The Interior DIYer

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Work it

Today is the start of bigger things. I’d say at this point you’re all sick to your back teeth reading about me wanting to take my first step towards a career in design. I kind of had enough, burst into wobbly tears and made a lot of ugly crying faces these past few weeks, so I decided to take a step. A tiny one. I decided to commit one day a week to me stuff and one day less as an office zombie. It’s a risk, but not too much of one as I’m still a chicken shit / worrier and am terrified of failure. I haven’t made this move until now because it was far too easy to just not change anything. I don’t have as much balls as some of the bloggers I know who are not only doing it full time, but owning it. I can’t do that. Not yet at least. It’s a weening process for me. 

So far today I procrastinated by cleaning the entire apartment, doing a load of laundry and getting a meter reading before making myself breakfast. But I knuckled down and am now almost finished one of the items on my list. One step at a time. One day a week. Quietly bricking it as I go. 
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Happy Friday

This morning I was really on the ball. I woke up early, applied my face, tidied the apartment and even had time to take a few pictures before I left for work. I even sourced a small piece of pink paper to write a heart felt message about how ludicrously excited I am that it’s finally Friday. I know. I don’t know how I do it either.

Last night while I was making dinner husband walked in with this behemoth bouquet of white and dainty pink hydrangeas for me. What made matters worse was that he cycled his usual 45 minute commute home holding them {and the 50 yards of cellophane that incased them} in one hand. I proceeded to Alice Cooper myself. I can’t even sometimes. 

Happy Friday friends, and I hope you have a lovely weekend lined up xx A

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Bedside table makeover {it only took 4 years}

When we first moved into our apartment I was on the lookout for a bedside table for our spare bedroom. It didn’t take too long as I struck gold one day when I spied this little gem on Freecycle. It was cute, had nice lines and was mostly wooden with the exception for the top which had a weird plastic-y layered Frankenstein top {so technical} which you can see a bit better here. I had big plans for this little bedside table. And then 4 years happened. 
Last week while I was taking pictures for my rescue kit for the unexpected guests blog post, I had had enough of looking at Franken-table, so I made it my priority to send some long overdue attention its way. 

From the start I wanted to paint it black, but also have some contrast and a little dose of whimsy. Black, white, and kinda pink.
I first primed the entire thing, let it dry for 24 hours and then started working on the black. I had bought a can of black furniture paint, but once I applied it {to half of the bedside table – there wasn’t enough to cover the whole thing}, it looked awful. It made me feel crap. I left it to dry in the spare bedroom and ignored it until the next morning. 
Luckily, my Montana black acrylic spray paint came to the rescue. I resprayed the whole thing and it looked the business. And I still have half a can left.

I then painted the inside of the drawer white. I wanted to line the inside with some pretty paper, but then I figued, why not just paint it? I had a smidge of Dulux Ashbury Easycare pink paint leftover from the bedside tables I upcycled for Oxfam, so I painted the bottom of the drawer dusty pink and added a polka-dot pattern by dipping the end of a pencil into white paint and used it as a stamp. I free-handed the pattern which kind of makes it feel a bit less strict. 
I am exponentially happier with how the bedside table looks now. It really anchors the corner of the room and is a strong focal point when you walk into the room. I just wish I had repainted it sooner. 
Black, white and kinda pink. I think I met the brief.