In this post, I showcase a number of small items that I've shown a little love. I wanted you to see what you can do to brighten up your decor with so little effort!
Mahogany sideboard
Wooden tray
Metal urn
Plant pots and metal table
Silver dish
Gilt picture frames
Ikea chest of drawers
I recently decided to try my hand at something practical yet creative. I was walking with a friend on Golborne Road (just off Portobello Road) in London and found a gorgeous shop, Phoenix on Golborne, that sells a wide range of antiques as well as vintage, painted and shabby-chic furniture. The owner, Jess, a charming, dynamic girl, also runs paint classes in the shop covering a range of finishes & paint effects using Annie Sloan products as well as ad hoc restoration advice and troubleshooting.
I signed up immediately and really enjoyed learning these new skills. My first attempt was my mahogany sideboard.
What's great about Annie Sloan paint
This lovely, chalky paint is superb, especially because no undercoating or sanding is required - you can paint over wood, metal, silver, brass, china etc. It's worth buying Annie Sloan's book 'Quick and Easy Paint Transformations'. I used the book for inspiration and I also followed two of the examples (one of which is the chest of drawers below). I'm totally hooked now and keep finding more things to paint!
Ikea chest of drawers painted in Provence and inside of drawers painted 'Greek Blue'. Handles are from Anthropologie.
This wooden tray was covered with olive oil marks and I was going to throw it away. I decided to paint it Annie Sloan's Old Violet — two coats and then clear wax. Less than half an hour's work: no sign of the oil stains and I have a lovely tray.
I found this tiny metal urn in a garden centre for £4. It was a ghastly colour so I painted it with two coats of Annie Sloan's Aubusson Blue and then dark wax.
A couple of plant pots and metal table - all very 'cheap and cheerful' buys. The pot on the left I painted in Annie Sloan's Antibes Green + dark wax, the one on the left in 'Florence'. The little table in Aubusson Blue.
This is a silver-plated dish I bought years ago in a charity shop. It was knackered and I was about to donate it to a charity shop but instead I painted it Annie Sloan's Aubusson Blue (I expect you have worked out by now that it's my favourite Annie Sloan colour!). With clear wax I rubbed away some of the silver. I love it now that it's painted and I might even rub away more of the silver.
Two charity shop prints with ghastly gilt frames now painted in Aubusson Blue.