Painting wooden furniture in your home is easier than you think

Over time, the paint on your wooden furniture tends to fade, and you end up with a worn out and old look that is desperate for a touch-up. What’s great about solid wood furniture is that the structure keeps intact, and you can easily repaint these types of furniture. With the right tool you can make the furniture look brand new again, and it’s super easy to do it all by yourself if you just follow a few simple steps.

In order to freshen up your wooden home furniture you will need paint, paint primer, wood filler, a putty knife, sand paper, foam roller, a good brush, gloves, a face mask and sealant. 

Preparations

Make sure that you’re in a well-ventilated area when working with smelly paint. Place the piece of furniture on a plastic sheet to avoid unfortunate spillage. Start by cleaning the furniture and then fill scratched or uneven areas with wood filler. Wipe off the excess wood filler after applying it, let dry, and sandpaper until even once it has dried. This will give you a nice and smooth foundation for your furniture paint.

Applying paint primer

Using a paint primer is important in order to get the paint stick and keep better. By not using a primer you risk the paint peeling off, and that longed for long-lasting effect is long gone!
Use a paint brush to apply the primer to the edges and corners, and a roller for the main surface. There’s no need to worry too much  about an even application as you can use sand paper to clean off the excessive sawdust. 

Painting your wooden furniture

Your piece of furniture is now ready for the most fun step, which is to apply the paint. Just as with the primer, use a foam roller for surfaces that are flat and paint brushes for areas that are uneven or where the rollers cannot reach. Use the paint sparingly, and paint two thin coats rather than one thick in order to avoid the paint dripping and creating unwanted patterns.

Finishing off with sealant

If you want to obtain a look that is really shiny, consider using paint sealant. This is the final stage of your painting project, and it means that the furniture will be protected from wear and tear, as well as getting a glossy look. Just make sure that the sealant is completely dry before you move the piece of furniture to its right place to avoid unwanted marks or prints.

The growing trend of industrial style lighting

The industrial interior decoration style has been super hot the last few years, and it seems that the style is here to stay for a least a while longer.

What started out being a trendy way of getting the right atmosphere in cool steakhouses and restaurants now seem to have spread to people's personal spaces.

It has become extremely popular to decorate kitchens this way. Materials used are concrete, roughly cut wooden surfaces, metal such as steel, brass and copper, as well as glass.

But what really makes that industrial style pop is the choice of lighting. It really complements the cold materials of concrete and glass to opt for metal lamps, and one style of industrial lamp that is ideal for this interior choice is the naked light bulb in a metal cage.

 However, if you don't want to go quite that minimalistic there are of course other options.
This shy metal hare in a golden tint is a fun and quirky alternative that is still in line with the industrial style due to its materials.

 Or how about this very creative vintage phone that doubles up as a lamp with naked bulbs?
With a bit of imagination and finesse you can turn almost any home decor piece into a stylish lamp. 

 You may not know this, but a naked bulb doesn't have to be boring. With the trend of the industrial style being so big, you'll find that there are lots of styles to choose from when it comes to light bulbs. They come in different shapes and sizes, as well as with a choice of patterns inside.

 If a naked bulb is a bit overkill for you and you don't want to go over the top but still want to achieve an industrial style interior decor, you can always opt for lampshades of certain styles. Go for cold materials like metal - the options there are wider than you may think. Go for shiny or matte, copper or steel, grey or dusky colours... the choices are almost endless!

I, for one, love the naked light bulb in a metal cage, and I've found the ideal ones over at First Choice Lighting. The style of industrial lamps is a great one to experiment with, so mix and match according to what you like. The art of lighting might be more difficult than you think, but the most important thing to remember is to opt for multiple light sources rather than one bright light. This is in order to be able to achieve different kinds of atmospheres, depending on what mood you want to create at that particular instant.

The houseplant that tugs on your heart strings

Did you know that there is a houseplant that tugs on your heart strings?
According to thejoyofplants.co.uk, the houseplant of the month for September is hanging plants, and one of them is Ceropegia Woodii which also goes under the nickname of String of Hearts - very suitable thinking about the appearance of it.

The simple but beautiful heart shaped leaves are intertwined with each other, and each vine can grow really long - perfect for covering a bookcase or placing on a floating shelf on the wall where the plant can hang freely and drape your room in a stunning way.

The plant is one that I always used to see at my parents' house, and therefore it makes me think of my mum and her love for plants and home decoration. It's quite lovely when you think about it really... that this heart shaped plant makes me think of loved ones. It's like it brings family together, and it symbolises it with its hundreds of hearts tied together with string. 

I didn't just want to place this plant on its own in my window and just let it sit there... I wanted to let it symbolise the fact that love is the key to everything, as well as the feelings I have for near and dear ones. Since I'm living in a different country to my family it's important for me to have them around in other ways, and I collect photos, cards and other memorabilia that remind me of them. Therefore, I decided to style up this plant of the month in the loveliest way I could think of; tying together friends and family, and memories of love. 

Love is happy summer memories with friends, and being asked by a dear friend to be a bridesmaid at her wedding.

Love is cherishing your childhood friend's big wedding day, and seeing her genuinely happy face every day.

 Love is a beautiful handwritten letter from your soulmate.

 Love is sisters. The best friend and the closest person you will ever have in your life. The one you shared everything with whilst growing up, and the only one who knows all your secrets.

 Love is a piece of memorabilia that reminds you of a very special occasion.

Love is the announcement of a new family member, and a birthday card that has been carefully chosen based on your personality.

 Love is a good luck wish for a new job.

 Love is a wedding invitation, and a box full of happy memories.

Ceropegia Woodii, or String or Hearts, is native to the southern countries of Africa, but was actually named by a Swede when it was discovered. No one else than Carl Linnaeus to be precise. Back in school in Sweden we had to study his world of flowers when we were very young, and it's something I'll always remember.



Apart from reminding me of loved ones, what I really like about this hanging plant is its bizarre shape. I've never seen another plant quite like it. The colour and patterns of the leaves are quite mysterious looking, and the shape almost looks alien!
But the best thing about it is that it's a plant that is hard to kill - even for someone like me who have a tendency to forget to water plants for weeks!

I hope that you got inspired by my little DIY project, and that it tugged on your heart strings a little bit.
I would love to know how you tend to decorate with plants, and especially hanging plants, which just happens to be the houseplant of the month.

Unusual brunch at Ox Club in Leeds

A friend recently asked if I wanted to try Ox Club at Headrow House in Leeds for brunch, and after having browsed the menu online, it didn't take me long to take her up on her offer.

Despite being a bit on the pricy side, Ox Club is very well-known for their amazing steaks, and the brunch menu promised exciting combinations that I hadn't even heard of before. Therefore, I decided that it was definitely going to be worth every penny.

I opted for the smoked avocado and poached egg on sourdough bread, with something called za'atar, sumac oil, and oven roasted tomatoes.
I was even greedy enough to add a side of well-done streaky bacon, which worked as the cherry on top, and was the perfect finishing touch to this dish.

The restaurant itself was decorated in a very simple way, playing on the fact that it was a steakhouse grill. The napkins were like kitchen towels, the tables and chairs were of simple wood and metal, and there were bags of charcoal decorating the corners. Very hipster, like so many on trend places at the moment, but it does really work for this type of restaurant.

DIY hen party invitation for the bride

If you, like me, have been spending the last couple of months planning a hen party, and it's time to send a save the date invitation to the lucky bride-to-be, why not make her something special.
After all, it's a once in a lifetime event (hopefully) and it's something lovely to remember the day by.

Having browsed Pinterest for inspiration on DIY hen party invitation cards, I found a gorgeous one that looked like a corset, and decided to make my own version of it - wedding dress style.

 I started by folding a card into one that would open as a double, then cut out the sides to create the waist, as well as the top to create a heart shaped bust. Make sure the folds of the card are still intact at the hips and the ribs to make it work.

I then decorated it with with pressed patterned paper, mini pearls (with flat backs to make them stick to the paper), as well as a coloured ribbon as a waistband.

As for the back, I wanted it to resemble a corset, and therefore made 4 holes on each side in which I added a very thin piece of ribbon and criss crossed it, finishing with a simple bow.
Just don't forget to add your message inside the card before you close it up!

 The last step of the DIY hen party invitation was to add the skirt to really make it look like a wedding dress. I put a few stitches in a piece of tulle to make it scrunch up and fall the right way, and then simply glued it to the inside of the card.

As for the presentation, I decorated a small white box with a champagne coloured bow, and carefully laid the wedding dress card inside.

And that's it, folks. It was a bit tricky at points (threading the corset ribbon!) but the end result really makes it worth it.
Now I just can't wait to see the bride-to-be's face when she opens it!