Mooch Style

Showing posts with label Up cycle. Show all posts

I find my self pinning all these stunning shots on my pinterest account of other peoples up-cycled furniture. One thing that has caught my eye multiple times is a balayage effect on the individual drawers, balayage is a gradual lightning effect (it may be a hair definition but we will use it here haha). I had just got my latest order from Voodoo Molly Vintage and was eager to open the cans and start throwing some paint around - im not kidding im a messy painter!!

6 steps to achieving the balayage look on drawers

Getting started I lightly sanded down the furniture with a medium grit sand paper, if you don't know what grit is what - just ask the team at your local hardware store, they are so helpful. Once this is completed and the finish is slightly roughed up you can then wipe down with a micro fibre cloth to remove all dust (I also use an old paint brush to wipe the cracks and grooves).
I had 3 colours I needed to achieve so I separated the paint into 3 jars adding my VDMV Charcoal to each one making sure I had them at 3 different levels as I went.
I then added white to each to bring them to the same level - mixing the darkest colour first so I can lighten from there.
I then painted the drawers with 3 coats using 1 jar per 1 drawer allowing 1 hour drying time between coats.
While the drawers dry this is a good opportunity to paint the shell of the drawers as you can rotate between coats - again 3 coats will be fine.
Let them dry over night just to be 100% confident that the paint has worked its magic and hardened.

you are not a confident painter I recommend using the Voodoo Molly Vintage range, its coverage is like no other and is SO easy to paint. The end product is always a stunning finish that you will be proud of.

So what can we match with these drawers? I would use these in a larger bedroom so you can see the stunning finish and appreciate the balayage effect with the paint. A Senecio Rowleyanus (string of pearls) plant would be perfect to drape over the side in a marble or terracotta pot (Kmart is your go to here). And then a nice tray or container for your makeup/haircare to finish it off.

We have had such great feedback from this project, give it a go and tell us how you get on, the balayage repainted drawers are a surprisingly easy way of up-cycling a really cool old piece of furniture and making it look better than a new piece because it has character and is styled specific to your home.

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My sister is just 3 weeks from having our nephew, while she has been off work she has been keeping her self busy researching all things for a baby boys nursery. Ash has great style and has always had her home well kept so having a new area in the home to throw her creative genius at.

Ash has recently upcycled an old wardrobe for her nursery and we think it has turned out great! So I asked her to send through some progress photos and write a blog post - she nailed it!

My Little Boys Nursery Wardrobe

This gem was left in our newly purchased home and just so happened to be perfect for the nursery and was the final finishing touch that really tied the room together. This was my first up cycle I have done and it was suprinsly easier than thought but still a process none the less. If I had stuck to basics and just went with the plain white without the feature of the chalk panel it could have been completed in a day easily, although I decided to get artsy and the final product was well worth it! I started off with a light sanding all over, once happy with that I used Zinsser interior & spot exterior primer-sealer stain blocker which I was told by a worker at mitre 10 can generally go straight on to any wood even if it had be varnished but to give it a light sand for best results.. WELL I wish I had sanded it more as there was one panel that had some varnish still peak through and crack the paint but luckily by the last coat of paint it was barely noticeable.

After a good coat with the primer which had already dried after 15minutes I did its first coat with Resene semi-gloss waterborne enamel 1 litre in white (I chose the semi gloss for personal preference, it can also come in a high gloss). Another coat was applied allowing at two hours between coats.

Now for the fun part 🙄!! I purchased 500ml of Hudson chalkboard paint in black this required two coats, each drying almost instantly. I left it two hours to be safe then proceed with my chosen quote design by using a chalk marker purchased from spotlight. This was the niggly part as the lines weren't sharp and needed a lot of touching up with a wet cloth as water is the only way to remove the marker, all in all this was the longest process of the whole upcycle!! The finished product was exactly how I envisioned with the whole thing costing under $100!

You can find Ashlees instagram here: www.instagram.com/mylittlewildoneandme

My friends and I have been toying with the idea of doing a fridge to fridge. This is where you get on your bike have a few at one place and then off to the next. I didn't have a bike so thought a vintage gem would be right on the money!

I was instantly on the hunt for a vintage bike, had added a few to my watch list on trade me and then fell in love with a Healing Loline. If you are over the age of 35 and are from New Zealand you will most likely know what this is.

It's a fixed gear 1960's, cruiser. Built in the 1960's and 1970's here in New Zealand by a company called Morison and Healing. The government of the day even played a part in the Healing bicycles' history; they stopped 90% of bike imports from entering the country to help boost the demand for New Zealand made bikes. They were onto something getting people out of the muscle cars and onto the shovey's.

These bad boys are very uncommon now days with the increase of vintage look bicycles on the road, I was brought up to appreciate the yesteryear and there is something about having people come up and admire the bike they once had and you instantly know that regardless of how amazing your handy paint work is they just love that you are still enjoying what they enjoyed way back when (parent's if you're reading this it so wasn't back when).

She was in pretty bad shape - rideable but what a rust bucket!! It just needed a bit of love and im totally the man to bring it back into the current year. We had just been given a heap of paint through a a comp we won via DULUX so I was sorted for undercoat, base coat, sparkle and gloss! The tyres were shagged so I went on down to my mates at Cycle trading co and got the white grips and tyres fitted after I de-rusted the rims. The chap that owns the show there actually sold these bikes brand new!!! HOW COOL!!! I really under estimated the amount of hard work that goes into restoring an old girl like this, lets just say my soft Account Manager hands are still sore haha (sigh).

All details about what I used are below the images, if you have one of these or had one please comment below, im just loving this bike and have just recently completed a Raleigh Twenty for my girlfriend.

Meet the "Spirit Whip"........

Paint - Dulux Diamond Effect

Wheels and Grips - Cycle Trading Co

I have a really exciting mid century sideboard up cycle to take everyone through a "how to up cycle a sideboard". I picked this up from TradeMe for $20.00 and it was literally like 50m down the road. When I pulled up to pick it up it was SO much larger than I originally thought (get a Mazda Axela - you can fit anything in those bad boys).

In total I spent roughly $40 on filler, sand paper and paint with intention to sell this but im sure you can see why it is still sitting in my lounge not going anywhere anytime soon haha.

I didn't realise the the veneer was in quite bad shape in the pictures so when I got it home I could see the hours stacking up but a great project is always worth it and this baby was quite a unique looking sideboard that I would hate to see go to waste.

Before I started I did a quick run through of everything I needed by giving it a REALLY good strip down and look over.

Someone had done a DIY on the hinges and used a 3 inch nail and drove it straight through the side pillars : 0 I was horrified haha.
The locks had no keys and were taped shut, bent and in bad order.
The handles are AMAZING but I will keep these for another project.
The inside of the drawers had Scooby Doo durable hahahahaha.
The veneer was chipped and dented with chunks missing.
Inside the cupboard there was a wonderfull New Zealand calendar from 1999 that had been cut up for the images and clear duraceled to the shelfs - screams my nana hahahaha.
Veneer had multiple stains and fade marks.

As you can see there was quite a bit of work to be done so I wrote a list and off to Bunnings I went.

To start I used my new orbital sander (exciting) with a 80 grit to take the varnish off and smooth out some of the dents (more blemishes were exposing them selves haha. When the sanding was done I brushed it all down and started to fill with Sellys Permafilla I filled each one twice and sanded in between fills. I was conscious that I wanted to change the knobs so I filled the existing holes as the new ones were a different size boring new holes at the same time. After a sand everywhere I wiped down with a microfibre cloth and begun the priming, I knew I wouldn't need a stain blocker with this one because I was using Dulux Duramax range - this stuff is incredible!

My setup isn't the best because I live in a unit so I make the most of the sunny days haha.

The colour selection for this was the most deifficut stage. I wanted to paint it an outrageous colour like burn orange and georgia pegged me in and we took a closer look at the room it was going in so white it was! I did x3 white based undercoats sanding with a sanding sponge in between coats and x3 top coats in white again sanding in between coats except for the last white coat followed by a clear plastic coat.

The drawers and cupboard doors were really cool because they had a unique angled wood grain so I had already sanded these back with the shell QUICK TIP - always sand with the grain not against, its easier and turns out better every time. I used a dark charcoal stain that was in my shed and it was perfect! I brushed it on with a paint brush generously and let settle for 5 minutes then rubbed off with a clean cloth.

The existing locks and hinges I painted Matt black, they came up great! After letting dry thoroughly for 2 days I put everything together, the locks had no key so I have left them open and installed magnetic locks on the inside.

Overall I am REALLY pleased with this piece and have enjoyed the challenge, a heads up that these things take time, patience and detail so don't rush them and cut corners because you will always notice them when you look at the piece.

As always would love to hear your thoughts, if you ever want our advice on anything just yell out!