Friday 15 November 2013

from cheap to shabby chic



I think it's finished, goodness knows it's taken a long time.
No, not the whole bathroom, just the bathroom cabinet !

I previously wrote about it here, when I bought the baskets for it.

 And now it looks like this.

 
Maybe more shabby than chic, but at least it's nothing like the original (you could stop here, there's just loads more chat and pictures of the same thing !!!).
 
I really wanted to change it completely, with no resemblance to what it once was. As I mentioned before, I was really happy with my effort to re-hang the bottom door, and add a shelf.
 

I looked for some paint in my shed and found a Timbershield fence paint that went on really well and acted as a primer, but it was a bit orange. Then I found a darker brown, and painted a layer of that as well.
 
 
I wanted chicken wire in the top door with fabric behind and tried to work out a way of adding it all on top of the mirror, so that I wouldn't have to smash it, but in the end it was no good, I just had to take the whole top door apart.
 
The mirror didn't smash because it was stuck to a bit of board, but the frame looked like a few bits of old cardboard when I'd finished !
 
With a lot of glue, panel pins and some caulk, I managed to stick it all back together.


I went to the closest diy store to check out the chicken wire but it was all bright and shiny and only sold in rolls of expensive lengths. I found a great alternative, a panel of galvanised mesh that was all grey and powdery from having been left out in the rain.
 
The mesh isn't fixed at all, I just cut it to size and it slotted in perfectly where the mirror and board used to sit.
 

 
After the brown I painted two coats of a light grey, a colour I made from a charcoal matchpot and some white paint, and did lots of distressing and some odd scratching to make it look pretty old.
 
 
Finding the right fabric was hard, but in the end I settled on a Jamie Oliver tea towel that I stained with coffee.
 
They came in a pack of two, and I stained the one with the thicker stripes first to see if it would work. The coffee seemed to dull the colours slightly, which worked well with all the distressing I had done.
 
 
So I fixed it in the back with plastic coated wire and hooks.

 
 
I found the two ceramic egg shaped and perfectly coloured knobs in my stash.

 
I painted a graphic on the side (not well, I couldn't find my old glasses). I saw 'Pharmacie Centrale' on something at the Graphics Fairy, and the address was found on a soap graphic from the same place.


And of course, this is where I stuck my little poster, that I wrote about in the previous post, and for which I bought a new pair of glasses.

 
On the bottom door I put some numbers, so that one can do stock control on the contents !

 
Not that my contents need stock control, but at least they all fit in.

 
I'm really pleased with it, although I did plan to do something else to it. I am sure you're thinking it's rather gimmicky already (enough Fiona, just STOP), but when an idea pops in my head, it's hard to get rid of it.
 
 
So my little store cupboard from La Pharmacie Centrale at Rue Lafayette is now finished and although it took a lot of time, it actually cost me less than £20, and I'm half way round the bathroom with the tongue and groove !
 
linking up to
Make it pretty Monday @ The Dedicated House
Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays @ Coastal Charm
Knick of Time Tuesdays @ Knick of Time
Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life
Wow Us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style
The Inspiration Gallery @ Craftberry Bush
Treasure Hunt Thursday @ From My Front Porch To Yours
Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here
Inspire Me Link Party @ Liz Marie Blog
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed
Be Inspired @ Common Ground
Party Junk @ Funky Junk Interiors
Silver Pennies Sundays Link Party @ Silver Pennies
Sunday Show Off @ Twigg Studios 
 
 
 
 



Thursday 7 November 2013

a post about a poster and some imposters !



I have been working on one thing for the bathroom for ages. In my mind it would have taken a couple of weeks and then I would have posted about it, but a month seems to have passed by and I am still not sure it is finished.

I've also had problems uploading photos, the gremlins in my computer don't want me to down load photos from my phone, I guess they think they are imposters !

The other imposters are the constant fireworks that have been let off every evening since Halloween to celebrate Bonfire Night. My poor wee dog thinks they're trying to break in, and that it's his job to fend them off, even though he's terrified.

I keep him between me and the arm of the sofa, wrapped in an old towel, to try and keep him calm.
By this time, he was totally exhausted.

The poster ! Well that's part of the thing I've been working on, and the main reason for the delay. I don't have a printer, so I thought I would draw it out myself. Hmmmmm..........................

 
It's from the Graphics Fairy.
 
It took slightly longer than I thought.
 
 
I used two differently sized permanent markers, and then rubbed out all the pencil lines.
Then I wetted the back of the paper and stretched it on a board, so that I could work on it properly


Ignore the masking tape, you need to use gum strip (the brown paper one), which you also wet and stick down. When they both dry out, the paper will be nice and flat.

To try and make my poster look old, I used tea bags,

 
and ground espresso coffee,

 
and then some more tea,
and then some bleach, because the tea was too dark,
then some more bleach because the permanent pen really was permanent and looked too neat,
then I sanded it because the bleach wasn't working (yes I really sanded the paper - gently).
Then the paper was papery thin, so I coated it in thin layers of acrylic varnish.
Then finally I was happy with it, and I cut it out and roughed up the edges a little.
 

 
And I've stuck it somewhere, and it stuck really well, no air bubbles, and I'll show you where I stuck it, next time !
 
And you have probably noticed that I have misspelt something on my poster (that took ages), and I've only just noticed it, whilst checking this post. DUH, silly old me !!