FURNITURE MERRY-GO-ROUND

Having replaced the two yellow pine chests of drawers in a guest room with the two sewing boxes already on this blog, I then had to find a home for them.  The chests of drawers were good quality, dovetail joints and all, but too yellow and too pine. My own bedside chests of drawers were, however, needing either a big makeover or replacing. Painting the pine seemed the easier option because of course chalk paint means no prep!

The knobs were definitely going. Two coats of Sarah Jane Cricket Pitch, which is a pale green with greyish tones covered perfectly.

After the paint, one coat of Polyvine Clear Matt Wax Finish varnish, but two coats on the top. Next the new handles, courtesy of eBay.

I am now left with a pair of bedside chests of drawers that need to be re-homed! 

AND SEW IT GOES

AND SEW IT GOES

I have had a sewing box for some years that never really had a home. It has beautiful, if slightly faded, lilac satin lining and inside the lid is beautiful embroidery commemorating the coronation in 1937. The outside was very battered! Then I bought another one! Well, it was equally pretty inside, with dusky pink lining and padded areas inside the lid for needles etc. However, it too was  shabby outside and crying out for a chalk paint rescue. I could also see that now I had two, they could be a pair of slightly different bedside tables.

So, never one to hold back with the chalk paint, I got to work. After one coat of Grand Illusions Vintage paint in Stockholm, which is a pale blue, I realised I should have done a first coat of Polyvine Dead Flat Wax Finish varnish.  Without this, the original varnish on the piece is likely to bleed through and turn it yellow!  I then coated both with the Polyvine, and then two more coats of chalk paint, followed by a final coat of Polyvine. Here are the results:

After one coat, not covering very well and starting to leak the old varnish.

 These are going into a bedroom in my B&B, and although I have coasters beside the bed, guests prefer to bypass them and make their mark with wet glasses, so the coat of varnish is essential.  The inside of both sewing boxes was so pretty, if a bit faded, I decided to leave them as they were.  Inside the lid of one is the beautiful embroidery commemorating George lV's coronation.