Upcycled chest of drawers

 

I found this chest of drawers at the recycling centre it was in really bad shape but I could see it had good bones, as I was walking out of the recycling centre I bumped into a family friend who looked so concerned when she saw me carrying this old thing, I later told this story to my mother and I wondered what must of been going through our friend's mind. I wondered because when I started restoring furniture it took lots of convincing of my parents that  I could upcycle vintage furniture, and before they knew it I was rumbling through their shed and as my stepdad said "you could have anything in the shed that is old not the new" and with that I was happy.

The end result

I am so happy with the chest of drawers I love the legs. it sits between our kitchen and dining - family room, it's great because I have been able to store my linen napkins,  notecards and some of the kids projects. On top are some of my magazines and my vintage white flower vase made in Portugal another find in an opshop. I love to have fresh white flowers all around the house, and finally, the art is made by my boys.

white cottage restoration projects

I got this vintage buffet at a good price it needed a lot of TLC as you can see in the photo. The mesh had to be replaced, it needed a new coat of paint...as I paint everything and anything in white.

After

The kitchen buffet I am so proud of the end product. It took me a few days to restore as I had to take the whole thing apart, I was able to contact someone who supplies to antique furniture restorers, as I wanted to keep the buffet as original as possible. I have kept all the nobs and handles. The buffet was painted antique white.

The buffet now sits proudly in our family room, and it now holds all my cook books and T.G. Green cornishware.

white cottage kitchen

 Before

This is the original kitchen for the house, we felt although it was functional we thought it was a little outdated, plus we felt that it was the perfect opportunity to put our dream kitchen into the house. We were very lucky that it only took from start to finish three weeks.

After

Unfortunately this photo does not do the kitchen justice...I will take another photo and replace this one.

This kitchen has seen many happy cooking and baking occasions. I have my English tap from a local restoration store. I have had a picture of this tap for about twelve years, so I couldn't believe my luck when I saw this tap in the store.

The sink is a modern take on the classic ceramic butler sink, people always ask whether I bathe the kids in the sink as it is so large and deep... which I don't.

I also love the brick pattern that is the back splash behind the stove which goes to the ceiling.

We waited for this kitchen for a long time...it is the heart of the house, and has seen many happy occasions and many laughs amongst friends and family

white cottage garden

Before

we moved into our house 2 years ago, while we liked the house the decor was not to our taste and needed cosmetic improvements. we have been working very hard to transform the house into our home. The garden had been neglected. We are trying to grow a white cottage garden  these iceberg roses are new additions, we waited a long time for them but the wait was worth it.

And after: