Monday 14 July 2008

Shabby Chic?

On Saturday morning I got word about someone who lived a couple of streets away who had to move house soon and needed to get rid of a load of furniture quickly - We are not short of furniture, but not being one to feel I've missed out on a bargain I hot footed it straight round there with hubby's words of 'you better not come back with a load of crap' still ringing in my ears!

Then imagine the predicament I found myself in, when I saw this



'Its kind of distressed' said the lady who was selling it.
'My hubby will be, when I come home with this' I replied.

So 10am Sunday morning and I spy the nice lady's husband and son in law carting the huge dressing table down the street towards our house. All credit to Tim, he didn't say what he thought until the 2 blokes had left with their £20 (yes, just twenty quid!)

'Its shabby chic' I said
'More like shabby sh*t' said Tim

So I'm hoping you ladies out there will appreciate this fine piece of furniture, you have to look past the fact that it has been painted rather haphazardly without the handles being removed, and ignore the paint all round the mirror, because after some TLC I can see it looking very nice. And it really is huge with lovely big drawers to put all my girly stuff in - I must admit, Tim seemed won over when I told him this meant he could even reclaim his paltry shelf in the bathroom cabinet that I had begun to take over. Later on Sunday evening, I was flicking through my 'Shabby Chic' book by Rachel Ashwell and what should I see but an almost identical dressing table right there!

Please ignore the horrible combination of salmon walls, plum curtains and green woodwork in my bedroom, I told you the colour schemes we had inherited were hideous - which leads me on to our hall and stairs.

Here are a couple of pics, although its really difficult to get a good picture for some reason



All the tongue and groove on the left hand side of the picture was a real 'orangey' pine and the walls and cieling were a tangerine colour with the mustard spindles and red carpet that Im sure you'll never forget!



I bought loads of the IKEA white 'ribba' frames as I want to do a gallery up the stairs, but I am struggling to find little bits in duck egg blue and beige to sit on my shelves which were green (shown in an earlier post) but are now white. We covered up the ugly radiators with radiator covers and that is another place for me to accessorise, but I always find that bit the hardest!

Anyway enough from me, and let me know what you think of my dressing table! - Natalie x

23 comments:

KELLY said...

i love your dressing table!
(and my husband would have said those exact words too...made me chuckle!) what a bargain! will you re-paint it white or go for a colour?

Anonymous said...

Hi Natalie, I am still laughing whilst typing these words...my hubbie would be the same, but haven't heard shabby sh*t, priceless!! Men just don't get it do they?! Absolutely adore your dressing table, you got a real bargain there! Your hall looks lovely love the colour scheme. Love, kathyx

Anonymous said...

Hi Natalie me again, blogger keeps on coming up with incorrect password(??why??) so the above comment is kathy from my life and other beads! love, kathy

jessica daisy said...

Hi Natalie,
The dressing table and mirror is a great find, and for only £20! Made me laugh reading this post, my husband says just the same thing when I come home with yet more of 'other peoples crap'!
Jessx

Shelly G said...

I love the dressing table... I would have drug it home too.. Do you know what you plan to do with it?

The Fairy Glade said...

Hi Natalie, it must truly be a man thing as my husband would have had a fit if I'd brought that home. However, I love it, love it and am very envious. My daughter has one very similar to that in her bedroom which she wont part with even if I had the space in our room! Can't wait to see the refurbished pics. Dev X

Country Bliss said...

Lovely dressing table, men haven't got a clue have they? I now have to promise that I won't buy anymore until I've cleared the backlog of furniture waiting to be painted! Your hall looks great btw.

pink-petal-designs said...

Hi Nat. i LOVE your new dressing table, and mine says the same lol when i say sahbby chic he also says shabby s*it lol. I cant wait to see what you do with it and such a bargin too.Love the hall way.
Sarah x

LinenandRoses said...

Oh the dressing table is gorgeous. I love it already but I'm sure once you've finished with it, it will be even more pretty. I'm looking for something just like that for our bedroom. How I wish one of our neighbours was getting rid of something so lovely for just £20! Your hall looks really great now.

julia said...

Shabby s**t or in my hubby's words "dead people's tat"!! Secretly I think they like it all, especially since it saves them some hard earned pennies. I love it, what a gorgeous piece of furniture you lucky girl!
Julia x

jo said...

What a bargain at £20. A bit of TLC and I'm sure you Hubby's words will be back to Shabby Chic! Hallway looks great too.

Debbies-English-Treasures said...

That was a funny post!
It seems that our hubbies have the same thing in common...
The hate for Shabby!
The dresser it`s gorgeous and the price not bad either...
Kisses Kisses
Debbie
xxx

Debbies-English-Treasures said...

I`m back!
I just read your other post... and I`m sooooooo glad you had a lovely time in Portugal!
Being Portuguese myself, It always cheers me up, when people say how lovely my country is.
Oh by the way... You have a great looking family!
Kisses Kisses
Debbie
xxx

Alchamillamolly said...

I love your new look hall - what a difference - we have got the ceilings and woodwork done in our nightmare room and the fire surround has gone up today. I am hoping to get a surprise (hubby is off work) and find the two dodgy walls lined as well! Your bargain is lovely and l love your husbands expression - they just don't see things the same way as we do. Mine brought home a lovely old fruit box to stand a few plants and I immediately wanted to turn it upside down and add some fence post thick legs to it and use it as a side table in the garden - he just gave me one of his looks...........The thing is he will now quietly contemplate what I have said and we will end up doing it! We win in the end don't we!

Carol said...

Hi Natalie, it is brilliant...what a bargain...lol...my hub says things like too. But now he is getting the feel for shabby chic...he got all excited when we visited Cath Kidston the other day and lashed out on some lovley bits he liked...and I liked!
The hall looks fab too, you have been busy, painting all those spindles!!!!

Pixiedust said...

What a fab find. I love Shabby chic. My husband would have said the same. two peas in a pod. I'm sure it will look great when you've tarted it up. Country Cream do a nice range of crockery called dotty cockeral which is a duck egg colour, which would look great on your shelf. take care. Pixie. xxx

Miss sew n sew said...

How nice a girly dressing table is a must have item I say! It's lovely and what a bargain too! I love mine and so does Emily the other day I caught her sitting there with my pink lipstick all round her mouth!
Love your hall really nice colours!
Sarahx

periwinkle said...

my hub would have been the same too - i thinks it's lovely, as is your hall
lisa x

Claire said...

Thats a great find! I think my hubby would agree with yours on the shabby s**t....lol, his mums helps out in a charity shop and is often bringing me great finds and he just thinks we all mad to want other peoples things! Hall way looks great! Claire xx

No one is you ...& that's your power said...

,Hi Natalie
Dressing table is lovely , if it was left to men and listening to them , we would never buy anything. Hubby says the shabby s--- thing too! and whats all this crap ! and rolls his eyes. Butt then says oh thats nice in the end!
Thanks for the great website tip too , I checked it out. I accidently clicked reject message inside of it coming on to my blog, but luckily I remembered what it was called.
I love other peoples stuff at car boots too and garage sales !

mollycupcakes said...

The dressing tables so cool hun. Fab find.
And your hallway is so beautiful, it looks light and airy.
Oh duck egg and creams look lovley together don't they? I hope you find lots of lovely things. I could paint you some small hearts to hang in these colours. Just drop me an email sweetie.
Many hugs.
Catherine x

driftwood shack said...

what a find I'd have paid £40 for it! and the bad paint work doesn't show in the photo you'll have it looking lovely in no time...

Jennie said...

I love the dressing table. Men just don't have a true appreciation of the whole shabby chic look ;)
Your hallway looks fabulous!