Ebay

Kitchen Idea’s

Hey, good to see you again. I hope you’ve had a great week. I started a new job on Monday, so I’m feeling very hopeful about the future.

As you’ve probably figured from the last post ‘Pinterest Tile Painting,’ the room I’m working on at the moment is my Kitchen. I got serious with decorating over the Summer,  and I’m hoping to finish this room by the end of December. The Aesthetic for my Kitchen isn’t one style, it’s a cross of Bohemian, Rustic and Mid Century. I’m not the kind of girl who fits the pre-made mold. I’m unique, so I’ll need a Bespoke one.

BeforeSeveral ideas came to mind for the Kitchen, due to it being renovated before I moved in. I thought about keeping the walls in the pale latte colour that I already had, and giving it a fresh coat of paint; but my desire was to have a Yellow Kitchen. Yellow for me means warmth and motivation on a cold Winter’s day, despite the chill in the air; having the zeal to pursue the day.

After - Saffron YellowThe paint in the image on the right is Saffron Yellow from Wickes (2 for £14.99 as they were on special.) I had a few friends over who helped me paint the walls. It’s amazing how much a colour can transform a space. I didn’t realise how bland my kitchen looked until it met Saffron yellow. The grey and white vinyl is from Carpetright, the name of the pattern is  ‘Mardi Gras 91 Magli Vinyl,’ with fitting the flooring came to £228.82.

In terms of what I have done so far, it has been painting the walls, tiles, and the cupboard panels. I had cream panels on the Walnut cupboards, and I painted these white to blend in with the tiles and the floor. I have also changed the vinyl. What’s left? Well…I’ve purchased the Wicker light shades above in the Pinboard, 2 for £15.00 eBay. I’m planning to dye these as they’re actually a lot lighter than they look in the photograph. I currently have an LED strip light in my kitchen, I absolutely dislike it. I’m going to change these out for pendant lights with the wicker shades running horizontally across the kitchen, rather than vertically which is the direction they currently run. An Electrician will be needed for this job.

Breakfast BarHaving a seating area in the Kitchen is important as I’m not certain about having a dining table as yet. I’ve been making a breakfast bar out of a pallet crate I picked up in Leamington Spa, which should be ready in the next couple of weeks. This will also need to be dyed.  I found the perfect stools on Facebook Marketplace for £60, they’re Rattan and cast iron. They match the Rattan Cast Iron Stoolslight shades but are also very Mid Century. I need to retouch the paintwork on the cast iron. The Kitchen taps I currently have are singular pillar taps. The plan is to get a bridge mixer tap, which will require a Plumber.

Lastly, to dress the room and to give it texture; Plants and DIY Art . I love the macrame plant holders that are currently on trend. At first, I was thinking of off-white macrame; but it’s a Kitchen and I don’t want the cooking to discolour the thread. I’ve seen lots of fabric threads in Tiger, so instead of macrame, I’ll make grey fabric plant holders. To pot the plants I’ll be using large Mason jars. The DIY Art will be a surprise for you guys so I’m not going to tell you now… For a hint, I’ll be using wood.

So that’s the plan. Let me know what you think of my ideas, and let me know what you’ve done/ are doing to your kitchen. If you want to check out my Pinterest to get a better view of my ideas, feel free to.  I’ll see you next time when I’ll be ‘Dyeing Light Shades.’

Nik-Cre – ‘Making life-less rooms into living rooms.’

 

Lebus Furniture Revamp

 

Welcome back to Nik-Cre. I’m so glad you stopped by again.

This week we’re working with retro antiques, teak wood, sandpaper, turpentine and danish oil. Yes, you may be a little bit confused; but these are the ingredients of my upcycling project.

“It’s nice, but I really want one with legs.” This is the sentence I voiced over and over in my mind as I browsed the thrifts shops of Coventry. I didn’t want a standard Chest of Drawers, the big rectangular block sitting snug against the floor. I wanted one with leg, that would stand up off the floor. Six months later I found my match and for a good price too.

The British Heart Foundation Furniture and Electrical store are brilliant. If you’re looking for something old or new, affordable, vintage, modern, retro, antique; you name it they have it.  £15 was the price of this Teak 5 Drawer Chest, on splay bracket feet.IMG_20171230_111833 It came in great condition, no cracks or restoration work. All that needed doing was the sanding away of that hideous red varnish. I found the same Chest, with 6 drawers on Harrison Antique Furniture for £250. I’m sure you’ll agree that I found a bargain with this one.

The Chest I purchased is an original antique piece, as you can see from the plaque in the image. I did a little research and Lebus Furniture was set up by Louis Lebus in the 1800’s. His business began in a small shop in Hull, and as it expanded he later moved to London.Lebus Furinture Plaque After Louis Lebas died, his son Harris took over the business. Their pieces are largely recognised as being part of the Arts and Crafts movement. One of the reasons I feel so connected to this piece is because Lebus opened a factory in Tottenham, North London. Tottenham is my birth town, but it is also where I went to church for seven years before returning to Coventry. This is a piece that ties together both of my homes.

Upcycling this was a pretty simple project. I began by sanding the body of the Chest, working with sandpaper on a sanding block to firmly hold the paper in place. You can use a power Sander if you want too, I found mine left circular etching in the wood which I didn’t like. Sand until the wooden surface is smooth and has removed all traces of varnish. img_20180101_154908.jpg

I then took out the drawers and removed the knobs so that I could also sand these down. After sanding, I wiped all the surfaces down with Turpentine, to remove excess dust. If you have White spirit you can use that as well. Initially, I wanted to paint patterns on the Chest like the images you see on Pinterest. I was a little worried that I wouldn’t like it and it would be ruined. A colleague recommended that I oil the Chest down with Teak oil, but I couldn’t find this so I purchased a tin of Danish oil from Wilko. The Danish oil brought out the natural colour of the Teak and helped to restore warmth to the Chest. It also highlights the grain in the wood showing the contrasts of light and dark brown.

As you can see the Chest came with its original Brass circular knobs. I changed these out with white and gold porcelain knobs, I got these on eBay from Knobbles and Bobbles. These new knobs really add a touch of royal elegance to the piece. This Chest lives in my bedroom, I’ve gone for a natural wood theme up there so the Chest matches the blinds, the cork flooring, and a lovely structural beam.

 

Lebus Sanded
Lebus In Red Varnish
Lebus Revamped
Lebus Revamped Side View

I hope you like how I’ve upcycled this Lebus Chest and brought it back to life. Let me know what you think in the comments, and to receive regular updates please follow me. Join me next time for a gentler project, as I ‘make life- rooms, into living rooms.

Nik-Cre