Bedside Cabinet Makeover

Thanks so much for all your advice and tips re the the whole blog header/photo thing. It's reassuring to know that some know as little as I do - I always assume I am the only one not to know things! I am leaving it as it is for now because, really, it's only a blog header photo and there's more to life (like blog content, taking photos, reading other's blogs, commenting on other's blogs and generally being part of this gorgeous online community).


Today I have a mini-makeover to show you. Well, not really a makeover. More of a gentle spruce up, a bit of light DIY. We have two bedside cabinets from IKEA. We've had them for a few years and I can't say I've ever really liked them. We bought them because they were cheap, inoffensive, had good storage and we needed something quickly. I would have liked something more vintage but when you've got tiny babies/children, going to IKEA, with it's baby friendly facilities and delicious meatballs, is a great deal easier than trawling around endless car boot sales, antique shops and reclamation yards.

We can't afford new ones (and why buy new ones when the ones we have are perfectly fine?) even though I do adore this one, from The Sleep Room.

So I got my paintbrush out. A rather uninspiring "before" photo:

I decided to just paint the top and the door as I like the contrast between painted and unpainted wood. First I sanded it with heavy grain sandpaper, then with a finer grain, always going in the direction of the grain of the wood. Then I gave it two coats of undercoat and three of top coats, giving it a light sand and wipe down between each coat. I ordered new drawer knobs from Anthropologie. They had so many, it was hard to choose. I love that shop. I wish there was one nearer us. I'm not convinced they match that well but hey ho.

John (oh, I love that man) rang me one day and said "I'm in Waterstone's and they have this book in the bargain bin for 99p, it looks like your sort of thing." I asked for more details and it turns out he had found a copy of Lotta Jansdotter Stencils. I am a big fan of her Scandinavian inspired retro designs so, in a calm and restrained manor, I shouted "BUY IT NOW" down the phone, then did a little happy dance. Unhappily, stenciling did not turn out to be the easy peasy activity I'd hoped it would be and many ways were tried, sanded and painted over before I ended up with this, which I'm not overly pleased with but can't bring myself to do it again.

Then the fun bit; arranging, playing, finding pretty things to put on top of the cabinet, pottering. For me, the best part of any DIY project, be it something small like this or decorating a whole room, is the final reward of making it all look pretty when the messy work is done.

I feel I should point out that I have never in my life worn that eye mask.

A Fortnum and Mason tea caddy (I stole the idea from here, although my flowers are somewhat less splendid), in the prettiest shade of blue, holds supermarket roses and lavender from the garden.

New books in beautiful jackets. The jacket design of a book matters a lot to me. It was a great pleasure to buy this new copy of The Great Gatsby to replace the £1 Penguin copy I bought when I was a student. 

It is far from perfect, but I like it. I like it because it did not cost much, yet I feel like I have something new in the room, and that makes me happy.

Have a great week everyone, and thank you for being here and reading.