A Dash of Vintage for the Desk

On an exceedingly wet weekend back at the end of June, I was lucky enough to have an impromptu trip to the Terrigal Vintage and Antiques  Fair.  A quick wander around and I spotted a cute little stool with drop down steps that needed a tiny bit of love. From the moment I saw it I knew it was for me! 

 

She has potential!

 

My grandparents have a similar stool and I remember spending my childhood climbing up it to pretend answering the telephone.  Combined with the recent addition of a 1970's black dial phone from the Bargain Hunt Auctions, the stool makes the perfect addition.  There was one exception, the seat was adorned with fuzzy nineties cow hide print.  A little bit of my teenage years that I'm not keen on reliving (Rob didn't see anything wrong with it!).

 

I haven't upholstered before but a flat seat pad seemed to be a good place to start.  Finding the right fabric was tricky though.  Spotlight and Lincraft don't exactly keep up to date upholstery fabrics. So, it was Ikea to the rescue! The Ikea fabric range is gorgeous, I could have easily come home with a few metres of everything.  I chose two fabrics to try and this one was the winner...

 

TRÅDKLÖVER Fabric

The foam and seat timber were in great condition, so it was a matter of simply removing the old fabric and using a staple gun to secure the new fabric in place. The corners were a little tricky but after a bit of research I decided on box corners. The corners took a couple of tries but the result is super cute!

 

She looks at home now, but what should her name be?
 She did resemble a walking frame without the cushion, so Esther perhaps?

 

I used only a small corner of the fabric pattern to avoid replicating the cow pattern

The desk space with a dash of vintage

 

 

Demo Day is on the Horizon

The shack is going to meet it's untimely end. Or perhaps many would consider it timely! 

 We have engaged a demolition company to remove the shack in it's entirety, including all 200 sq metres of asbestos. There will be no working bees to get the job done. Hooray!!

The memories of living in the shack are fading fast. I can't believe that we lived in it for three whole years. Such. A. Long. Time. 

The smell inside the shack is now bordering on unbearable and I hold my breath when I go in to get something. I don't even know what makes that smell. Rats, mustiness, damp, dust, mould? Ancient history?

I revisited my D Day post this week and had a read of how I felt when we first moved in to the new house. It was an incredible reminder of how special it was and how hard earned too. It gave me a big kick to appreciate everything more and slow down a bit to enjoy it. 

I will certainly be enjoying the demolition of the shack and there will be a video to share!

It's been a bloggy long time.....

Almost five months have passed since my last blog!!! It almost feels like I had given it up for good.   I've been struggling for some inspiration, a complete room to photograph, a finished piece of furniture to share or another creative adventure. For the last five months there haven't been any finished pieces of furniture, no decorated rooms and nothing else particularly exciting to share. I have been coasting. A queen of procrastination perhaps? Or, a limited budget? Too much reading of the SMH while it was free every day?  That's it! I can blame the SMH. 

A year has almost past since buba 2 arrived. I have spent the last few months stressing about going back to work and finding a new routine for our household. Alas, my worries were wasted and due to some circumstances beyond my control - my maternity leave has been extended until February.  I am part, yippee! Part, oh holy crap! 

Is this my opportunity to dare to be great? Dare to be creative? Should I just coast through the next eight months until work rolls around again? Will it roll around again? If it doesn't, what other opportunities can I discover? Being an environmental scientist is part of who I am but can I find another part? Is there an easier way to sustain family life outside of the nine to five?

The inspiration is flooding back in and I'm looking forward to sharing it.

Roadside Retro Revamp

The first piece of mid century furniture that I collected was a hall table spotted on the roadside. It had been thrown out by a neighbour and was headed to landfill.  

Mid century furniture can fetch a fair price on eBay and in vintage stores, but many people see it as junk (in particular my mum). Not me though!

The table had good bones masked with 70's style. A black glass top, teak veneer shelves and drawer and atomic wooden legs. The most dated feature would have to be the faux gold handle and feet.  

I have held onto the table for two years waiting for the right time to resurrect it, now the time has finally come!

A good sand back and re-varnishing brought the timber back to life and removed the 70's orange. Strangely the timber smelt musty as I sanded it back. Four decades of dust perhaps?

Three coats of stain and varnish modernised the colour and added a glossy sheen to timber surfaces. The drawer front was a little too damaged so I covered it up with some white aquanamel paint left over from my last project.  The gold feet and drawer handle were updated with some black enamel paint. 

The outcome - the little table headed for landfill is now a funky piece of furniture in our hallway.