Thursday 30 June 2011

Distressed


 I've been down at La Vieille Bergerie, our special hideaway in la France profonde. My friend Ann showed me how to paint and distress crummy old bits of furniture and make them look great, and I am hooked! This cabinet was a hideous brown and had obviously been used to store paint in a garage. I picked it up for a few euros at a roadside sale. I sanded the worst off, and painted it. Used fine wire wool to distress it, and then rubbed on dark wax to give it a "French" colour. Buffing it up and seeing the lovely patina appear is the best bit.

This was an ugly old cupboard that someone was throwing out. After treating the woodworm I did the same paint and wax job.


But the inside was horrible - until I had the idea of lining it with toile de jouy, which I cut into panels, hemmed and tacked on. Very satisfying to make something from nothing. 

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