Saturday 25 June 2011

I've Painted Me Happy



Seeing all the lovely nail polish on blogs is rubbing off on me - last night I sat here and did a nail every time I clicked on a new post. This is proving indestructible and has so far withstood shopping, coins, zips, moving furniture, fiddling with the digital camera, opening packs of jam tarts... what more could a girl ask for?  Electric Punk, maxiflex collection 2000. 

On Thursday evening I was watching a programme about Spitalfields and the 1970s rescue squad who started moving into derelict Georgian houses there - Dan Cruickshank et al. Suddenly I was overcome with the urge to start painting this sideboard:


I never saw the end of the programme, and have been applying coats of paint ever since. It was brown, and I've umm'd and ahh'd for 2 years about painting it, so it was hardly spur-of-the-moment. Wonder why Dan Cruickshank had that effect? I'm going to sand the feet to rough them up a bit, and the top is going to get the sticky-back-plastic treatment.

The kitchen is starting to come together now - I've worked out I'm going for the less is more look (the less decorating I do, the more it remains unfinished) and so only a handful of the vintage bits are going back into it. Blue and white mostly. Like this car boot find:






8 comments:

Jane and Lance Hattatt said...

Hello:
Your nails look most dramatic! Electric Punk certainly seems like an apt description. And, indestructible too, we shall not ask what you will do when [if ever!!] you tire of it.

Your painted cupboard has been transformed. It is a good idea we always think to distress things after painting in order to avoid an absolutely 'new' look.

Makeminemidcentury said...

Can't wait to see your kitchen!

You could paint your nails to match!

Trashsparkle said...

Jane and Lance - I "spoke" too soon; the polish is starting to chip. But as I have appallingly low standards I have just patched it up until it all has to come off. I've never been a finger-painted person; too much faff and upkeep but am finally becoming a convert.
The sideboard will be plenty distressed from normal day-to-day life; its being done with lots of thin coats of white emulsion so should shabby-up a treat all by itself;)

Kylie - yep, accessorising with the kitchen indeed! Photos soon - having a break from painting today because we have sore throats, even tho its just white emulsion. We finally have a baking hot day here so will decamp under the plastic-grass parasol!

Young at Heart said...

thank you for your thoughtful comment.....love a bit of decorating, I find getting rid of very cathartic.....I really did see Dan Cruickshank in his panama in Spitlefields!!

Trashsparkle said...

Ooooops - sorry! I meant MMMC; why on earth did I just call you Kylie? Can I blame the heat (and paint fumes?)

Trashsparkle said...

YaH - I can just imagine a panama would be DC's choice of hat. Haven't seen many celebs since moving up here - though we saw one of the Milibands running for a train last year. Trying to prove he was down with the people, I suppose.

Kim said...

Can't wait for more photos of the kitchen! Love the handles on that cupboard! I have a wall in my kitchen that was wallpapered and painted over (it's an old house and I know now why they painted the wallpaper and why I did also..I keep hearing plaster falling behind and now I see it is coming off..so I need to take of the wallpaper in that area and replaster the wall!Auughhh. I thought of you..may have to make a transatlantic call to you for guidance!

Trashsparkle said...

Ha ha - I misread the bit about your wallpaper as it had been VARNISHED over; must some extra-nice vintage pattern, I thought. Duh! Scary if the plaster is disintegrating and the wallpaper (and all those layers of paint) are all that is holding it all together. My advice - slap more paint on. Do NOT attempt to pull all the stuff off the wall. Unless you want to put everything into storage, go on holiday and pay someone to deal with it for you!
Kitchen photos soooon. x