A Compass and a Splash of Paint

My new back bedroom has been a lot more work than I thought it ever would be. Actually this is not true. I knew it was going to be a lot of work, I just hoped it would magically do the work itself, which never happens.

I have quite a few pieces of furniture that I intended using, an old English 1900s wardrobe and a chest of drawers that wasn't in such great shape. But once I'd put the new floors down and plastered the walls, this chest of drawers looked a little out of place.

I firstly thought I'd just paint it. But as it had an ugly top that needed changing, and as the room turned out to be pretty bright, with a sage white wooden floor, I felt I needed something that would somehow bring it all together. So I decided to get creative.

Inspired by modern and antique painted furniture, I decided to go for a repeat pattern picking up colours that complemented the beautifully worn antique rug, giving it an old and quirky feel.

After drawing out the design with a pencil and compass, it didn't actually take that long to get it painted. It had taken much more time deciding on the design and hoping it would turn out well. I use acrylic based paints and mix the colours myself. I made an off white using white and a green/grey, black, an orange red, and a dull blue.

Once dried I removed the top of the chest of drawers and replaced it with a new one I'd made from an old pine coffee table top cut to size. Then I distressed it all.

I wanted it to look heavily distressed so I sanded it down a lot in places it'd get natural ware like around the drawer knobs and edges. I also wanted a lot of the wood to show through so it would pick up the wood tones of the other furniture in the room.

After giving it a watery wash of beige paint which I wiped back, everything suddenly started to fall into place.

I'm pretty pleased with the results but I know there's a lot more to do in this room before it is ready to use, however, I'm a step closer ♥️