* Remodelaholic *: Shabby Chic

Showing posts with label Shabby Chic. Show all posts

Shabby Chic Wooden Furniture Redo Using Fabric and Starch

22 December 2010

Shabby Chic Wooden Furniture Redo;

Using Fabric and Starch

Grab your favorite fabric, soak it in liquid starch and cover your furniture. It is a great way to cover almost anything with fabric.

Here is my subject, a blanket chest.

The supplies are liquid starch, pocket cutter with a new sharp blade, wallpaper brush, and of course your favorite fabric. Liquid starch is a little hard to find, it use to be everywhere, but it is no longer available at my Target, Kmart, or Walgreens. I did a little internet search and found it at Winn Dixie a grocery store chain we have in the south.

I decided to apply the fabric in 3 pieces, it could have been done in one piece, but since I was doing it alone and the fabric is heavy when it is wet, I cut 3 pieces of fabric larger than what I was covering.

Completely wet your fabric in starch. To get the excess starch out, run the fabric between your 2 fingers. If you scrunch the fabric up to get the excess starch out you will end up with wrinkles.

Did I mention this is a messy project, you will want to do it outside or put plastic down.

Put your wet fabric on your furniture and smooth out the bubbles. I use a wallpaper brush, but you can use your hands. The air bubbles are not as bad as gluing paper or wallpaper, as fabric breaths.

Use your pocket cutter and trim off the excess fabric. The fabric cuts very easy, just like wallpaper.

Here it is all trimmed up

And Finished! I added a little cushion in matching fabric. Back in my Boudoir!

Here is the best part!! For those of you who change your decor as often as some people change underwear.........It is removable and reusable!!!! To reuse, pull up a corner and peel it off, or wet it slightly. Now, just throw the fabric in the washer to get the starch out and use it for another project!!! Then just wipe down the surface it was on and it will be back to it's original finish. I have used many different fabrics, the only ones I would not use are those that run when wet, so you will want to test a small piece.

Fabric wet with starch will adhere to almost any surface. You could use it to cover:

1. Any furniture or drawer fronts

2. Line the inside of drawers

3. Backing for china cabinets

4. Cover the glass in old windows used for decorating

5. Dress forms

6. Mirrors

7. On painted walls instead of wallpaper.

What projects have you done with fabric and starch? Happy creating!!

Reupholstered Chair

26 November 2010

Don't forget to link your projects!!

Reupholstered Chair
party highlight by Biljana Shabby

Arm chair - before

Another piece of painted furniture adorn my living room.I edited the same chair and table in the living room. Wood I painted white with acrylic paint, I used wax for the effect of wear, patterns and played with a small brush. Cotton sponge, sewed me, our dear friend and a creative mareI am very happy and glad, my new shabby armchair:)

Bathroom Before and After; Making it Shabby Chic

24 November 2010

Bathroom Before and After; Making it Shabby Chic

contributed by Carol @ The Polka Dot Closet

I purchased a small 1984 home in downtown Orlando Florida. The house was pretty much in it's original condition including the Blue Bathroom. I budgeted myself $1200.00 to remodel it.

Before and After

Yes folks, we are talking blue, blue fixtures, blue tub, and blue ceramic surrounding the tub, and then we kept the blue theme continuing with a blue towel and TP holder.

I had to stay on a budget so to save money I did every inch of it myself, with the exception of paying someone to spray the tub and surround white. It is a process that involves using some kind of acid to prepare the tile and them spraying it. It looks wonderful and they were even able to spray the silver handicap bar from the previous owners.

This process was $450.00, but so well worth it and since it is the hall/guest bathroom it should last forever. The guarantee is 15 yrs. for normal use. The next thing I did was chipped up all of the old white tile and then wall papered with a Laura Ashley wall paper. Then on to installing new tile and base boards, yes I am a girl with power tools and I know how to use them!

I installed a shelf I purchased at an antique store

Then added some old drawer handles to hang the towels

I pulled out the standard issue vanity mirror and hung a new one

To match with the vanity

I also picked a smaller toilet to give a little more space in the room

This is a Rachel Ashwell shower curtain I topped with a RA curtain valance. Now, I think RA got this wrong because the ruffles were to be at the top, but I decided to reverse it and hang them at the bottom.

And then Hello! I love polka dots, so I attached pink ribbon with polka dots to the curtain between the ruffles.

Now what to do about the medicine cabinet? I pulled the old cabinet out and then thought, OH HECK who needs a medicine cabinet in a hall bathroom anyway! I put decorative trim around the opening and then added a shelf to the bottom and put in a cute cat picture.

Look at the fun vintage boxes for my guests reading enjoyment!

"Vigorets for all nervous and broken down men", and a little Salt Petre that was thought to stimulate sexual desire.

I was so lucky to find this vintage green food canister at a thrift store and then wallpapered the outside, the inside was the perfect green color

I found this at an antique store, I am not sure what it is. I decided it was a TP holder I put on the side of the vanity.

A pretty flower picture from an antique store

And there you have it my $1200.00 blood, sweat, and tears, bathroom!! And a great deal of satisfaction that I did it myself!

Happy Creating!

The Shed That Thinks It's A Cottage: Guest

27 June 2010

Arbor House Lane is charming! Check out what she did with a shed.

Did you like my teaser on White Wednesday?

Come on in, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Ok, so I have made you wait long enough.

First I think we need to see a before picture just to show how far this shed has really come.

This shed was packed to the rafters.

You could not move around without having to move something out of your way first.

Well look at the SHED NOW!

I am sharing Cottage 5 for Show and Tell Friday with Cindy at My Romantic Home andRemodelaholic for Friday Remodelaholic's Anonymous Meeting.

I must tell you I had the most fun working on this shed because there were no boundaries or limits as to what I could do with it. Once Mr. M. saw that I was not going to give up and just simply put a bed in it.

Ah, that is SO not how I do things at all.

It started simply with painting the walls white.

Done.

Next.

Then the ceilings went white.

Next.

The floor, what to do about the floor?
Melissa from Cranberry Cottage, thank you, suggested STRIPES.

YES, that is the answer.

If you have seen previous posts of mine you will notice I like both diamonds and stripes.

BUT a shed you are thinking, and to that I say WHY NOT?

Once the company goes home and the Fall Season starts to settle in, yes it goes back to being a shed, but for the WHOLE summer it gets to be beautiful,
COTTAGE 5.

Are you ready for the reveal?

Don't you just love them! I even let my kids help me paint a few stripes. I painted a border of the green all around the whole room 16x20. Then I painted stripes of dark blue, burgundy, tan, green and light blue on the inside to make it look like a rug.

Oh, and NO tape used here, painted all by hand baby!