Stripping….

Lets see how many new visitors I get with that title!!

Mum and Dad live on the property of a man called Bob. Bob is not particularly sentimental and has a lot of stuff, some of which is stored in a shipping container by our house.
Dad set to clearing it all out today, and i of course, knowing how apt he is to throwing out treasures, jumped in too.

And spied this table and attached swinging stools.

I asked Bob very nicely if he would consider offloading it my way, and he not only said yes, but pointed me in the direction of these 3 chairs!

He believes they were his mother and fathers from the 1940’s. They are Oak, with no makers mark that i can find. The veneer on the back is coming off so my plan is..
Strip the veneer off the backs and upholster them with some of my 1950’s barkcloth, hopefully to tie in with the vinyl seat covers – which seen to be in good condition.
I needed an excuse to do a nightclass this year – and I think upholstery may be it!

Now the table and chairs.. I have to strip the layers of paint off the legs, then take off the rust to get to the chrome beneath, well thats what Google says anyways. ( update – its 3 hrs later and I have only done two legs, this is going to be a big project!!)
The top will need a bit of scrubbing and stain removal

and I will have to clean and refix the band around the table edge.

I thought i would reupholster the vinyl stool coverings, red with a cream trim to match the table top maybe.

What do you think? Any ideas?

Merry Christmas

I hope this blog finds everybody happy, full of food, maybe a little tipsy and with their loved ones.
I spend my christmases every year with my mum and dad and we do the same thing year in, year out. Its a lovely piece of stability in a crazy world.

We put a pillow case out for my son (14 is not too old to believe in santa) and lots of presents under the tree.
This fairy on the top of our tree is as old as I am, i must say – she is probably holding her age better than I am. Mind you she has had one makeover in her life – her dress was remade.

Here are a couple of my wonderful presents. The prize for creativity goes to Annah – her partner found the old tin and Annah made the shortbread.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night
xx

Vintage Design ideas?

Hi all

I have had an idea to add to my blog’s scope and I want to know if it is a good one or not..

I was at my very creative neighbours house the other day and she hauled out her living and design mags. They were chocka full of vintage design ideas and I was very inspired, especially as they had great photos.

So I thought I may share some of my vintage design ideas, things I have done in the way of decorating my living spaces and cool ways to use those treasures we find from time to time in thrift stores.

Whaddya reckon?

Its another aspect of my vintage dressing/fashion lifestyle and one that gives me immense satisfaction. I love hanging out in spaces that I have made pretty and interesting.

So

My first project…

I have an ugly space at the end of my bathtub that needed a little something, I have tried various things but it needed to fit with the vaguely art deco theme.

Then after perusing Emma’s mags I realised I needed some kind of shelving to show off treasures.

Fast forward to today and I found this battered old slide box at my local auction for a fiver!

Turned on its side… Perfect little spaces for those bits and pieces lying round my house collecting dust.

One of the principals of design is grouping together objects that alone look like nothing, and put together have some meaning.

I have always loved the idea of little shelves, they look so inviting!

Now I just have to find some more little bits to fill it up…. its a hard life.