Today I’m revealing the new lease on life given to my sideboard, otherwise known as the most useful piece of furniture I own!
This sideboard (or buffet, whatever you prefer to call it!) and its nine drawers hold so much useful small stuff which would otherwise be lost or messy around the house. But I’d fallen out of love with its off white colour, which had become less off white and more warm cream over the years! I’ll admit I’d been looking to replace it with something new but absolutely nothing fit the spot in our hallway as perfectly or indeed had as many drawers.
So when Jemma Wlasichuk from shed eleven, who specialise in upcycling furniture with paint and are just down the road on Sydney’s Upper North Shore, asked if I had anything that needed a makeover, it was a lightbulb moment! And just look how pretty she turned out! I’m thrilled!
Jemma and I went back on forth on what colour we should go for and I’m quite familiar with the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint colours they use. Duck Egg Blue (which is actually a green if you ask me but that’s a matter of opinion!) has always been a favourite of mine. There’s something very English about it and it’s just such a soft, subtle, beautiful colour. It’s more interesting and unique than grey and a tad warmer too. I have a lot of pink and green here already so it works perfectly. I went for a satin finish wax as I felt this was most in keeping with my home.
Most of you probably thought I’d choose my old favourite navy and I’ll admit it did cross my mind. But because we already have navy cabinetry in the living room TV unit, I was worried about the blues clashing and it’s also a pretty dark part of the house being a hallway, so I wanted something lighter.
What was always going to get a run though was my favourite brass! I headed straight to Kethy, where my kitchen and laundry hardware is from, to find the perfect new handles and oh my goodness, they’re divine! The previous handles were really rattly and didn’t feel nice, or substantial, to use. These new ones are solid, and also beautiful!
When the painted buffet was delivered back to me I was super excited, but once I added these new handles it all came together like a dream! Never hesitate to swap out handles on a piece of furniture because most use a universal sized screw and it’s super easy.
shed eleven, which Jemma runs alongside sister-in-law Fanny Clarsen, run workshops to teach you how to upcycle pieces yourself. They also sell a variety of products from their vintage caravan, including chalk paint, decoupage papers, brushes, stencils, waxes and lacquers.
Much as I’d love to have a go myself, I don’t really have the time, patience or undercover space to, and with two young boys running around, I feel it would be a recipe for disaster. Maybe when they’re older! If you, like me, would like shed eleven to do the work for you, prices start from $550 for a sideboard. Bedsides are approximately $225 each and chairs $160 each.
Clearly this is much cheaper than buying something new, especially something so unique, not to mention the environmental benefits and being able to keep high quality furniture in circulation for much longer. I am absolutely thrilled with this project. It enabled me to keep the perfect piece of furniture size and function wise, and give it an updated, much more interesting look, exactly to my requirements, for a fraction of the price of buying new. What’s not to love?!
For more information on shed eleven.
Handles: Kethy Australia L861 in brushed gold. Stockists here.
Disclosure: shed eleven did not charge me for painting the sideboard but I can’t recommend them highly enough regardless and this is an honest review. I paid for the piece to be delivered from my home to shed eleven and back again.
