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

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. 

Instagram roundup – May

This week alone has been a bit of a bombardment of inspiration. I have a couple of very exciting projects about to kick off in the coming weeks, but I’m sworn to secrecy on them for the moment. I’m going to do that annoying thing Bloggers do where I tell you about something, but at the same time tell you absolutely nothing.
Enough about that. It’s Friday. Here in Ireland it’s a bank holiday weekend and I can’t even. I’m so looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. I woke up this morning way too early, thought to myself ahh it’s Saturday! And then experienced the crippling realization it was only Friday. I hate brains sometimes. 

I have a few DIYs and home improvements lined up for the long weekend. I made a head start and primed the spare bedroom bedside table last night ahead of its mini makeover. I’m thinking black and white. Nothing too shocking, and maybe when I’m finished with it I’ll sell it. That’s if it doesn’t turn out like a heap of crap. 
And with that I bid you a happy Friday, homies! I hope you have something awesome planned this weekend. We’re due some cracking weather tomorrow and I will personally be spending it BBQing, with a beverage in hand. Expect and onslaught of Instagrams if you follow me. You have been warned. xx A