Second hand shop finds and reupholstery

I love a good browse round a second hand shop. Looking for gems among the tat, and the more you have to hunt, the more exciting it is when you find something good. The little second hand furniture shop around the corner from my house is perfect for that. They have quite a lot of big pieces, and its often piled high on top of each other, but every so often you find a little something special - even if it needs a bit of tender loving care. 

My most recent pick ups were this cute little vintage icing set, in its original box and with all the original bits and bobs inside. 

I also spotted this really funky retro biscuit barrel, yet to be filled with biscuits and the inside needs a bit of attention before its safe for food stuffs. Its now looking pretty on my kitchen window sill. 

If you've browsed my blog before you'll know I have a love of reupholstering and revamping old scraggy bits of furniture. My latest project was this bedside cabinet that I decoupaged with old stamps form my childhood collection. Read about it here

So when I spotted this cute but very old and tatty stool I could't resist the urge to spruce it up a little. 

It folds down into a compact little thing...just the right size to fit it into a little old suitcase and take it on your travels. 

 It also has this lovely Made in Yugoslavia stamp on it which I love. 

I used a natural wax and some fine wire wool to clean it up then replaced the old, worn out fabric on the top with this stripped remnant I had in my stash. 

 I didn't want to put anything too modern on it even though I love bright patterns but I thought the muted colour palate of the stripes when well with it. 

 As my little house is just about bursting at the seams with reupholstered furniture I'm using this little stool to rest my alarm clock on as I don't have space for a proper bedside cabinet - which is great as I get to see it every day! 

Business update: My new website is getting ready for the world wide web as I type so I'm really excited about blogging on there in the very near future! Once I have my bricks and mortar premises up and running I plan to run upholstery workshops so you can learn the skills to spruce up your junk shop finds!