Furniture Ramblings on a Chilly Autumn day....

G'day!

We've had a true Autumn weekend in Sydney, sunshine with a chill in the air!  We schlepped down to our local appliance shop where Hubby bought a gas heater.   It's not very attractive, but I guess function sometimes wins out, and with electricity prices soaring it's possibly a good idea. Personally I'd rather a crochet granny blankie on the lounge, but he wasn't too keen on that idea... can't imagine why!

We also stopped in at our second home, Bunnings where I bought some new paint in some delish colours which I can't wait to use! 

I managed to finish up a couple of small projects including a pair of nesting tables.

I just love nesting tables, they are like the penguins of the furniture world, they mate for life!   There's something about their sweet coupling that gets me every time.   Anyway before you think I'm completely loopy, here's a few pics of the lovely couple.....

Before their makeover, not so much a glamour couple...

Here's the happy couple after after their makeovers,  enjoying a cup of tea and some quiet time.

They received a good sanding down, priming and two coats of a soft French Grey. 

I finished with some light destressing and a coat of bees wax... I seriously think this is like the botox for furniture, gives it such a lift!


Wishing you all a brand new Shiny week!

Jo xx

Cute little side table in Chalky French Blue

Good evening!

With the school holidays behind us here, I finally got to finish up a project...  I was starting to have painting withdrawals! 



I bought this little side table last week and just knew it had potential to be a little stunner... 


The before photo was taken on location in my workshop (aka the garage, much to my hubs disdain, not sure why he thinks the car should get first dibs on this luxury accommodation!)..

... anyhow moving right along; this little guy sat sad and unloved, missing his original nesting partner.  That is until I rescued him...

I thought he was the perfect candidate for a test run on a new paint.  I've been wanting to try chalk paint for ages, this paint is not chalk paint per se, but I think it gives a similar finish.  It's in the Dulux Limewash range and I chose a French blue colour, so yummy! 

It was a very different painting experience for me;  I learnt two things,  one this paint does not like cold weather!!  It seems to clumpify (yep just made up new word)... ie. it kinda just clumps together and solidifies (which come to think of it is probably a better word than clumpify!)..  anyway this meant I had to sand back a few times in between coats. 


Secondly, it doesn't like to get wet before sealing,  I'd just finished sanding and was ready to give it a wax, but then the phone rang.... on returning I found a bird had flown under the patio and pooped right on top (cheeky little rascal!).  I'm hoping this is a sign of good luck!  I had to wash off the ahem, poo, which left water marks (arrgghh!)...   back to more sanding and another coat of paint!

I will definitely use this paint again, I love the soft aged finish it produced, it sanded back a treat and the brushed was up super easily.

As for Lil Blue, I think he's a keeper ;)  For now he's in the Master bedroom, however, I do tend to rotate furniture around the house on a pretty regular basis, so this little guy may have some more travels in him!  I hope you like him too.

Jo xx

Hello is anybody out there?

Hello Bloggy world! 

I'm Jo and I'm a total newbie at this, I hope you'll be patient and kind with me whilst I tackle this rather steep learning curve!

I've been a blog follower for a few years now and it's always been a dream to start my own, but procrastination is my middle name, so it's taken me a while to take the plunge.  I started my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Coastal-Home-Love/216726428338470 last year, however, only 'published' it in January 2012...  Yay! first tick off my New Year's Resolution list!  This blog is my next step towards following my creative dreams... 

I have some great projects lined up and can't wait to share! In the meantime any tips and suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)  I hope you'll 'follow me' on my upcycling and vintage adventures!

Jo  xx