Drip Designs Furniture

Miss Mustard...

2016-01-12T04:54:00.001-08:00

Mustard Chest (the afternoon light made it look quite peachy, cute too!)

I love mustard shades! I've written about it before but haven't painted with it for a while. Inspired by one of my students at the Albany Summer School last week (who refinished a rocking chair) I mixed up a mustard tone using English Yellow and a drop of Emperors Silk with a plan to paint a sweet little chest I bought last week.

The gorgeous Annie Sloan Chalk Paint palette...

I finished the dresser within the day. I decided to leave the drawers raw which I am really pleased with, it just breaks up the colour enough. Such sweet detail, its really pretty with a little colour on now :)

Happy New Year!

2016-01-05T05:43:00.000-08:00

I hadn't forgotten about my blog, life just got busy!

I literally looked at my stats today after months of hiding and see that there has been a constant, steady stream of visitors coming to see what I do...I do plenty, honestly (!)...just haven't been talking about it in many other places than via my INSTAGRAM account and my FACEBOOK business page! Look me up if you haven't already done so, I'd love to meet you - & thanks for being here :)

I got a new look design for my swing tags and business cards which I have had some great feedback about. I have been continuing with my custom furniture painting (not so much of the sourcing and buying over the last few months) but I can feel the urge rising in me again!

Pom-pom Garlands

Wooden Words

Stunning Giant Rulers

Hand-poured Soy Candles

I have also been pretty focused on the home-wares side of my little business. I did a few markets with some of my products; a pop-up shop with a gorgeous art collective, joined the local art trail, had a Christmas-shopping do here at home and they all sold really well. Phew! I will re-jig my blog with a little help in the coming weeks so that the are available to see here. I am also supplying the gorgeous LOFT boutique in Bridgetown, a stunning little store with all homemade stock.

Literally in the last few days I received the Annie Sloan/Real Homes Magazine 2016 calendar and see that my geometric sideboard is gracing the front! SO exciting as every single page has such stunning work on it. Then today, an email from the lovely ladies at House & Garden Australia saying that they have included my fabric wall as part of their 'Show & Tell' section this month! Thank you!

Faaaabric on your walls!

And finally...my lovely, noisy family and husbands' business continue to grow and need me more than ever to be Mum, wifey, farm-hand, cook, cleaner, laundry lady, host to visitors, gardener, rabbit keeper and dog rescuer! Its all fun, highs and lows all rolled in to one busy, creative & fun life. I hope you are well and happy as you read this today - return reader or new to drip designs! You are very welcome.

B x

Raising a little cash :)

2015-04-09T04:55:00.003-07:00

For the last couple of years I have been President of our little Playgroup and unless any more little people join our family, these will be my last few months! I wanted to do a little fundraiser on top of our show-bag & crafting efforts at the annual 'Shire on Show' here in Cranbrook, Western Australia.

I took a plain little white mini wardrobe and thought it would be really fun dressed up for a little girl and offered for sale in the form of a silent auction. That way, Mum (or Dad, Grannies etc) could offer me what they would like to pay for it and the highest bid, wins.

Some inspiration...

Unknown Source

Plus Lifestyles

My Painter in Residence wardrobe for Annie Sloan ;)

Blue Blood Living

So I painted her inside and out with Henrietta and a custom mix pale green, and made simple curtains with a stunning ikat print. I added some knobs as hooks and decoration and offered her up for auction!

I had six very generous offers, but the highest bidder and the winner was a lovely lady who only lives in the next town to us. She just happens to have a little bit of an obsession with Chalk Paint too, so we always have lots to talk about :)

Thanks to everyone who was involved, we made a great little profit to buy crafts and toys for our lovely little Playgroup
Bx

Farmhouse Platters - Seasonal Creative Worshops, Torbay, Western Australia

2015-04-06T00:55:00.002-07:00

I was lucky enough to be asked to run a workshop at the very first Seasonal Creative and long table lunch meet on Sunday 15 March - brainchild of Artists Meleah Farrell and Leanne Fry :)

30 lovely ladies attended different sessions throughout the day, including my Farmhouse Platter workshop where they were able to shape & decorate beautiful hunks of raw wood in Chalk Paint, decorative paint by Annie Sloan.

There were some really beautiful platters produced in a rainbow of colours, ALL so very original and different to anything I would paint - that's the magic of a creative day like this!

An amazing long table lunch was provided, as well as delicious morning and afternoon tea all awash with local produce - such a fantastic day had by all! If you are local to Western Australia, please take a look at the Seasonal Creative FB page (link above) & keep and an eye on future dates :)

Photos courtesy of Meleah Farrell Photography

Project catch ups :)

2015-02-22T06:09:00.003-08:00

Bit of a lack of blog-content of late, it has been such a busy time since Christmas with kids struggling to settle back into the school routine and Mum struggling to get back to masses of paint-work!

I have been chipping away at projects nice and steadily but somehow posting more info on them beyond my Facebook page & Instagram has proven too difficult! My final two Painter in Residence projects been launched too, so let's get posting and catch up!

This stunning little desk or hall stand was refinished in Provence by Annie Sloan

This beautiful oak buffet with stripped top and detailed carved doors had a line-up of four local buyers and ended up selling to my neighbour :) She is so elegant and understated in Old White by Annie Sloan.

Farmhouse buffet in Duck Egg Blue & Country Grey by Annie Sloan - featuring 25 bottle wine rack chook wire frontage :)

A speedy IKEA hack for a friend in Old White, Emperors Silk & Dark Wax by Annie Sloan

And so, better late than never, my final two Painter in Residence projects for Annie Sloan. Firstly my Drip Chest in Provence, Florence, Greek Blue, Olive & Antibes Green

And lastly, the before shot of my Striped Cupboard which I painted back to life....

I have used a palette of Coco, Antibes Green, Duck Egg and a custom mustard tone. The detail was created by using an artists brush and Greek Blue.

Here I am sporting my new, elegant eyewear, hmm.

Geometric red sideboard - my latest Painter in Residence piece!

2015-01-23T19:43:00.000-08:00

It seems like so long ago that I was transforming this dowdy old brown sideboard into this explosion of colour and pattern! I know I was well wrapped up for winter and this week here in Western Australia has been really HOT. Yuk.

It was the easiest pattern to make. After choosing my colour palette, I literally made spoldges of the Chalk Paint on the piece, then used masses of small square pieces of tape in random places to create this pretty effect once they were peeled off.

So the Chalk Paint colours I used were Burgundy, Provence, Arles, Coco & Emperors Silk. I really find that half the battle of a piece that is going to work, is getting the colour combo right in the early stages. See Annie's blog for her take on my latest piece; - http://anniesloanpaintandcolour.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/beau-fords-geometric-sideboard.html

Farmhouse Platters

2014-12-04T22:01:00.001-08:00

I had the idea few months ago to make some large wooden platters. Great hunks of wood, spread with delicious morsels of yummy food to share with friends or an exciting food prep' board :)

Homedit

Roar Events

A Daily Something

Teal & Lime

Francois et Moi

I fancied brightening up the wood like the two examples above, with Chalk Paint, decorative paint by Annie Sloan, lending itself so brilliantly to textured surfaces, I could easily slather it on! Using two generous coats plus wax, creates a stunning splash of colour, beautiful in contrast to the natural tones of the wood.

For those sending me questions regarding the safety of the paint with food items, I found this via ChalkPaint.com

"...Chalk Paint® is a non-toxic, water-based paint that is lead-free, EG-free, odour-free and has very low volatile organic compounds (VOCs). There is only one Chalk Paint® but it offers endless possibilities."

These boards have been selling really well at the Artist Collective in Albany, Western Australia that I have been part of for the last few weeks, running until the end of December 2014. Must be our summer on its way!

Annie Sloan Painters in Residence - Dump Desk!

2014-11-23T20:17:00.000-08:00

My third piece was given to me by a friend who found it at the dump, we originally thought that we would paint it up for her daughter, but then they found a ready-to-go pink desk so this one slowly rotted away at the back of our wood shed. Here she is in all her glory!

When we dug her out, my hubby gave her a new top.

My colour palette was in place before my design with this project. Pattern-wise, I love chevron but its been around for too long to simply copy, and too neat for me by all accounts. But using the well-loved pattern as inspiration, I wanted to find a more casual design.

Michael Miller

Etsy

JGBInteriors

I simply used a ruler as a rough guide to paint my lines. So with a new top and paint job...

Can you pick the Chalk Paint shades?

For Annie's write up on the desk, jump over to her lovely blog... thanks for reading :)

A Tiffany Blue offering...

2014-11-09T20:43:00.001-08:00

Tiffany & Co.

A friend offered me an old dresser that she had been using as a surface between single beds in her guest room, when she brought it over, it was actually more like a small buffet.

I had been obsessing over a Tiffany Blue shade that I had seen on Pinterest, made with quantities of Provence, Florence and Old White, from the Annie Sloan range of decorative paints.
Isn't it a beautiful colour?

Here is the link to the recipe and more pictures of the process from clever Jessica at Paint in my Hair Boutique

The little buffet was nothing special in terms of character or shape.....

But with a little paint ... the whole piece is transformed!
As I was painting, I realised it was such a perfect height for a baby change if you were looking for storage in a stunning shade to brighten up a nursery - hence the beautiful, fun little coral knobs to contrast with the aqua!

We are all viewing slightly different shades on our various devices I know, but you cant really go wrong with a pop of this aqua in your world!

Via Pinterest

Tiffany & Co.

Cloudfront

First 2 Painter in Residence pieces

2014-10-23T23:37:00.002-07:00

My first 2 Painter in Residence projects have been released via Annie Sloan's blog! I have had a great response to both pieces. Here are the before & after shots - as we all love those!

So this console was dated and too shiny for my liking! I used Provence, Greek Blue & Pure White to create the ombré effect and those shades again on top for the Moroccan tile-effect pattern. The piece was waxed for protection, an aged effect and a beautiful subtle finish.

For my children's wardrobe, I mixed a cute soft peach using Barcelona Orange & Pure White, then created a random spotty pattern using mainly a cork and pencil tip to print (then neatening up with a fine brush) in Pure White. The inside is painted in Provence which is a stunning contrast to the orange tones.

Thanks to everyone who has been so kind with the reveals, its full-on painting with so many people ready to comment and judge your style - its all been really lovely though!

2 down, 4 to go...watch this space :)

New header & last weeks pieces!

2014-10-16T05:24:00.003-07:00

So the school holidays have been and gone, hence my absence on the blog!. I'm always pottering away in the workshop/back deck with some form of paint project. Our school holidays are generally quite homebound with the farm, so lots of time to play around, but not much time to write!

A few weeks ago my friend and I had a rummage through one of her farm sheds and we found quite a few hall tables/cupboards, strangely none with tops. (Hence all the driftwood style inspiration!) I had a local customer looking for a hall table and she was keen on Coco, by Annie Sloan. Here it is with a coat of Pure White and Coco on top.

I went even more rustic with this recycled top, sanded it smooth and used dark wax to seal it. I love the natural curve on the front of this piece.

The same customer was also looking for a larger surface area in the form of a table. This piece below has been knocking around in the workshop for a while, sometimes, but not very often, I'm not completely un-decided on a colour for my furniture, so it just stays gathering dust, waiting its turn!

I felt the need to go very rustic with this piece, layers of Paris Grey, Old White, and Duck Egg, along with some sweat when distressing!

P.S. do you like my new blog header? Adorned with my Painter in Residence badge ;)

My interview via Annie Sloans's Blog, Paint & Colour

2014-09-22T19:56:00.001-07:00

I have been featured on Annie Sloan's Blog, Paint & Colour - a little about me, my style and why I love Chalk Paint so very much! This montage is a teaser for my Painter in Residence pieces...

My pieces, along with Janice and Alex's, will be posted over the next few weeks via Annie's Blog and Social Media pages. I hope that you are inspired some of the colour and techniques :)

Driftwood inspired desk/hall table

2014-09-17T01:30:00.001-07:00

I love driftwood! I liked the idea of using the beautiful weathered style wood to add interest to one of my painted pieces. Problem is, we live an hour from the coast BUT we do live on a farm which means lots of older sections of wood knocking around (if you know where to look!)

Shorely Chic

Decorfeed

I had a little old orange desk given to me that needed painting and a new top (I ALWAYS forget the before pic, sorry!). I fancied revisiting my love for Annie Sloan's Florence Chalk Paint, which is always popular, with just a touch of old white added. So I painted and waxed up the base, then gave it a spot-distressing with short, sharp scratches from the sandpaper.

Leslie Stocker - Colourways

Then I borrowed some battered old wood from one of the stashes on the farm and cut it into lengths as the top of the desk. I thought it was quite obvious to white-wash them, as lovely as that look is, so I thought a wash with Greek Blue would look great against the Florence.

Here are the results...

I love how it turned out. Whether a desk or hall table, its really different. The colours scream "summer is coming!" to me. This piece is for sale so please get in touch if you are interested :)

Painters in Residence scheme

2014-09-15T23:27:00.000-07:00

Hello there! Have I been missing in action??! No, but I have had a few quiet weeks on the blogging front after completing my Painters in Residence pieces with Annie Sloan.

The scheme started rolling out as of yesterday, follow this link to Annie's blog to read about this exciting initiative, starting with an interview with Janice Issitt from the UK.

Janice Issitt & Annie Sloan via Janice Issitt Lifestyle

Lots of exciting pieces ready for some beautiful paint in the next few weeks, see you sooner rather than later!

Are you following along on Facebook and Instagram?

Updating a lamp & shade with Chalk Paint™

2014-08-11T22:26:00.000-07:00

Firstly apologies for lack of brilliant photography and step-by-step images! I wasn't planning on posting this project, but it turned out really well, just what I was after...so here we go!

I found a lamp in a second-hand shop and I thought it might benefit from a little colour! The plain white shade was from target.

I have been loving orange and blue colour combinations, and had lose plans for a washed, blue effect on the shade. (That's the beauty of chalk paint, plans can be changed or painted over mid-project;))

Décor Pad

Darlings Doodle Design

Kat Kinson

I painted the base in Barcelona Orange and then by really wetting the shade, and slowly layering up the colours to let them bleed, I created a water-colour like effect with Aubusson Blue, Antibes Green and Old White.

I love how the shade changes colour depending on light in the house or whether the switch is on :)

Adding a modern twist to garden pots!

2014-08-07T01:27:00.000-07:00

Most of us have old garden pots knocking around, some of them you have looked at for years, they do their job so they stay where they are. Others are given to us or picked up for next to nothing. Sometimes a fresh splash of colour of quirky design is called for to refresh their image! Cue some sunshine, Chalk Paint™ and brushes...

Here are my before pots...

I have simply used Chalk Paint™ very sloppily (so don't fear if you don't think you're not particularly creative with a paintbrush!) Just have a rough idea of colours/style of pot you would like to create and go for it...

Such a fast and easy turn around, especially as the paint dries sooo fast in our beautiful winter sunshine.

Chalk Paint™, decorative paint by Annie Sloan in Coco, Provence, Greek Blue, Pure White & a custom berry red :)

DIY milky coffee plywood floors!

2014-07-31T23:28:00.002-07:00

We desperately needed a new floor outside our pokey toilet and in Poppy's little bedroom. The main flooring in our living area is Jarrah planking but not being from Australia originally, I just don't have the sentimental attachment to the deep red hues as some do!

I am much more a fan of a lighter, softer, oak-like shade. I had seen a few DIYers laying ply-plank floors and wondered whether this might be an option for us too? Fast, cheap, easy.....

Little Green Notebook

A fire pole in the dining room

Shabby Creek Cottage

So I pulled up the nasty lino which lay on the area and the old pink carpet that was in Poppy's room.

And took a visit to Bunnings to pick up some sheets of ply. Its a really good looking wood you know folks, very modern and clean and used in more places than you might imagine.

From this....

To these...hmm, tempted yet??

Lush Home

Houzz

Apartment Therapy

After buying the plywood, my builder to cut it into approximately 6 equal widths, to create a really chunky, wide-board effect.

Then he laid it down using a nail gun and glue to fix, a huge improvement immediately!

I knew my preferred white wash finish wasn't right for us in this high traffic area of our small home, with small people, so I went with a water based walnut stain all-over.
Knowing this would be too dark for the finished look, I let it dry and then mixed up 1/3 of paint to water using Coco Chalk Paint™ by Annie Sloan.

This gave me a lovely rich, milky-coffee-with-grey-tones kind of colour (!!) which sank into the dark wood beautifully.

I then sealed the floors with a water based sealant and left it to cure for 2 days.

I'm really pleased with how the floors have come up. For a little bit of sweat, cash and time, I think they look great and they suit their purpose in our home perfectly right now.

I have a little more work to do on skirting and walls, so I will post some pictures of the finished rooms in a few days :)

Love me some mustard!

2014-07-14T01:47:00.000-07:00

I love deep, rich, dirty yellow shades. Probably something to do with the fact that they lie firmly within the range of autumn hues that suit my own colouring. I think mustard is one of those tones that people seem to love or hate - you don't see it worn too often, but when you do, its generally done very stylishly and with a fantastic mix of coordinating shades!

Dorlydesigns.com

Plascontrends

Secret Look Society

Beingtazim

My neighbour and friend had these little old sad Queen Anne drawers which she had taken the beautiful mirror off already, she fancied a mustard shade to brighten up her lounge area. I cant emphasise enough how pieces of furniture like this that seem to have had their day (often covered in stickers from another life-time...) can be given a completely new and stylish second chance at life!

I mixed up a custom shade using Chalk Paint, decorative paint by Annie Sloan, blending English Yellow, Versailles and a drop of Primer Red.

Ginghambuffalo.com

She had the really clever idea to hang the mirror on the wall above the drawers, keeping them together with a really contemporary twist! Makes me think I might like something in this shade in my own home too....

Graphite chalk paint™, painted floors

2014-07-09T18:01:00.001-07:00

If you follow my Facebook page, and you will see that I painted our very small toilet floor in the gorgeous Graphite Chalk Paint, decorative paint by Annie Sloan.

Something had to be done with this silly room! We've only lived in our home nearing 5 years, but its almost as if the sheer ridiculous scale of this 'room' intimidated me in terms of decorating! I didn't know where to begin! I knew I didn't want to spend heaps of cash, as we still have three small children, so perfect new floors in the main loo in the house wasn't an option :(

Seeing as the tiles were rather offensive in the first place, I thought I'd have a go at painting them in graphite. Knowing that it would stick initially, I gave it 2 coats and then another 2 coats of a floor varnish, then 2 days to cure on top.

Whilst decking out this tiny room, I decided to paint the door in Greek blue (and give it a new porcelain handle) and paint the walls in Paris Grey.

Our next job is the floor outside of the loo (which has been a faux cherry wood lino, yuk). I will keep you posted on how the tiles are doing with all the family traffic. They are definitely a huge improvement and I'm loving the dark shade which draws your eye immediately :)

My time in Sydney meeting Annie Sloan!

2014-07-01T01:59:00.001-07:00

I have just got back into Mum/wife/painter mode again after my fantastic stay in Sydney!

I was invited over to the Australian launch of Chalk paint™, decorative paint by Annie Sloan.

The launch venue was a beautiful interiors and antique store in Leichhardt called Elements I love. Meeting Annie and her team was fantastic, I was able to have ample time to chat to them all individually and discuss various topics including my artists in residents projects.

Annie demonstrated some techniques with her chalk paint, she has an absolute wealth of knowledge around paint and colour, we were all able to have a play too, whilst meeting stockists, artists, painters, bloggers and press.

It was my first time visiting Sydney, my friend and I had a beautiful few days meeting the team, staying in beautiful accommodation and seeing the sites!.

I have come home feeling incredibly inspired and full of energy to complete more of my Painter in Resident pieces using Annie's' incredible paint and making her very proud!

Have you tried chalk paint yet?

Chippy white hall stand

2014-07-01T01:44:00.000-07:00

I started these little drawers as one of my Painter in Residence pieces, but after my recent trip to Sydney and time spent discussing my projects with the Annie Sloan team, I decided against it. These drawers are very much my style, but I now feel that I need to push myself more when creating my six masterpieces in the next few weeks!

Using the leftover green ikat fabric from the little Coco chest, the sides are a modern and quirky surprise!

The structure of the draws were very bad condition, so I made the decision to glue to the fronts of the drawers into place. Not really ideal in terms of storage, but only the owner would ever know and the top still acts as great, rustic surface area!

I stripped the top back to its raw state, and simply waxed it to a gentle shine, a gorgeous little piece in a cottage or beach home setting?

Funky blanket box!

2014-07-01T01:40:00.003-07:00

I forgot to take a 'before' shot of this little chest, but it was coffee coloured with a high shine varnish, desperately needing facelift! It wasn't antique, but I thought it had an interesting shape and lent itself nicely to the decorative Chalk paints, by Annie Sloan.

I painted two coats of Coco on the outer section, 2 washes of Aubusson Blue (half paint half water) inside the chest and decorated the inside of the lid with a beautiful pale green ikat fabric.

A fantastic small storage unit, perhaps for the end of the bed? This piece has sold :)

Aqua corner cupboard

2014-07-01T01:37:00.002-07:00

I'm pretty sure that this corner cupboard is oak. It was very mid brown and unattractive and need it either lightning, or painting in my opinion.

The carving was very sweet and appealing, I decided a custom mixed shade of aqua be the way to go.

I added some very sweet little red owl knobs, which contrasted beautifully. It found its way to an artist on the south coast very quickly after I listed it, she had been looking for a corner piece for a long time! Perfect :)

Mega exciting announcement for Drip Designs Furniture!

2014-06-05T05:17:00.005-07:00

I am so very exited that I have been asked to be involved in Annie Sloan's new scheme, Painters in Residence!

Picture via Decomag

Painters in Residence is a scheme to promote high quality and interesting use of paint in the home, through the use of collaboration with different artists and Annie Sloan products. I have been invited to work with Annie as one of the first three Painters in Residence working between June and August. This is a residence in the sense of time, not place – unlike a lot of Artist in Residence projects.

Dovetail Vintage

Painters in Residence is a project that is being run worldwide, this includes the UK, Australia, North America, South Africa and Poland.

Each photograph of our work will be watermarked with a Painters in Residence badge. The badge will also be given to us to use on our websites and online profiles – this shows that we have officially worked with Annie as a Painter in Residence.

I feel so very honoured that my work was spotted by someone, somewhere, sometime and thank that person wholeheartedly for this opportunity, they obviously have SWELL taste!! Wink.

Why not follow along with the Annie Sloan Facebook page.....

https://www.facebook.com/AnnieSloanHome?fref=ts

The other two artists that have been chosen at this time are -

Janice Issitt (UK) - https://www.facebook.com/JaniceIssittLifeStyle

Alex Russell Flint (France) - https://www.facebook.com/ArfAlexRussellFlint

Really amazing talent and incredibly humbling to be working alongside them.

Op shop find turned chalkboard

2014-05-24T21:08:00.003-07:00

I found this large, dated print in a second hand shop a few months ago which I knew would come in handy somewhere down the track. I have played with the idea of keep in the frame gold (LOVE a bit of gold!) but had a neater idea one night to cover the whole piece in Graphite....

This stuff is a beautiful, rich deep grey, more interesting than plain old blackboard paint. There are some great DIY chalkboards out there, a few of my favourites include...

Dear Lillie

Décor Pad

And here is mine...(complete with cranky angel ;)

Getting more into it..

I like how casual the piece has become with the graphite. Just got to find a wall to hang it now.