"But I'm not sure I want to be!" said the dressing table.
I'm a great believer that furniture finds its way to us! Bonkers theory maybe, but every time I've needed a new piece of furniture, the right piece has 'found' me.
I had a space in my bedroom, I needed some storage. I NEEDED a dressing table...I had only a small budget. I saw this....I knew it was 'the one'! It looked awful, it looked sad....it had been neglected. But it was a great shape.....and I fell in love with the mirror, yep this was 'it'! (Lovely shaped mirror...don't you agree?)
I paid for it and arranged for Mr Bea to pick it up. And yes there was some fuss, Mr Bea really thought I had lost the plot. Little Bea gave me a worried smile when she saw it (she hates to hurt my feelings, hope she's still like that when she's a teenager!). Eldest Bea declared it was the "Most awful piece of furniture she had ever seen!"
I have to admit, and please don't tell anyone, but when Mr Bea dragged it in I did think to myself "WHAT have you done Ada Bea!" It was filthy, full of cobwebs, old school books, it was water damaged...rusty....yuk!
But still......it was a great shape!
Look at those curves....any idea of its age anyone??? 1940s?
So I set about its transformation, boy has this been a job and a half! I sanded it down...thank goodness for electric sanders!
So eager was I to complete the transformation, I forgot to take proper before photos!
Then I started to paint, one coat then another, the varnish kept seeping through, phew it was hard work! But with advice from my Bloggy friends, (Thank You Bloggy friends) the transformation began!
Wallpaper was chosen, Vintage Sanderson, very pretty!
Drawers covered.....
Handles painted.......
The finish, not as great as I hoped, (I couldn't bare to sand it down again) but it's pretty and I'm soooo glad it's ended up in our home. Mr Bea and the girls like it too!
And do you want to know why I think it wasn't sure it wanted to be beautiful? Why the transformation has been so awkward?
I think it's a He, not a She! I've just confused my dressing table! Oh dear....I do so hope he soon gets in touch with his feminine side, and doesn't hold it against me for long! (If he refuses to open his drawers then I'll know he's still a little mad!)
And who knows, maybe one day I will repaint him and put some new wallpaper on the drawers, something a little more masculine....but for now....I'm SO GLAD HE'S DONE....phew!!!!
Bye for now....thank you soooo much for your super feedback on my bedroom makeover, you are fab! I'll let you know when I've added other bits and pieces to the room. I've some embroidery hoops and vintage sheets to play with next!
Ada :) xxx
Posted with Blogsy
I have furniture envy! You have done such a fantastic job. This room is looking so beautiful. xo
ReplyDeleteThat is properly beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you , the mirror has a great shape and the basic bones of the dressing table were there, it just needed the polish to make it shine!
The shape and handles would suggest 1940's as you said, not a proper antique but good honest furniture that lasted and will be around longer than flat pack that's for sure.
Well done you...you do have the eye!
Yes I think 1940s too, it's solidly made but not very refined! :) x
DeleteYou are a fairy godmother - he or she shall go to the ball! X
ReplyDelete:) x
DeleteI'm so relieved I'm not the only one who personifies furniture! (And cars... and plants... ahem.) I think this latest addition to your splendid home is just lovely, and you're right, that's quite a mirror! I know the feeling with these projects where you end up thinking 'what have I done?!' but like you I seem to then become very determined to prove others - and myself - wrong, and you certainly have here. Perhaps if you give him a manly name like Bernard or Dave he'll feel better?
ReplyDeleteAnna x
He's been named Dave! :) x
DeleteWho's a pretty boy then? Love it ... Bee xx
ReplyDeleteOh how beautiful! It looks really lovely now, definitely worth the hard work :)
ReplyDeleteI just blogged about transforming a stool that I bought from a charity shop. I do love buying things and making them mine, much more special than buying new.
Hannahx
Hi Hannah, thanks for stopping by...I'll nip over to say hi soon! :) x
Deletehi ada...you are so clever!....he/she (shim?) is gorgeous!. the shape the mirror both perfect. and I love your choice of paper, so sweet (sorry shim). im sure so worth all your hard work. I left behind a shabby pink linen cupboard at a garage sale on the weekend and im having serious regrets....especially now!! x
ReplyDeleteI was going to originally paint him bubblegum pink, not sure he would of liked that!!! :) x
DeleteNice job there Ada! I well remember the first - the VERY FIRST things I dragged home as a fairly newly wed, I spent £5, 4 for a Victorian bedroom chair and £1 for a set of bookshelves in a dreadful state. Funnily enough Jim thought the shelves were OK (potentially) but that I'd boobed with the chair. Well the shelves have long gone, but more than 40 years and several re-incarnations, the chair is still with us!
ReplyDeleteSo you have years to explore this exciting and very frugal pastime, and hey, mistakes - I've made a few, but then again .......... you can always paint over them! (I do admire your skill with the electric sander.) Come on, don't stop there, we want more!!
I love the electric sander, makes a racket but its brilliant! :) x
Deleteits just BEAUTIFUL!
ReplyDeleteWow! Wow! Wow!
ReplyDeleteAda you did a great job!!!!
Brava, xxxxx Ale
certainly a transformation , this really is a lovely piece of furniture now I so agree the mirror is a great shape and like the handles, the way they go down rather than across the drawers, was that your idea too? Not so sure about it being masculine think it looks perfect as a feminine piece.
ReplyDeleteThe handles were already like that Margaret :) x
DeleteA gorgeous transformation! Well worth all the effort, the whole room is looking fabulous!
ReplyDeleteLove the colour you picked for your wardrobe!
Have a lovely day!
Another feat of ingenuity Ada, I am so impressed with your precise papering. The way you have shaped the wallpaper around the handles is very impressive.
ReplyDeleteTook the handles off, I'm not that precise I'm afraid! I did need to match the pattern up those, the drawers are so wide it needed two strips! :) x
DeleteWow - it looks fab :) Goes to show what can be done with a bit of effort and imagination :)
ReplyDeleteOoh Ada, it's fab!
ReplyDeleteLove Claire xx
It's beautiful. You saw right past the layers of sadness through to the beauty underneath.
ReplyDeleteLove it's shape, love the mirror, love the simplicity of the white paint, and that pretty floral paper is perfect. Well done you! :)
Thanks, I like the simplicity too! :) x
DeleteI do like a curvaceous mirror! And the colour on the wardrobes, and the curtains. Mr RV and I are decorating the living room this week which is not his favourite way to spend his week off work. I will mostly be wearing ear plugs this week to muffle the sound of his moaning and swearing! I only hope it looks as good as your room when we have finished, Mrs RV x
ReplyDeleteSounds just like Mr Bea, I did tell him, if he moans it must stay in his head and not escape through his mouth! :) x
DeleteI think it's just gorgeous! Super choice on the paper... I love it! Husbands are such skeptics when it comes to upcycling aren't they? I know mine is :) Hopefully this will have made yours a true convert! Hazel x
ReplyDeleteGood job well done and he is very pretty! Sarah x
ReplyDeleteI love the fact that you think your dressing table is a 'he'! Glad it's not just me that thinks funny things like that! He is beautiful. Love his shape. Your bedroom is looking wonderful. You've inspired me to get ours finished. We painted it last summer and it's so nearly there but just needs some finishing touches. Thanks for the inspiration. Fiona x
ReplyDeleteGlad to be of help! :) x
DeleteAnother brilliant job. I love the shape of the mirror and I love that you think it's a he. Why? Anyway, I'm off to scroll up the page and drool all over again. xx
ReplyDeleteHe....only because he seemed to resist being made pretty! :) x
DeleteYou have turned something ghastly, in to something beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThank you! :) x
DeleteThe thrill is in the victory of pretty over junky and you've done it! Don't you just love a good bargain., especially when even the cynics come around!
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely fantastic. You most definitely have "the eye"! I love your choice of paper for the drawers. It is so sweet. May be a stupid question but do how do you stick it on?? Do you use normal wallpaper glue or something stronger?
ReplyDeleteRosie
Used the last of my Mod Podge, PVA glue :) x
DeleteWow what a handsome fellow he is. Good work Ada Bea he is looking fine and dandy. Sarah x
ReplyDeleteOh he's so pretty and you're so clever, you were meant to be together :) xx
ReplyDeleteOh what a metamorphosis! He now looks like he belongs to you rather than sadly homeless! Lovely job!
ReplyDeleteFlorals suit you Dave.... How did you enjoy your make-over? Well done Gok Bea :-)
ReplyDeleteVery funny!!! :) x
DeleteOh I just love this! It looks wonderful, well done.
ReplyDeleteM x
What a transformation.. once an ugly duckling, now a ladies dressing table..well worth all your work and effort, you must me chuffed !!
ReplyDeleteThea x
Your dressing table transformation looks beautiful! As does your whole bedroom, especially the curtain fabrics and wardrobe. I love that feeling when I spy something thrifty that I just know can be turned into a thing of beauty, to me anyway!
ReplyDeleteWendy x
Thanks for visiting Wendy and your kind words! :) x
DeleteYou've done a greg job, it looks very very fantabulous!!!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you about the furniture finding us bit, this post is freakish with its timing as just on Monday I took a big bag of stuff to the oppie (as I ruthlessly give things away so i don't have to unpack them)and there waiting for me was a gorgeous curved set of bedside drawers. Had to come home with me ( still haven't fessed up to hubby yet) and enjoying thinking whether to wallpaper or paint ombre or what to do. Your confused dresser looks gorgeous, the mirror alone is so so lovely and I love the wallpaper you have chosen. Cannot wait to see what else you have planned for this lovely space. mel x
ReplyDeleteOf course it had to come home with you, if hubby says anything I'll have a quiet word with him, let him know how important curved drawers are to us! :) x
DeleteYou've done an amazing job mrs!! I'm pretty sure I might have given up if I was in your shoes, I can picture me having a tantrum at the sanding stage, never mind getting to the pretty adding paper part!
ReplyDeleteI thinks it is actually female... look at those curves.. whit whoo!! ;) xx
I very nearly gave up but glad I didn't! :) x
DeleteIt's gorgeous!!! Really, really nice. The papered drawers are fab, they go well with the curves of the mirror. Ada you have such a skill for finding beauty in old pieces and giving them new life. xx
ReplyDeleteWhat a stunning dressing table - the shape is fabulous - and so is that mirror - I can see why you fell for it! Am so impressed with your transformation, too - the vintage wallpaper covered drawers are beautiful! I hope to convert a cupboard of ours one day - just need to find some time - and strength... Thanks for continuing to inspire us :) xxx
ReplyDeleteYou did a fabulous job the dressing table looks amazing. Love your wall paper choice so pretty against the white. I am a firm believer that things find us to ;-) Enjoy your new room it looks fabulous. dee xx
ReplyDeleteI have that moment when hubby has manhandled a piece of fabulous/manky furniture into the house, moaning all the way...then you both look at it, and for a split second you have a wobble! Then you get to work and you knew you were right! Fear not she looks great and her curves can shine again! Well done x
ReplyDeletedave is awesome!
ReplyDelete