There is nothing more satisfying than channeling our creative side and revamping old items to look good in the home (and it is often an affordable way to bring a tired piece of furniture back to life). We are always on the hunt for fabulous well designed one-off items that bring a sense of chic to our surroundings, so make sure you check out the latest lovelies on the site or in our shop.
Using paint successfully is one of our great passions and we find it is a great way to create something that has your personality stamped all over it Admittedly, it can be daunting to first get into the creative groove but once you get started you’ll never look back. We suggest getting the right tools together first, which will allow you to experiment with confidence.
Good brushes are a no-brainer—if you want professional results then a quality paint brush will put you on the right track. Dovetails has an affordable “Fit For The Job” collection, which feature No Bristle Loss (available in different sizes) that are perfect for paint and hold their shape after the job’s done. For the more serious painter we recommend the Annie Sloan collection with it’s top quality range of brushes.
To kick start your creative mission, take a look around the home to see what could benefit from a lick of paint—it could be anything from picture frames to magazine racks or bigger projects such as chairs, tables, coat stands, bookcases, doors and even floors. The choice is endless. Or trawl second- hand shops and boot sales to find unwanted items that could be transformed in no time at all. Study the paint palettes to pick the colour that best compliments your scheme and remember you can mix with white to create a unique shade to get the desired effect.
The fun part comes with the Annie Sloan Clear and Dark Wax where you can truly showcase your creative talents: using the Dark Wax with Clear Wax produces a brilliant “aged” effect while Annie Sloan’s Decoupage Varnish is an excellent choice for decoupage projects. We love the crackled varnish finish (think Old Master paintings), which can easily be achieved with the Crackle Varnish Two-part Set (Craqueleuer) from Annie Sloan.
Look out for key pieces with charm and individuality that will turn heads and kick start a conversation. We like to delve into the past to see what golden oldies can be brought to the forefront once more.
When we’ve got our creative head on we can turn vintage French grain sacks into cushion covers or use them to cover lids of chests and trunks. Old scaffold boards can be reinvented as quirky bookcases or table tops while redundant cabinets can be repainted or broken down to help build new projects on the horizon. And forget about sticking to the rules—spoons can be used as coat hangers or crockery can come back to life as plant holders and pots. Thinking outside the box will bring about interesting results and you’ll have great fun in the process.