Limewashed Mirror

Well, folks, here is my limewash painting project.

This dark wood mirror in our bedroom at The Bach was looking very dated and, well, dark and I fancied a bit more white; a bit more of a shabby chic, Scandinavian limewashed look. Having never done this before, I tottered off to the hardware store to get some paint, a brush, sandpaper and some sealant.

The first coat looked like this - see above and below.

Here's the second coat of limewash. It took me the first coat to get the hang of the painting technique, which is a bit tricky as the paint doesn't come out even. It is literally like a wash but then, that is the point of limewashing and the effect you want.

Then I decided to do a third coat as the wood was pretty dark underneath. I think if you were limewashing lighter wood you would only need two coats and if it was very light, only one.

Here's a corner to show the third coat effect. All it needed now was a coat or two of sealant to protect it and give it some sheen. One thing I realise now, is that the paint could have done with an added tint (ie to make it slightly creamier in colour) as the limewash turned out to be quite an icy, blue white. But overall, I am pretty happy with the result considering I had never done it before.

The final result came up like this ...

And this ...

And all the while I worked, Ruby was keeping me company in the sun.

Oh the life of a dog!

Coffee Table Makeover at The Bay

I'm back with my second DIY job these hols!

This many-times-painted coffee table that we inherited with The Bach was looking very worn and tired and in need of a sprucing. While this photo doesn't give justice to quite how worn and tired and discoloured it was looking, believe me, it was and annoyed me every time I sat down on the sofa.

So ... I decided to use up some leftover white spray paint I had from when I 'did up' a chipped wicker table a while back. I took it outside in the sun and started spraying. Despite the wind and my inept ability and, no doubt, technique, after a few sprays it started to look quite good ...

... although the grass was a bit worse for wear!

But it ended up looking so much better and now it sparkles in the living room - helped, no less, by the  yellow flowers I picked from a tree in the garden and popped in my el cheapo white jug.

Kookaburras at The Bay

There are kookaburras everywhere down at The Bay and lots of blue sky! What better way to spend Easter Monday than gazing at the sky and watching the birds do their stuff. Except I'm still painting ...

Lamp Makeover at the Bay

Well, here we are at The Bach at the Bay for Easter and I have decided to do some bits and bobs around the place. The first thing was tarting up my Vinnie's lamp base. I bought a basic white Freedom Furniture lamp shade and popped it on - with a new bulb as well, of course ...

It doesn't look bad on the desk with my bird feathers. But I felt it needed something extra. So, I cut up a beautiful 2010 butterfly calendar to get individual butterflies ...

And I stuck them to the shade as if they had just flown in on a summer breeze and landed there (or something like that!).

Not bad, don't you think?

My next projects involve limewash paint and some sealer - which is all rather scary considering I've never limewashed a thing in my life. But something up here is bringing out the crafty DIYer in me. Is it the autumn sun or the sea air? Who knows and maybe it'll all be a disaster. But I reckon there's no harm in giving it a go.

Happy Easter!

House Portraits

These amazing pictures are created in fine ink by artist David Oberdorf who has specialised in house portraits for the past 16 years. My daughter and mother-in-law discovered him at the Paddington Markets in Sydney last weekend and it got me thinking.

So, are you thinking what I'm thinking ...?

I think you are! You see, I thought, as I cannot recycle the whole of my house, what better way to keep its memory alive (apart from its bits being in someone else's home) than in a picture.

David's drawings are so detailed and intricate they could well be mistaken for photographs, which is interesting as he was a press photographer for 22 years.

David is going to come over to our place, take some photos, do a bit of creative aboreal work and then get to work on drawing our little brick house - which isn't anywhere near as grand as some of the houses he has drawn previously - before it gets pulled apart.

I can't wait to see the result and it may even end up somewhere on this blog.

Note: As you can see I've had a bit of a play around this weekend with my blog's design as Blogger has come up with some new template designs. I will change the header image but have yet to decide to what exactly.

Oh, how I love a work in progress!

Goodbye Windows

I'm very excited as I've found a beautiful home for our stained glass windows and doors (and maybe even the timber floors)! A builder and his family who've bought a turn-of the-century weatherboard cottage just out of Newcastle want to re-use our windows and doors as part of their home's restoration.

So it will soon be goodbye windows and doors, and hello new, temporary windows and doors in a soon-to-found rental property (but more on that later).

How on earth did I find this man, you ask? Well, through a rather circuitous route that started with Peter Orlando from Orlando Designs in Mosman, Sydney, which used to deal with remnants of old houses such as stained glass windows, but now mainly specialises in antiques and decor.

I met Murray the builder this week on a reccy trip to Sydney and he told me all about his plans to renovate his house and how hard it is to find multiple window sets from the same house with the matching stained glass pattern. I felt very chuffed to know these babies will be going to a good home, with heart and help keep some of Australia's old architecture alive.

There's even a chance the timber floorboards can be successfully (depending on how they've been nailed down) uplifted and re-used. My recycled timber table is looking promising and Murray may also be able to use the timber in his house. Let's hope so.

Now, my next job is finding another place to live. As the four builders we've chosen peruse our plans to present their quote, we need to secure a renter and move house.

Finally, it feels as if this build is really going to happen.

There is a pig in my garden and a pug dog on my side table

Yes, my girls have done it again! Papier mache magic to brighten the house.

It's amazing what a balloon ...

some paper ...


and lots of glue ...


a bit of ingenuity ...

some paint and sparkle ...

can do!

Enjoy the weekend folks.