Onto the bedroom! with a dash of fairy dust!

I have been doing lots of work on the bathroom for Seashell Cottage and everytime I am working on it I look at the bedroom wondering what to do with it! I really like the black and cream as it contrasts nicely with all the pastel colours downstairs but it just didn't seem to fit into the shabby chic style I was after. So last night I took the plunge and decided to change the washstand which is used as a dressing table. It was quite hard as it was a nice piece with a nice finish and I felt a bit bad painting over it but it didn't go with the room so thought I would just go for it!! As usual it was repainted, distressed and a touch of pretty paper added. Add the little extras including some sexy undies in the drawer! I did the same with the stool so they matched. I am glad I went for it as now I do feel it fits into the house better.

I then decided to do the same with a small mahogany table I had for use as a bedside table. This wasn't so easy!!! The mahogany stain kept bleeding through turning the cream paint pink! After 3 coats it obviously wans't goint to stop so had to come up with something this hide it. I added a little band of paper where it was still showing and a little brass handle to emulate a drawer. The end result turned out ok thank goodness.

Next was the wardrobe. Its a strange colour as its not really cream its more of an oatmeal. I have 3 different wardrobes and none of them seem quite right in this room, but I don't really want to buy another one at the moment so I did what I could with this one. I just rubbed it down a little and added some paper to match it in a bit better. Its not the best but for now its not too bad.

The new shelves were an Ebay find, they are Reutter bakers shelves. I just thought with the black and wicker they would make a nice addition to the room. They do look nice in place and its always to have somewhere to add little things as you come across them!

Love the overall effect of the room a little shabby but def chic! As you can tell I just love flower fairies and here are various little touches of them throughout the room. I love the Reutter plate rack, the readable Dateman book, the wall plate, the pictures on the wall (made from keyrings that were 50p in a charity shop!) and the cushion,  even a teeny tiny Tink. We all need a little pixie dust in our lives!!

I love pictures with no flash and the light on it just makes it look sooo cosy!

Had to just put one 'through the window' picture. It always makes me feel like a sneaky peak in to someones house. You never know what goes on when we aren't around!

An off day turned into a good mini day! Seashells Bathroom almost finished!

Was feeling a bit fed up yesterday just having an off day I think. I had been to the doctors and have high blood pressure which is giving me headaches there was me thinking it was just too much time spent on the computer lol Have to go back in 2 weeks for an ECG and blood tests so have decided I need to lose a bit of weight and do plenty on exercise to try and get it down before I go back so I don't have to have medication! Anyway it was just playing on my mind a bit and coupled with something else had just been making me feel very blah all day!

Decided in the evening to go up to Dollyland as it always cheers me up! I had been avoiding it all day and I hate going in there when I don't feel inspired! Anyway it worked a treat, I suddenly had an idea to make a shelf unit for the bathroom as I love the one I have in Seaview and had very almost bought a blue one the same but at £15 it was rather pricey. I then remembered a cheap £1.99 shelf I had and thought I could give that a makeover into something similar.

Before..............

I gave it a couple of coats of white paint, added some paper and a little logo at the back, then the all important rub with the sandpaper to weather it a little! I already had the dressing gown which was stolen from the holiday let along with the towels. One of the bonuses of having lots of houses is you can always find just what you need in one of them. I am always going shopping in my own shops! The flowers on the shelf came from Seaview and the cup they are in was from the china shop Dishes! I covered the hanger in matching paper as I think it just looks a bit prettier. I then had a brainwave (in bed at 11pm!) to make soap from some vanilla scented candle wax I have for my oil burner. It looks just like soap because of the waxy appearance and makes the whole house smell lovely when you open the door. Using this I made the soap on a rope and the soap on the shelf next to bath. Really pleased at how it turned out and its always good to save a little money!

After.............

Next were some little perfume bottles made from beads to fill the shelves up a little........

I then made the shelf above the bath for those essentials you need when your having a good soak. I painted it white, distressed it a little and lined it with pretty paper. Again I went shopping in my shops, this time in the hairdressers for shampoo and conditioner and the soap dish also came from Dishes. The duck was stolen from my Manor house! I also made some pictures for the wall as it still looked a bit bare!

I then made a little seat pad and cushion for the chair and covered some cheap boring scales in the same paper which completely changed them!

I am so pleased with how this room has turned out I just love it! Funny really when I got the house I was adamant I really wanted it to have a bathroom as to me a house can't function properly without one! But when it came I wasn't sure why as bathrooms can be a bit boring and I just didn't have any ideas for it. At one point I even toyed with making it a 2nd bedroom, like a pretty nursery instead. I love the bathroom in Seaview with all the roses and couldn't see how I could make a nicer one. But then the ideas came slowly at first then full throttle lol. Just needs a few more things like a towel ring and toilet roll holder and then its pretty much done. So a not so good day turned into a great mini one! Now its definately the bathroom of 'my' dreams anyway!

New bathroom for Seashell cottage

The new bathroom for Seashell Cottage arrived with the dresser on Saturday although not without drama! I originally had thought about getting a nice Reutter one but not sure once they are in place with all the right accesories it would look wildly different enough to justify such a high price tag and I saw this one on Ebay and just really liked the blue pattern of it. The suite itself is really nice considering it was only £7.99 but the taps were glued on all wrong so it took me ages to warm up the glue get them and the ton of glue off and re-do them. Then I ended up chipping it where the holes for the taps were, I was not happy grrr but a dab of superglue and you really can't see it but now at least the taps are straight it would have bugged me no end if I hadn't sorted lol. The pattern is squint round bottom of the toilet but you can't see that so its fine. Such a shame as it really is a nice suite and if it had been made with a little more attention to detail it would have been worth more than the price tag but for what it cost it really does look quite nice.

I gave the white shelf unit the shabby chic treatment just take its newness away and rubbed off the black paint from the handles, added some pretty paper and a few items but its looking a little empty!

Fully loaded dresser for Seashell Cottage

I am having a ball making these shabby chic style items for Seashell Cottage, although I don't think they are as much on the shabby side as they could be I am happy with how they seem to be turning out. Todays effort was a dresser. I wanted a big dresser to display loads of things and with room to add treasures over the years as I collect them. I also wanted one with legs as I felt it just looked a little more refined than a big chunky farmhouse style one. I thought as I had to buy one I would go for the barewood so it was a blank canvas.


Before.........

After...........


Firstly I gave it one coat of the duck egg blue. I really like this colour and its much more of a pale blue than the pics make it look its not as bright, although I think as the interior of the house and the floors are all white it needs these splashes of colour.

Then I gave it a rub down with some sandpaper to give it a lightly distressed look. Added more of the pretty vintage style papers to the shelf backs and inside the drawers and more shells for the drawer handles, it is after all Seashell Cottage. I painted a little jewelry finding silver to make a little bowl of shells and most of the other pieces are from the dresser I had in Seaview. I love my little collection of bunnies and am always on the lookout out for new ones to add to it! I then made some bunting from some mini cupcake fabric I had just to finish it off.Its looking quite full already but I want it to eventually be brimming with loads of lovely things, I just need to find more of the right things!

Shabby chic writing desk

Todays little project was a little writing desk. Well its supposed to be a washstand thats its intended use but it was a nice shape and I though with a bit of imagination I could turn it into a writing desk for Seashell cottage.

Before.................

 
 To Start I gave it 2 coats of paint in the nice duck egg blue I had, then added some pretty paper (wallpaper from  Jennifers printables ... love that site!!)

Then gave it a rub down on the edges with some sandpaper, I really need to get round the rubbing off all the painting I have just done mindset as the more you rub off the better it looks lol think I am prob still a little too cautious but I didn't want to overdo it! I then added a little shell for the handle and some finishing touches and voila no more dark oak washstand! Hope you like it :-)

Making things for Seashell Cottage

I am trying to do Seashell Cottage in a shabby chic style and I am only a beginner at this style so learning as I go along!! Today I ordered a barewood dresser and table and chairs so I am looking forward to trying out my shabbying techniques on them when they arrive. Today I decided I needed to tackle the sink. The one that was in there was actually quite a nice sink and I didn't really want to try distressing just in case I made a mess of it as it would have been a shame to ruin it. Instead I remembered there was a sink on bricks in Lavender and I had another one similar in my spare bits draw so I could swap it with that. I decided I would have a go at making something that would be more suitable for a shabby chic style kitchen.

First I added a couple of shelves underneath to make it a bit more interesting........

Then I got a piece of ply and made it into a splashback with a little shelf......

I then painted the whole thing white which took 2 coats and then rubbed it down slightly when it was dry to give it a worn look. Lastly I printed off some pretty wallpaper to line the shelves and some brick style paper for the splashback. I added some storage jars that I repainted and added some pretty labels. I'm quite pleased at how its turned out :-) it def fits with the theme better than the old sink and as its a bit smaller the little stove I have which I love (a fab Ebay find!) now fits in the gap just right!

I also had a pretty fireplace surround I got from Ebay for £3.90 with free P & P which I thought was a pretty good bargain as I loved the flower design. Today I added a tiled back and a hearth and sanded it a little just to make it look a little worn The candles are a couple of tea light cut down to the right size. Not sure it looks too shabby chic but I quite like it!

Sit outside with your icecream and enjoy the sunshine!

I had a piece of mdf with some lolly stick fence around it that was being used as the village green but as I have now filled the space with the Harbour Hut and the flower shop (although I have another cunning plan for there!) I no longer had a home for it and it seemed a shame not to make use of it. I thought I would make an outside seating area for the icecream parlour so the customers can sit in the sunshine with their lovely icecream sundaes! I already had a couple of tables and bought a couple of matching chairs to go with them. I made some seatpads and added some tableclothes. The flooring was a vinyl floor tile scored out in 1cm sections to look like decking which worked out ok and saved me having to buy some wooden flooring! It needs more food on the tables but for now its ok. Not sure about the trees need to find a way of making them look a bit more realistic. Its nice to recycle something so its not wasted :-) xx