Notice the difference

In this age of consumerism, it's lovely to be able to breathe new life into an old piece of furniture. At most garage sales and bric-a-brac markets, there's frames to buy. I picked up this pressed tin one in the photo for $10. It didn't have any backing or glass in it, but I attached a piece of corkboard to it and now I have a lovely noticeboard to display postcards. I also bought a much larger black frame and did the same thing. It now has black and white photos in it and looks really striking. 

So, before your next trip to the shops, poke around your local garage sales and see what treasures you can find to change and make your own.

New life to old pieces

I've been a fan of Rachel Ashwell (of Shabby Chic fame) for a long time, but my husband doesn't share my enthusiasm and complains that all Shabby Chic does is paint things white. Recently we bought a maroon bedside table from a garage sale, and I discovered a similar style old maroon chest-of-drawers in our garage that used to belong to my husband's grandparents that my husband was using to store nails and bolts in. I suggested to him that we paint both pieces white and put them in our bedroom. We had a lovely few evenings sanding and painting and even he agrees that the Shabby Chic/provincial look works. An easy way to turn dated maroon furniture into something nice!