The year is in full swing already. I have moved from my house of 360m2 to a flat below the house of 62m2. As you can imagine it is a big squeezzzzze. Can’t invite friends, can hardly move around the place and of course can’t find a bloody thing. Boohooooooo:(:(:(
What I have been doing since the 1st of January is selling my not needed stuff on every online marketplace that I can find.
With this post I would like to share one of my revamps that I sold recently.
These two bed stands [is that the correct description?; they look more like small chest of drawers] were given to me by a lady who moved to an old age home. Though practical, they are NOT beautiful.
I am a strong believer when decorating ones house [or designing ones house] to aim for the best balance between practicality and aesthetics. Although old; these bed stands were sturdy and in a good condition.
They were made of melamine and horrific plastic beige handles.
Practical but very boring [apologies for the bad pic]I have lots of left-over paint. I mixed some left over paints to get a duck egg [with blue undertone] colour. I make my own chalk paint; this was ideal to cover the smooth melamine finish.
I did not take photo’s of my process of revamping the bed stands. To give them more texture I layered the paint. First the duck egg blue and then a very light grey paint.
The new wood handles were also painted with the duck egg blue and then I gave them a tickling of gold/copper paint.
The bed stands were finished with a fan stencil. Painted in a darker duck egg blue tone and with a sprinkling of gold/copper paint.
Here is the final product.
Upcycled, revamped BED STAND [no is item #]Sold the pair for R1 300.00. Hooray!!!
Below is another piece that I gave a new jacket. I have had this chest of drawers since before I had my children. It was painted a bright yellow in enamel paint. I keep forgetting to take BEFORE photo’s.
Again, chalk paint came to the rescue. This time I used baking soda to make my own chalk paint. Using baking soda gives the paint a rougher texture. I first painted the piece in left over brown paint but hated it. Having mixed a large amount of duck egg paint [and loving the colour] I decided to use it again.
Here is the final piece.
The inside of the drawers were decoupaged with dress patterns
I lined the inside of the drawers with old dress pattern pieces. Next time I will first paint the wood white before decoupaging the pattern pieces. The new handles gave the piece it’s final UMPH!
I am having a BIG Spring cleanup! 25 years of stuff!
Shop is open every Wednesday from 16:00 – 18:00
Items can also be purchased online. Click here to contact me.
Can’t believe how much stuff I have not used or needed for years. All this stuff is clogging every inch of my home. I have been hard at work the past few months but there is still lots and lots of stuff.
This was my garage a while ago – it looks much better now
All this stuff is what I call “Kaggelkakkertjies”
Thank goodness I have sold many of these items to people who thought:
My Trash are Their Treasures
But I still have a looooong way to go.
Shop is open every Wednesday from 16:00 – 18:00
Items can also be purchased online. Click here to contact me.
This week I have some wonderful power tools for sale. But that’s not all so scroll down to find that beautiful treasure 🙂
Ryobi Sliding Mitre saw. New R3439. My price R1719
Ryobi Router table and Router. Table new R1439. My price R595. Router new R1249. My price R629. Total = R1224Rybobi Circular saw and table. New R1399. My price R1849
Shop is open every Wednesday from 16:00 – 18:00
Items can also be purchased online. Click here to contact me.
Mid century side board [Accessories not included]. R1199Mid century display cabinet [Accessories not included]. R1199
Handmade Oak coffee tables – 60’s style. Pair R679Christmas is around the corner. Come and view my lovely cushions. Priced from R100Very rare newly upholstered corner chair. R1999
I grew up with the idea that ceilings can only be painted white, right?
Wrong!!!!!!!!!!!
Here are three reasons why you should consider painting your ceilings with darker colours.
Dark ceilings adds drama to a space.
The dark hues give a totally different mood and atmosphere to a room.
It is a myth that darker hues will make a room look and feel smaller. It all depends on the shade of the colour and the proportions of the room.
Have a look below!
On the Left the dark grey extends from the ceiling to the upper section of the wall and this adds interest to the room. It also draws attention to the beautiful contrasting oval white pendant lamp.
On the right the dark grey colour provides a sophisticated mood in this large open space. The grey is repeated on the window trims and the pillar. The dark wood beams give an interesting subtle colour contrast and adds texture to the ceiling instead of being a flat surface.
A dark colour means anything darker than white. Left is an example of a safe grey hue. The effect is less dramatic and the mood is cooler.
Below are two examples of passage ceilings painted in dark colours. See how it draws the eye upwards which make the passages feel more spacious.
What a gorgeous entrance and isn’t that floor to die for!!!
And guys please, the colour is not restricted to grey. You can go bananas!!
See what I mean. This is drama and so simple to achieve.
Neither be restricted to one colour or paint.
Awesome wall (sorry ceiling) paper
This is REAL drama.
Lastly don’t forget the kids room!
Now any child can only have sweet dreams in a room with such a starry ceiling.
Grey has been a trendy colour for many years. I love grey as it is such a wonderful neutral background colour. But it is not that easy to select the right shade of grey. The colours you see in magazines or on paint swatches are often very different to what you envisaged when painted on your walls.
A week ago a friend painted her bedroom walls a light grey, but it turned out light purple and she hates it! A couple of years ago I also selected a grey for student accommodation and it was more purple than grey! It was a huge shock! After this booboo I researched on how to avoid such a mistake again which could potentially be very costly. I also compiled a checklist on how to select your favourite colour. Every time I need to purchase paint I take this checklist with me. Click here for my free checklist.
MOOD
To find the undertone of your grey, it can assist you with planning the mood of your room. Use a brown undertone for a warmer mood. The undertone of blues and greens are cooler and has a calming effect.
MATCHING INTERIOR ITEMS
This method of selecting a colour is ideal to match a grey with your furniture, carpet or curtains. For example, yellow is a warm colour.
Having yellow curtains or upholstery you could contrast them with grey walls in a cooler hue (blue or green). A favourite colour in a Persian carpet can be discreetly emphasised by repeating it in neutral grey walls.
HOW TO SELECT A SHADE OF GREY
Grey is not a pure colour; it is a combination of black and white and small amounts of other hues. In the colour fan shown above there are shades of grey in each of the different colour hues! So you can see that there are many more than only 50 shades of grey!!
UNDERTONE
You need to determine and compare the base colour of your favourite grey. The presence
From Left to Right the undertones range from green to brown
of the undertones are best noticeable in the darker colours in a fan deck strip and also by comparing different grey swatches. The undertones can be red, yellow or brown for warmer colours or blue and green for cooler colours.
ADJACENT STRIPS
It can be difficult to determine the undertone hue of a grey colour. If the darker colour
in the strip isn’t helping you, go the the adjacent strips in the fan deck. Fan decks are compiled according to family hues with different intensities, mostly from lighter to darker colours. The same with the swatch racks in paint stores.
LIGHT
Light has a huge influence on how a colour is perceived by the human eye. A swatch can appear very different in daylight from a store’s fluorescent lights. Try to chose your colour swatch in daylight. Colours also appear different on the walls in a room. Walls painted in the same colour will look different. Walls with lots of sunlight (facing north or west) will look different to a wall in a passage or south facing room with little sunlight.
SAMPLE BOARDS or STRIPS
Painting sample boards or strips on walls are expensive. One liter is the minimum quantity that most suppliers offer. Painting samples depends on your budget or the size of
the area that you need to paint. For a huge area or an entire house it will be cost effective to paint a few boards or strips to make absolutely sure you have the right colour. Repainting the whole area could burn your pocket or you will have to live with an unwanted colour for many years. By painting boards of 1m² in your colour(s) and holding them in different areas at different times of the day and night could save you a lot of pain and money. When painting strips remember to paint them on all the walls as I explained about light in the paragraph above.
WHAT IS IN A NAME?
My advise is never to choose a colour by it’s name alone. Remember the names given to paint colours are subjective and sometimes playful (tongue in cheek). All the colour strips in the fandeck shown below have one swatch with GREY in the name, for example Carbon grey, Submarine grey, Faux grey, Denim grey and Moor grey. Many of my favourite greys aren’t even called grey, but Cement, Old socks, Headache, Stormy Cloud and Boredom!!!!!!
There are different standard colour systems that paint manufacturers use. Jack’s Paint uses the NCS system (Natural Colour System). Therefore the codes of the colours from different manufacturers are not the same . Ask your supplier to explain the codes of their products.
Lastly, to make absolutely sure you have the correct shade of grey ask for the break down of the pigments used in your chosen colour to avoid unwanted surprises. Click here for my free checklist.
Happy painting and I would love to hear your comments!
A collection of sturdy chairs newly painted and upholstered in beautiful bright colours. I had so much fun to upcycle these chairs. The guest house, Bonne Esperance, gave them to me when they changed ownership. The chairs were originally made by the pre-1994 Public Works Department. Pre-1994 the department provided furniture (amongst other things) for all civil service personnel. Most furniture was stamped with a PWD mark. The PWD chairs were also made from a variety of solid woods, but no pine, and stained in a similar clour.
This was my garage a while ago – it looks much better now
