Another addiction? Just what I need.

Speaking of being a tight-arse (what? I'm sure that was the previous topic of conversation...), I seem to have developed a slight obsession interest in making-over old furniture. I really love the look of a few vintage pieces placed amongst modern stuff.

I have dozens of ideas filling my mind, usually when I should be working or sleeping or doing something else practical and necessary. For now though, I'm restraining myself to three projects that I definitely want to tackle.

The first is restoring an old pair of timber kitchen chairs that I picked up on eBay for the ridiculous price of $10.50. I'm planning on stripping the poo-brown paint off the poor old things, doing a bit of repair to the broken seat on one and then staining and sealing them. I have a few ideas about where I want to put them, but I suspect they may get moved around the house a few times before I make a final decision.

Ugly ducklings, aren't they?



Project 2 is a desk for The Middle Child. He has a small pine student desk, but with a computer on it, there's no room left for books or papers for studying. He's in his final semester of VCE, and planning on going to uni next year, so something larger is required.

This is my inspiration, a fabulous makeover of a dowdy old steel and laminate office desk, from The Virginia House:



I spotted this old thing on ebay and snapped it up for $15:

If you squint and use your imagination, it looks just like the fabulous piece above. Or will when I'm finished with it.



Project no 3 is a secret. I'm bidding on something on eBay, and the auction still has a couple of days to run. It's a vintage piece that a real estate agent would describe as a "renovater's delight". Yes, it's that bad. I'll show and tell if/when I win it.

All I need now is the time to spend making my treasures all beautiful again.

What's your decorating style?

I was feeling all depressed about the lack of progress I've made on the furnishing and decorating front. There's always something that requires massive amounts of money to be spent on it (cars, kids' teeth, stuff like that...) and nothing much left for a new couch or artworks. Reading blogs and forum posts, it seemed as though everyone else had beautifully furnished homes. I'd look around at our old, mis-matched furniture and empty spaces, and sigh...

But I've decided that my decorating style will be Scabby Chic. I'm furiously restoring, recyling and finding new uses for things that we already have, plus I've been hunting down some bargains. eBay is always good for small furniture and decorator items, and I long ago discovered that K Mart and Target offer some surprisingly stylish bits and pieces.

I also have the world's best $2 Shop near my work. They stock a huge range of high quality silk flowers, some lovely vases, photo frames, trays and candle holders, among other things. I see the exact same stuff in fancy homewares stores for five times the price. And no, I'm not telling you where it is. It's my secret.

K Mart find:



Vase, hydrangeas and tea light holder from the $2 Shop, books from our bookcase, and the birdie I picked up in a gift/homewares shop this week.



I have a few DIY projects on the go - I'll post some photos when they're done.


In case anyone's wondering, the definition of Scabby Chic (which I just made up) is spending as little as possible to achieve the look you want. Reinventing the mass of crap that you already own has to be the starting point.