DIY drawers

On the way to the pub last Saturday, we saw this darling little chest of drawers abandoned on the pavement outside our flat. I fall a bit in love with anything abandoned, but the lovely embossed metal handles on this chest especially appealed to me. We decided that if it was still there on the way back, we'd pick it up. Lo, it was, and after a strong cider it seemed a great idea to hike it up the stairs and try to pack it into our already-crowded little flat.

Since I was ill all weekend - I get strangely pro-active when cooped up in the house - I gave it a lovely little makeover, inspired by all the wonderful before-and-after projects on design*sponge. Behold:






(What's that sitting on top of it? Oh, just my prints that are available on etsy right now! ;)

What did I do? Just sanded off all the old varnish, painted it white all over, covered the top, sides and drawers with some lovely paper from Paperchase, and gave it a spray of matte varnish to finish. Super easy, cost under a tenner, and it looks so delightful. Now to find some space for it to live..

Post script: As I was clearing it out, I found two nice surprises inside: i) the original manufacturer's sticker saying it was made in 1960 (practically an antique! perhaps i shouldn't have butchered it), and ii) a fat envelope stuffed full of postcards, photos and drawings. I wonder who would throw out a cabinet with those things inside..?

Paperchase interiors

I never realised Paperchase did interiors until bowie posted some photos. I popped in today and fell in love with just about everything:







Delightful vintage-inspired pieces, but with rather hefty price tags. I feel sure I can recreate some of the pieces myself.. when we have a flat bigger than the average cupboard to display them in, anyway.

Following our trip to the China Design Now exhibition at the V&A, we went into Liberty as they have a tie-in display of all things Chinese. Here's a wall installation of toys made in chinese factories, interspersed with photos of the women who make them.



postscript: can someone buy me everything in Liberty please?