Lace Roll Top Desk

Finally I finished one of my longest projects - restoring roll top desk. We bought it last summer, then went vacation, then was new job, than hurricane Sandy, then moving, then...

It looked not bad from beginning but had some scratches, faded painting and other small defects. I started from sanding, then I painted with wood finish and started to draw lace. It takes tons of time to paint all these thin lines and small flowers :)

Last step - covering with water based finish. I plan to use it for all my stuff I use for handmade and painting that now stored in different places without any order. I am happy at last to have designated space for all my craft supplies.

Writing Cabinet Renovation

New 2012 has started and my New Year resolution is to put more attention to this blog, find more ideas and create more handmade things.
I haven't posted anything about furniture restoration and renovation for a long time. Just haven't seen anything I would like to share. I found this writing cabinet renovation couple days ago. Just compare these pics.
Before

and after

This writing desk was born in USSR about 60 years ago but after renovation it looks like new. I like bright colors and fresh look. It's really good for children's room. 

The renovation was done by LiveJournal user asa_asa. Here you can find more details and how to. BTW it's not first asa_asa renovation I am writing about. This toys cabinet was renovated by her as well.

Kitchen Cabinet Renovation

I'm back. I was really busy last couple weeks and totally had no time for this blog. But now I have a lot of new materials, so...
Furniture renovating is infectious :) This cabinet renovation was made by my really good friend. And first of all I would like to say thanks to her. She spent a lot of time and efforts to make this great renovation, and share with me step by step instructions and pictures. Thank you, Nadiya. And I miss you!
When I first saw this piece of junk made from pressed wood it looked like old ugly cabinet. So here is "before" picture:

 

Next time when I met this cabinet it was like brand new and stylish, as we can see on "after" pictures

So how it was done...
First step in any renovation, remove all old finish and painting. So take the sand paper (start from using 60 and then use paper with higher numbers to make your sanded surface smoother)

Next step - covering cabinet with base color. In this case it was white acrylic water-based painting. 

When base coat is dried it's time to cover cabinet with couple nice layers of paint you would like your cabinet be. So take beige acrylic paint and put couple layers of it. 

Time to be an artist. Take pictures you like, for example these gorgeous peacocks, and print them out 

Take pencil and lead them where they suppose to be

Using acrylic paints add colors to your painting:

When your painting is completed cover all cabinet with water based finish. Don't buy a cheap brush or painting roller for it, because cheap ones can leave traces and hairs on your cabinet.  Put couple of layers of finish, one is not enough to protect painting from damages.
Last step - attach new cabinet handles and you are done. Instead of old cabinet you have brand new piece of art in your kitchen.

New art deco look of an old table

Great idea if you have some old table and a lot of old magazines or advertising in your mail-box. This "how-to" and table itself was created by my namesake Iryna. There are almost no explanations how to do some steps but a lot of pictures are really helpful.

First step for every renovation project is cleaning up and removing old finish using sand paper.

Next - take your magazines and tear pictures you like.

Using glue attach them to the table

Blot table with black acrylic paint:

Cover your table with couple layers of finish. Of course you should let each layer to dry before to put new one

Your table is ready

Knitted Furniture from Patricia Graf

Looks like knitting is an inexhaustible source for inspiration for designers and furniture makers. Earlier I have posted knitted chairs and knitted wallpaper. Today I found couple more unbelievable pieces of furniture related to knitting. These two amazing things were created by Patricia Yasmine Graf - young German designer. 
This crocheted stool has warm cozy looks and moreover it has integrated footwarmer. Great idea for cold winter evenings.

This crocheted easy chair is comfortable, beautiful and functional as well. It's tentacles can hold remote control, magazine or anything else you need to relax.

More cool furniture and creative accessories can be found on Patricia web-page www.pyg-design.de.

Table and maps... if you like to travel

I don't know about you but I always bring from all my trips pack of maps. So here is a great idea to get rid of them and decorate some old table.
First take the table and sand it. Then clean up all dust.

 Take maps you like and cut them to the pieces. Cover table with glue and put pieces of map like it shown on the picture.

If your table is not square cut paper a little bit like it shown on picture above. Try to avoid bubbles and wrinkles when attaching paper to the table.

Let table dry and cover it using finish. Better to use water based finish because oil based makes spots of grease on your maps.

Let first layer of finish dry, sand it with finest sand paper and cover it with finish one more time. That's all. Now you have perfect table that saves your memories about wonderful trips you had for long-long years.

I found this table here http://yaliliya.ru/post133612264/, but I believe it's not original source, so if you recognize your idea - let me know, I'll be glad to put your name as author name of this travel table. 

Rupert McKelvie’s Missing Pieces Table

Except of furniture renovation and all other handmade I love putting together jigsaw puzzles. Today I found my twin soul who loves furniture and puzzles as much as I do - Rupert McKelvie. He is a British designer mostly working on furniture design and other home decor.

Once upon a time he had jigsaw puzzle set with missing parts, so he decided create something useful and complete from these pieces. I believe it took a lot of time to put this puzzle-table. There are 4800 pieces from Arc de Triomphe, Winnie the Pooh, night sky and Taj Mahal puzzles.

Rupert McKelvie says "I was all too aware of the frustration of nearing the end and realizing there were ‘missing pieces’. It became something that would never see completion". So as we can see some times frustration can easily transform to inspiration. 

I have put puzzle with train into the box long time ago because I lost a lot of pieces, so now I am thinking to create something like this awesome table :)

Cupboard Door-Gone-Art Desk

Author of this idea is Autie. She invented and created these funny and useful tables from real junk.

 

Guess what is the source for these tables? Doors from old cabinets. Kids love art and their own craft table inspires them to do more and more. Children can seat on the floor and draw because of short table stands. Table top that can be opened is another great idea. That gives you space for paper, pencils and other crafts. 

As I mentioned before for creating such kid table you need doors, stands, paint, base, sand paper, screws, drill and everything you think will be useful for decorating.

First step is sanding of doors, you should remove old paint and/or finish. Clean up the door. Attach stands. If there are no door hinges you should attach them too. Now it's time to decorate. You can do whatever you want, for example you can use decoupage as Autie did.

Step by step instruction  and more pictures can be found here www.u-createcrafts.com. This web page contains huge amount of all kind of handmade and decorating. 

Furniture for car lovers

All my previous entries were some kind of "girly". This post for men. I am sure the heart of each man will be touched by this furniture. Actually my heart is broken too. What men love so much? Almost so much like a girls? Cars. I believe most of them will be even glad to sleep in their beloved cars and .. now they have such opportunity. This sofa is designed especially for car fans:

There are two young designers from Poland - Andrzej Sapierzynski and Lukasz Siodmok. And they are geniuses. Do you know a boy who does not want such armchair? Do you know anybody at all who can stay calm when see it? Probably I am overreacting but I always do when I find something breathtaking.

For such sofa and armchair you definitely need some special coffee table

Amazing. That's all I can say. And this is not everything that they can do with cars and furniture. These guys designed office desks and standing lamps and can do custom design for you. There is even a picture on their web-page with some explanation how they create such things. So if you liked it and want to find out more go to http://www.la-ds.com/.