A New Direction and some Cute.

You may have noticed my blog has been taken over my mood boards. Apologies!

I have been busy starting up my new e-decorating business and website, and preparing mood boards for it, and they have somehow landed up here. My new Mid-Century Love Website has it's own decorating blog,  on which I will post mood-boards, furniture finds etc, and this blog will continue to be about my loves and likes and life.

If you want to check out my new website - please head over to Mid-Century Love.com.

In the meantime, here is some mid-century cuteness -

Scottie dog on a pink mid-century chair

black cat on an Eames Lounge Chair

Deb xx

Two Dogs & a Deck Makeover

We have two dogs.  Chino is a two year old American-cross- English Staffy and Diva is an almost five month old border collie.  They get a morning and afternoon walk, have each other for company when I am at work for 6 hours a day, and have more chew toys than I have shoes. Almost.

Chino and Diva

Yet, in the last week they have taken to chewing things.  Like my back doormat. And a cushion of the couch on the deck.  Coming home after only two hours away, shopping, I found the cushion in about a thousand pieces, so I decided right there and then than their time of freedom on the deck was over.  Their couch, the one with the missing cushion, would move down stairs, and the deck would become ours again.  Nothing like a makeover day for the first day of Spring!

Here is the deck as it was.

The couch and one chair went downstairs, and the other I repainted.

Painting cane, what fun!

I also painted the four chairs and moved the bench seat behind the table down to the pool area, and brought up two chairs that I recently painted. I decided a little storage was needed, so I moved up the chest of drawers I had just finished painting.  I didn't have time to repaint the whole table, so I just dragged on a bit of white here and there, especially over the bits the puppy had chewed.  I really need some aqua place-mats now!

The late afternoon sun make everything look blindingly white, but it is actually all distressed looking!  Next to the comfy chair seemed a great spot for the new pots with lemon tree, chillies and basil - a father's day present for tomorrow from the kids and I. The yellow and aqua fabric on the chair is the original 70s cover.  The side 'table' is a tray made by my eldest son for fathers day 2007, painted white, on top of a vintage suit case.

 

On the drawers are a timber candelabra that was a wedding present many years ago, a sweet little English vase and a bird egg cup that  use as a candle holder.  Now to do something about that rusty giant fan.....any ideas?

Deb xxx

Painting things white & Dutch white lead

I am going to try and do more 'how to's' and post more photos, as well as the odd vintage add or article from my vintage magazine collection of course.  Here are two ads I thought relevant, given my new love of white paint:

1942

and 1932'

Just remember - if you have these paints in the shed still - DON"T use them!  I can remember dad painting the house and using pink lead undercoat.  Those were the days!

And here is the chair after a three coats of paint -  one base/sealer coat and two coats of vivid white (it's what I found in the shed, although gesso works well as a base coat, you can buy it from craft shops, and milk paint gives a lovely effect, if you are buying from scratch or want to  make your own).

Tomorrow I will sand it a little and add some grey distressing to make it more rustic, and give it a clear protective coat, before I recover the seat.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

Deb xxx