Everytime we have a council clean-up, I can’t help but smirk at the “vulchers” who start rifling through our junk while we’re still taking it out to the street. We’ve even had requests: “got any more aluminium?” “any other screen doors back there?” I smirk because I wonder what they’re thinking when they take a half-painted, water-damaged chipboard bookshelf with no shelves. Or the chair with the missing leg. Or the fridge that was so old and beyond repair and was so heavy we had to lie it on its side and drag it 50 metres to the street along concrete, almost tearing a hole in its side. But I guess they score the parts. Or maybe they just see something of decent-looking shape and are blinded to the rest of its poor condition and don’t realise this until they get it home.
This has happened to me lots. I’m blinded by good intentions and great ideas, and have an inability to see it for what it really is: crap. Like this table, above. I nicked it from next door’s clean-up months ago and finally decided to do something about it at the weekend. I started sanding it back when I noticed the round bulbous parts on the bottom of each leg had completely rotted through and bits of them had snapped off. Then I realised the thin wood veneer on the top had bubbled from the weather and was not going to work with my plan to paper the top of it. So I got to scraping it off with a (blunt!) chisel at which time one of the legs got tired of the constant jerking and fell off. So I had a three-legged, rotting, bubbly table. Score! Gee, wonder why it was on the chuck-out pile. I was thisclose to putting it back on the roadside, but decided I might as well try and see how it turned out. I’d invested too many muscle minutes not too.
So I scraped the rest of the top off and smoothed it over as best I could. I glued the leg back into place and sawed off the bulbous bottoms. I painted it white and adhered my favourite-ever wrapping paper by Laikonik to the top of it. And… it’s still in one piece! It might not be the smoothest of tabletops, but it does the trick and it sure is pretty. It’s new home is in the cabin next to the ottoman (which doubles as a guest bed – it conceals a pull-out double bed). And also? I’m glad I kept at it – I quite like how it turned out.
Quick tip for papering weird-shapes: The top of this was curvy so not the easiest of surfaces to decoupage. So, I used some chalk to outline the very edge of the upper layer, lined up my paper with the pattern in the middle then smoothed over the edge to pick up the chalk outline. Then I simply cut out the chalk outline, glued the top with Martha’s Decoupage Glue and smoothed the paper back on – perfect fit.
Another tip: Thinner paper is best for decoupage – this is quite thick, but I loved the pattern way too much not to give it a whirl.
Label love: Can I rave a little about Laikonik? Good. I have this thing about fabulous patterns in non-crazy colours. Like maybe two-tones. And if it’s chocolate brown, kraft-paper beige with white or black, even better. Everything Laikonik produces in its commercial range is subtle in colour; substantial in style. Which means that despite its folk-artiness, it’ll fit nicely into any style of home. Like the wall hangings; can you believe a wall hanging (traditionally – in my eyes – nanny decor) could be so beautiful? This one is anything but nanna-like. But if you don’t have $280 to spare, you could opt for the silk-screen gift wrap and frame it instead (I did it with a black version). Or use it in a whole host of other ways – I used it to make a birthday banner and colouring-in books for Layla’s birthday party. I’m also stocking up on the Photograms this year for all the grandparents for Christmas. And I think the owner/designer Kasia should hire herself out to paint wall-sized murals of this design in white on a dark-coloured wall – how heaven would that look! Check out more from the pretty Polish folk-art-inspired range here, buy from here and be inspired here.
One more thing: A huge big thank you to everyone for your lovely comments on my pregnancy announcement. I feel very special and very loved. Thanks for being awesomely sweet readers x
Quick credits for the curious:
Ottoman: Best double-duty buy. The top mattress can be used on the floor for kids (or short people) or as a bedhead for the pull-out double sofabed concealed inside. Brighton Ottoman Sofa Bed from Timberland Furniture
Lamp: Bolero from Freedom
Rug: Congo from Freedom
Vase: medicine bottle!
Buddha: House 2 Home
Striped cushion: handmade and hand-painted by me (and good god it took forever, too!)
Paper on tabletop: Silk-screenprinted wrapping paper in white on kraft (also comes in black, red, turquoise and mustard), $6.50 a sheet, Laikonik
{all images of table makeover by Belinda Graham for The Happy Home; product images courtesy Laikonik}
