Luxe for Less

I haven't blogged for a while, due to that worst of all four-letter words: work. But, even though I'm now earning money, I'm on a budget because I'm saving for something. So, I still like to bag a bargain. A few weeks ago, I found this cute two-handled pot, which looks great on the top shelf in the boatshed:

It was at the op shop, and was the first thing I'd found there for ages. Unfortunately, I think the word is spreading that vintage is good, so the op shop is no longer the treasure trove it used to be. Anyway, something about this vase caught my eye. Maybe the shape or the colours:

Then, when I turned it over, I saw the name "John Campbell" and the year 1934. I realised it was much older than I had first thought, so I bought it for $8. When I got home, I googled John Campbell and found out that it is a Tasmanian pottery and the pots are reasonably valuable:

Then, last week, I saw this piece of furniture left on the street in Glebe. I grabbed it straight away, deciding it should look good painted white:

Then I went to one of my favourite stores, No Chintz and found the perfect handle for it:

So watch this space for the finished product - as soon as I get a chance to paint it. While I was there, I grabbed a bundle of remnants for $4. I love these fabrics and will make some patchwork cushions:

Street Furniture and More Amy Butler

When we were renovating a city apartment, we decided to adopt a policy of 'rough chic' which fitted in with our meagre budget. While walking around the local streets we managed to find a few items on the footpath which came in very handy after we painted them, such as this side table:

This shelf looked very rough in its natural state, but is quite sturdy and holds a lot:

This cabinet was originally an unattractive shade of bottle green:

With the addition of some home-made cushion covers in Amy Butler fabric, the apartment looks quite bright and modern:

Makeover Complete

Here is my little footstool, finally covered in Florence Broadhurst. It has changed considerably from the 'Before' shot I posted a few weeks ago. The reason it took so long - it's my first and last attempt at upholstering. In future, I'll save up and pay the experts. Pictured with it are two chairs and a table I found on the street. The chair on the left was fine to renovate - I just painted it, and stuck the cushion back on. The chair on the right, however, was a different story. That was a nightmare to take off the cover, strip off the layers of old fabric and wash the material, which I then put back on. They're all a little rough around the edges - I hope no one ever looks too closely at any of them. At least I get a warm fuzzy feeling that I saved all four pieces from a life of ugliness. Or maybe some would say they're uglier now that they were before. Who knows?