Cuba. Every single item we WANTED and NEEDED.
I bought the step ladder (which is still in the boot of the car at the moment) but is soon to be my Number 1 project, well after the bloody pine table and chairs. Getting pretty sick of it to be honest. I thought we were going to have an expensive looking dinning room table and chairs, but it is just ending up being expensive! I bought the perfect design material for the seat covers, but too too thin, so my wife has decided that we are going to use ‘Oil Cloth’. The horse hair and wool stuffing arrived today, so we might finally get it in the house and free up some space in the work shed.
I love Hay on Wye for bargains, but sometimes, some shops are just unbelievable with their prices. The antique shop called the Hay Antique Market had a few chairs outside the door which I might have been interested in, until I looked at the price tags. Then my eyes looked upon a chair that had been painted in white emulsion, not a particularly fancy chair with a price tag of £110. I expect they will have that there for quite some time. I visited there a month or two ago and they had step ladders there and they were asking £36 for them, I came back with a price of £30, my answer was, ‘I am sorry, but no thank you’.
Funny how one shop can have reasonable prices and another with prices that are beyond a joke!
While walking about Hay we bumped in to Monty Don with his dog, would have liked to have said hi, but he did not look in the best of moods and was in a hurry too.
Oh I returned to the shop to pick up the step ladder ( Antique Merchanile http://www.louiseloves.co.uk/about-us-1-w.asp ) and bought one of the hessian sacks but as the one I really wanted had a bit of a hole in it, I chose another and Louise (the owner) said that I could have the other very nice lady indeed with a MUST VISIT SHOP too.
Well with everything that has happened today in my shabby chic hunt and at home, I just wish I had charged the battery on my camera before. Not taken a photo all day, that is a first for me too!
Cottage Shabby Chic 