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      Injecting a splash of colour to our home

      10th April


      It has been ten days since I last posted, that is quite a while for me, but now we are on holidays and the made rush of life is able to slow down a notch and for a couple of glorious weeks we are not ruled by the clock.  Bliss.  And as always, I have many makes planned for these two weeks.  Already I have begun with gusto and am having such fun. 

      Crocheted granny stitch bottle cosy


      Those of you who have been following, will know that I am slowly making items to bring a splash of colour to the garden for summer outdoor living, well I live in hope(!) and so I continued this theme for my first make.  A good friend of mine brought over some Innocent juices one night and instead of recycling them in the recycle bin, I decided to keep one for myself and 'pimp' it up so to speak...I am a little bit in love with this bottle cosy and suspect I may make more. 








      A few weeks back I acquired some old school pigeon hole shelves and knew immediately on seeing them what I would like to do and use them for.  I had to wait for the holidays to put my plan into action and I think they turned out better than I expected.  I had intended on using Annie Sloan paint, but our local stockists were all shut on Monday and so I was forced to look elsewhere and I am so glad I did.  Do you know about Autentico paint?  It is brilliant, like the Sloan paint, it is chalk based, but not suitable for chalk board painting.  As long as your surface is clean and grease free, it sticks to most without preparations!! Brilliant!  It is thinner than the Sloan paint and so I feel it is easier to apply and the colour range is slightly better too.  Those of you who can make it to Marlow, should really visit the lovely little shop called Sarah Hughes, if you cannot make it there, pop over and see her website and her blog too, her enthusiasm is infectious and she is terribly helpful:  http://www.sarahughes.co.uk/

      I ran a little guessing competition on my Face book page to see if anyone could guess what I would be using the shelves for and so a little woolly creation will be sent off to the winner, someone who has entered all my competitions to date and now has finally won something, am so pleased.  If you are on face book, why not follow me there too!  https://www.facebook.com/eclectichomelife

      So what did I want the shelves for...



      Chalk furniture painting!


      Old school shelves, just needed a wipe over before painting could begin.



      I decided on a pale grey for the shelves as the contents would be colourful enough.
       
      


      But then I decided that was too dull, so added turquoise to the edges, the colour here is not true, it is very vibrant.
       
      

       
      Storage for wool of course!
       
      

       
      My intention was only to ever paint the shelves, but I was quickly addicted to the speed of this process and the great result.  Recently my colour palette has changed, but not enough to add huge colour through out the house, but perhaps the utility room...
       
      

       
      So taking a bog standard pine table that so many of us have, I decided it needed colour too.
       
      


      Sarah Hughes had warned me that the first coat would not look good but she told me to, 'Stick with it,' and she was right.
       
      


      I felt to paint the whole table turquoise would be a step too far for me and so used the soft pale grey for the table top.  This way I could inject colour with table runners and vases etc.
       
      


      Luckily the weather had turned for the better and I was able to paint outside.  This paint is amazing, touch dry in 30 minutes and a second coat can be applied about an hour later. The underside of the table was painted too, the same colour as the pedestal leg as you could see the table top supports, at this stage I just hoped it would all pull together.
       
      


      Not satisfied with the table, I also had four chairs to match it and so set about painting the first two, one an old fashioned pink, 'gamle rosa' as we say in Norway and the other a crisp sharp lemon, again the colours in these photos do not really zing as they do in reality.
       
      



      With just painting the shelves I had decided to get away with not waxing the painted item as it would not be knocked about so much.  But having now painted the table and chairs, waxing was necessary to protect the paint work.  Quick and very easy to apply, luckily!
       
      


      I waxed everything and left it overnight and buffed it the following morning with a lint free cloth.
       
      


      I am thrilled with the colour combination and am secretly proud of myself for being so brave in colour choices.  Mr H is away and has no idea what I have done, could be interesting on his return!
       
      


      Without knowing it the paint choices match my current crochet theme too, look how the chair works so well with the Attic 24 inspired cushion!
       
      


      Meanwhile inside in the utility room...now maybe to be a utility/craft room!
       
       
      





      Even the juice bottle cosy matches!
       
      


      I love this time of year, all the flowers are from the garden!
       
      




       
      My only question now is,  what colour to paint the last two chairs?  Another pink and lemon one?  Or, do I incorporate the other two paint colours I have and paint one grey and one turquoise? Please let me know what you think.
       

       
       
      I think I have managed to add a splash of colour to our home, don't you?  My daughter is now saying she thinks she will sit in here to complete her homework, as it is such a fun place to be!
       
      Have a great week everyone!

      26 comments:

      1. That is so beautiful and so impressive! And yes, the chairs go perfectly with the crochet. Are you going to use crocheted cushions for the chairs, or will you crochet some fixed seat covers?

        So did you really not need to sand down the wood first? We've got various shabby old bits of pine furniture and they'd look much better if I painted them, but so far, I've never been able to face the hours of sanding down. Would this paint work on varnished pine? (A bigger challenge is going to be persuading the husband to agree to me doing it. Sigh.)

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        1. Really no need to sand down. Tin actually says so. All I did was wash it down to make sure it was clean and dust free. The pine table was also previously varnished and it went on a dream. The colour selection is quite large and most colours are pale and beautifully muted. Go on Sarah Hughes website. Such there would be acceptable colours for your husband. Creams, whites, beiges, grey etc. let me know if you do!

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      2. It is so beautiful and colourful. Not surprised it is now a favourit room for doing homework. I think the other two chairs should be grey and turquise. What wax did you use, suppose I should do that to the dining room furniture I painted. Very, very well done!

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        Replies
        1. Used a clear wax so the colour was not distorted. Think you should otherwise all the paint work will get knocked.

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      3. Two things, one I am In LOVE with that table! and two I didn't realise you were only about half an hour away from where I work! I always think of all the blogs I follow as being around Yorkshire (a LOT of them are) nice to know I haven't moved totally away from blogland by moving back south!

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        1. You do live in a beautiful area! We are lucky just different to the north. I love the table too!

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      4. Colours!! It looks so great and cosy. And such storage for wool is a dream of everyone who crochet :) I wont dare to tell which colours should be used but definitely sure you'll choose the best.

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        1. This is quite different for me. I don't usually have such colour in my home. But it is fun and I am loving it. Am secretly very pleased with the wool storage. X

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      5. I think pink and lemon!

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        1. I think I am coming round to pink and lemon too. Especially as I often 'borrow' these chairs to add to the dining room set. These colours would just about work in the dining room but the other ex would really stick out!!! Thanks for posting a comment. Hope you enjoy the blog ❤

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      6. What a fabulous transformation! Congratulations! Autentico Chalk Paint really is a dream to use, with 150+ colours you really are spoilt for choice! Like yourself, I was introduced to Autentico by the lovely Sara Hughes in Marlow, fabulous shop, a wonderful blend of vintage finds, home decor and painted furniture Facebook.com/SaraHughesHome.
        Lovely, lovely blog. A nice find on a Friday.

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        Replies
        1. Thank you Sharon it was great fun. You appear to know a lot about the paint. Any tips to share or how else to use it. Would love to try something else. Thanks for posting a comment. Welcome back any time x

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      7. I'm certain you will try something else, its 100% addictive! My partner worries that one day he will return and the car will have had the Autentico treatment!
        Autentico have a range suitable for walls and flooring, including kitchen cupboards which is such a brilliant form of up cycling and really is durable. They are just about to launch an outdoor range which is so exciting so no doubt all my next projects will be based in the garden!
        I will most certainly be a regular here, enjoying reading your past blogs.

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        1. Oh wow! About outdoor paints. Have a garden bench that I have been looking at for the past couple of weeks and wanted to spruce up. Please let me know as soon as the outdoor range is available! So glad you enjoy the blog! Welcome any time x

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      8. They all look great, so lovely and pretty! Hope that you can make a decision on your other chairs, I love the variety of shades that you have used. xx

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        1. Thank you. The cour selection is vast but Sara at Sara Hughes was a great help. I had opted for the grey, then fancied the turquoise but wasn't brave enough as I was not sure they would go together. She convinced me they were good partners and I was swayed. So glad now x

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      9. Replies
        1. Funny, as these are not normally my colours, we are both more drawn to the reds and purples, but am enjoying these colours in the utility room, think I am going to opt for one pink and one lemon! hope all good with you ♥

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      10. Gosh that really works...totally Brilliant!!!!!
        Really Well done :0)

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        1. Thank you, I am actually really pleased with how it turned out. I have an old dressing table that I acquired about 3 years ago, which was always my intension to recycle, but never found the time or the inclination, think this paint might now spur me on...

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      11. Love it all and am jealous!! I would go for either 2 new colours or the 2 you have already but not the turquoise as then you would only have one matching the table..unless I suppose you did 2 turquoise....!!

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        1. Thanks Beth, i love it too! Have gone with one pink and one lemon, thought it seemed most logical and economical not to buy more paint colours!!!

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      12. HI gorgeous colours and the design of your studio corner is fab-u-lous!! I have also created a studio at home and it takes a lot of work!! Great job. Karen xx

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        1. Thank you. You are very kind. It is hard work bit fun and rewarding btgsnks for taking the time to comment. Hope you enjoy the blog behave a good Easter and welcome back ❤

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      13. It turned out so pretty, I love thd colours!

        By the way, are you Norwegian? :)

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        Replies
        1. Thank you Elin, I like the colours too. Am half Norwegian and spend as much time as I can in Norway, this year I will be there at least four times, but maybe more!! Thanks for popping over and leaving a comment ♥

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      I will always read all comments and will try to reply but it may take me a couple of days, do please pop back and lets get a conversation going...