Here’s the details on how to make a lovely Contemporary Planter as seen on Ireland AM. This would be a very good beginners DIY project as it involves a lot of measuring and cutting. Two things you will need to become good at, if you intend doing more DIY projects around the home.

Why make them? Wooden planters like this, can be expensive to buy and you can’t get them in many shapes and sizes. And you certainly can’t get them in a variety of colours. But when you make them yourself, you can make it any size you like, which is good if you are looking to fill a particular space and or use a particular pot/plant. Also, you can then finish it off to suit your home decor style, whether modern or rustic. You can use pallet wood, old scrap wood left over from another project or even old picket fencing, I will be doing this next !

Tools you will need for a planter that measures 27cm x 27cm x 32cm

4 lengths of 2 x 1 planed pine

Galvanised panel pins

Hammer

Woodglue

Hand saw or chop saw

Mitre Box ( if using a handsaw)

Measuring tape

Make Your Cuts

You can simply use these measurements or work out your own. I made one tall one and one small one.

The large planter is 47cm and 27cm wide and the smaller one is 27cm x 32cm high.

They are made entirely out of 2 x 1 planed pine boards costing 3 euro each

After you decide on the height you want, in this case 30cm (for the small one) you make four cuts at that length.

These four pieces of wood are the corners and the supports for the whole planter.

For the first two sides you will cut 12 lengths at 24cm

For the second two sizes you will cut 12 lengths at 27cm

I will explain why you have two different lengths later.  Now you have all your cuts lets construct the planter.

Building The Planter

Place two of the uprights on the ground on their side and start adding the 24cm cut lengths using wood glue.

TOP TIP Hammer in the panel pins to the slats FIRST, so they are halfway in. Then, when you add them to the uprights, you have very little more hammering to do.

Use a piece of trim as a spacer to ensure all the side pieces are evenly spaced and continue to the end. If you have some space left, but not enough for a length of wood, you can leave it, these will look like legs when its finished.

Make up a second side exactly the same.

Now you have the first two sides made you need to create a base. To do this you simply add a piece of trim or another length of 2 x1 to the inside part of the sides you just made up,… see photo below.

Do this on both sides. These strips of wood will hold the scrap wood you will use for the base. Remember you can place this base anywhere on the sides. If you only want to place a pot near the top of the planter and not fill the whole thing with soil, you will create a base near the top.

It’s now time to add the last of the slats you cut. These are the longer ones. When you have the two made up sides on the ground you can simply add the remaining slats to them to connect the two sides. Now you will see why you needed these slats 4cm longer. You are not just covering the 2 inch uprights, but also the half inch sides you just made up. See photo below

Add them exactly as before. wood glue and panel pins. If you want to add screws to secure you can, but i am assuming you dont have access to a drill as I am writing this for a real beginner with minimum tools.

To Finish The Top

Now you have all four sides connected and it looks like a planter, lets give the top a better finish. You can do this by cutting four more lengths of 2 x 1 , only this time you will mitre the corners to a 45 degree angle. You can do this with your mitre box or chop saw if you have one.

Then simply add them to the top of the planter for a really professional finish.

Before you can paint or stain you need to fill in any holes with wood filler and caulk any gaps. Then sand the whole planter. I used a course sandpaper and round off any sharp edges too.

If making this for exterior use you can buy TREATED wood , And you can buy it un planed which means it not a smooth but fine for outside.

To stain, use an exterior wood stain. I like the dark oak from Fleetwood Paints. 

To Paint for exterior use, you should prime first with a blocking primer like Bloxx it or Terminator. as those knots need sealing,.

And then use a flexible exterior paint like Superflex. All products by Fleetwood Paints and available nationwide.

I sprayed my two planters after priming them with Bloxx It.  I am using them for interior use and wanted a matt black. I bought a cheap spray paint in Mr Price for 3euro. Looks good though doesnt it.

You can line the interior or just add a pot like I did.

Hope you could follow along and you will be inspired to give this a go yourself. It will be great practice for your DIY skills and you will learn a lot. The second planter will be better than the first!  We get better as we learn.

There is a reel on instagram and details stories if you want to watch www.instagram.com/shabby.ie

LOVE AILEEN xx

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How to Customise An Ikea Pax Wardrobe and make it look built in.

From the time we moved house two years ago, this was on my list of TO DO’s. But so many other projects seem to take precedence, that I ended up living with this small pine wardrobe for two full years !! It was not really fit for purpose. Oh my god, even looking at the photos is embarrassing. But it will really show you the difference the ikea wardrobes made.

I  booked an online consultation with Ikea to help me design what I had in mind and buy it all in one go.

The online consultation took just 20 minutes . I gave her the size of the wall 300cm wide x 250cm high. Share shared her screen with me and showed me the options I had. I went for 4 x 75cm carcasses , 4 x clothes rails, two trouser racks, 4 x shelves for the top , drawers and slide out shelves for shoes. Oh and sensor lights. I made a mistake here and didnt take a screen shot of the design. So when all the packages arrived , I couldn’t actually remember what was supposed to go where !!!

So here is what I did to turn ordinary Ikea white wardrobes into stunning custom built wardrobe. ( well i think they are stunning) . You can of course just use this as a guide and do your version. If you ware following me on instagram , you will see all this highlighted and some reels and posts with more photos. FOLLOW @shabby.ie here

Step One. Assembly

I assembled all the carcasses with the help of my son,  screwed them to each other and to the wall behind using 2 x 1 boards that I screwed into the wall first.

Step Two. Inner pieces

I put in all the shelves and rails etc. so I would know what holes I was using and what ones I could fill in. All Ikea wardrobes come with 3 rows of holes ,that allows you move your shelves etc, to where you want them. They are a dead giveaway that the piece is Ikea. so they all had to be filled in .  All the shelves etc had to be taken out again before priming and painting. Below is a photo of most of it in place and you can see its  the typical Ikea wardrobe.

I wanted something a bit posher than that. How do you achieve that?  By simply hiding anything that makes it look Ikea.

Now see how I turned that wardrobe into

THIS WARDROBE

Step Three. Trimming in wood 

I bought lots of strips of wood in different sizes. You could use MDF for this and rip it down, but i found it easier and quicker just to use these strips. I also bought a 5in skirting board for the bottom. This acts like a base board and hides the typical ikea base.

After cutting the skirting to size and making an external angle to go round the side, I attached it with NO MORE NAILS and a nail gun from Lidl. With the skirting in place I could measure the height of the upright and attached them as well as all the cross sections            ( front of the shelves )

Then I bought coving for the top. Coving is light and easy to cut and attach, for one person on their own. And if it should fall ( which it wont of course lol ) it  wont hurt you or or anyone else , unlike a heavy skirting board !! Well that was my reasoning.

I do wish however i had bought the external angle. You can buy them separately and although I managed, it was a bit stressful lol lol .

I attached this to the top with the glue supplied and my nail gun.

Step Four. Preparing the surface for painting.

I filled all the holes with white polyfilla and then primed all the carcasses and all the drawer front and shelves with a strong adhesion primer. This is a must for Ikea furniture and the surface is known as a difficult surface and your water based paints simply will not stick to it, without the right primer. I used BLOX IT from Fleetwood Paints. I had it in grey , so i used that so i could see exactly where i had primed. The white would just disappear on me. I left this 24 hours to cure before rolling on the paint.

The paint I chose for this was Colour Perfect Advanced in Eggshell. The eggshell has the lowest sheen and I love it. The colour is called Shabby Hunter Green from the shabby paint collection for Fleetwood Paints. Available nationwide.

To apply both these products I use the flawless micro fibre 4 in roller. This kept the primer and paint so smooth , it looks like it was spray painted.

Step Five . The Finishing Touches. 

Now the full unit was painted a lovely shade of green, I wanted to protect it in areas that I knew would get the most wear.

•  The drawer fronts. These drawers are opened by putting your hand over the top of the drawer. I didn’t want to add handle to the front, so i added wood trim to the top and a silver ( sprayed gold) long handle that sits on top. This means we are never touching the actual laminate drawer but the wood trim, making it harder wearing.
• 
•  I used DC Fix transparent film over all the pull out shoe racks. Its self adhesive . This did not take away from the paint colour but protects the shelves from shoes dragging on it.
• 
  
• I sprayed the clothes rails gold and add the transparent film to it. Therefore allowing the gold to show through but protecting it from the hangers.
• Down the bottom under the last shelf /drawer there was a gap . So to hide that, I simply slotted in a piece of wood trim, painted it to match and hey presto , gap gone.

I then add the lights. These are sensor lights that some on with movement in front of them. And stood back and looked at my posh wardrobes with pride. I had a quote of 3.5K to make these fitted wardrobe. I did it for about 900e .

Over 3k of you watched this on stories on Instagram, such was the level of interest, This can be applied to billy bookcases or any storage unit from Ikea. You get the fabulous storage and organisation that Ikea is famous for, but you get to make it your own.

Thanks for reading . I hope I have inspired you to give it a go. Dont forget to follow along on INSTAGRAM for more Diys.

Aileen

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Here’s how I created a window feature in ONE day for under €20 as per my INSTAGRAM STORIES

As promised here is the blog and all the details you need to give this fabulous project a go.

So what started this ? Well I wanted to create a focal point at this end of the room. I had continued the wall colour ( Dunleer Mill by Fleetwood Paints ) around to the sides of the room and not just on the main chimney wall but the old teak window looked so dated.

Here’s what it looked like:

I went onto Pinterest and looked up ‘Framed Windows’….. very quickly I found this really helpful photo. Cannot give credit,as I couldnt find the original source of the photo.

I intended keeping the window sill ( window board) and it went out beyond the window by 4.5inches .  See the first photo. Therefore I knew a 4 x 1 was going to be perfect for the boards either side of the window. Then I needed a 2 x1 board and I knew I had some 3 x 1 scrap wood in the garage. So off I went to my local hardware and bought one length of 4 x1 and 2 x 1..total cost €17. These boards are planed pine.

I came home, measured and cut the wood into 7 lengths. Now let me try to explain what I put where.

Step One

I cut two lengths of 4 x 1 for either side of the window, These were cut to the exact length of the window. I then put them up on the wall using NO MORE NAILS adhesive.

Step Two

I then measured the full width across the top of the window including the side boards and cut one 2 x 1 and one 4 x 1 to that length.

The 2 x 1 was placed like a shelf over the window so it sticks out a little. I pre drilled a couple of holes either side so that when I was up the ladder , it was easy to then add a small screw . This secured it to the 4×1’s underneath. Of course I also used no more nails on the back of the board, that was against the wall. Over this I put another 4 x 1 flat against the wall.  See photo below

Step Three

Now all I had to do was finish off the top. To do that, I wanted a length of 2 x 1 and a length of 3×1. These were going to be a bit wider that the to others I cut, so again I measured and added an extra 2 inches.

NOTE>> these two boards were also going to be placed like a shelf and needed to be screwed to the flat 4 x 1 that was up there. So … pre-dill your holes and then when your are up the ladder its easy to secure them. The photo below shows the last 2 x 1 in place and just before I screwed on the 3 x 1.

Hope you guys are still with me ??!!??

After it was finished , I stepped back and looked at it. Then I thought it needed another 4 x 1 underneath the window sill. I had to actually screw this one to the wall as the no more nails wouldnt hold it on its own. And then lots of caulk to fill in between the sill and the board.

Step Four

The it was time to prime. You need to use a blocking primer on raw pine and teak( I was obviously painting the window too) . I used BLOXX IT  click here.    And an off white paint called Shabby Vintage Lace in colour perfect advanced satinwood. T0 say it turned out better than expected, is putting it mildly. I love it so much and it has sparked me into doing the same at the other end of the room, on the patio doors. You can follow my progress here  on INSTAGRAM STORIES 

Here is the final result Hope you like it and if you give it a go , tag @shabby.ie, so dont miss it.

Thanks for following along with all my projects. Check out my INSTAGRAM HIGHLIGHTS for many more 

Aileen

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Hi and welcome back to a new blog post all about staining. This is probably the most frequently asked question I get on social media,

“Why is my stain so blotchy and uneven” so here are some details and techniques you may not be aware of and I hope, after reading this you will Get The Perfect Stain Every Time. I am talking about water based wood stains in this post. It can also be applied to coloured varnishes.

First things first, know the wood you are staining. Hardwoods are easy enough and usually don’t cause any problems ,but soft wood like PINE is where most of you come unstuck. You will see preconditioner etc on the market and I have used them, as well as danish oil. But once I learned about GRAIN RAISE, I didn’t need any of that ! So lets go through a few things now . Then you can check out the video below.

• You must be working with raw wood to start with,  as the stain need to sink into the grain.

• If you are sanding back a pre painted or varnished piece of furniture , you will probably have used a medium or coarse sandpaper to remove the coats of paint. This will cause the grain on the wood to OPEN

• You MUST then go up the grades of paper finishing with a fine or superfine.  I had heard this over and over but never understood the reason why. No one actually explained why ? Then after a trip to a woodworker in the USA,  I learned about open grain and grain raise. This changed everything. My whole approach to staining and wood finishing changed, as I  understood what was happening.              When the grain is open the stain will absorb more ( be much darker like on the sides of rough wood) and when you put any water based product on raw wood you RAISE the grain. Which makes it feel rough. So even after you have sanded and sanded and thought, yes thats good, when you paint or stain, the wood will again feel rough. You want it smooth. So what do you do?

• First of all you ensure the wood feels smooth before you start. Yes, use you hand and run it over the wood.  I usually finish with this 500grit pad ( have a few to hand, as once you use them they will become an invaluable part of your projects ). The wood then goes from feeling rough to feeling quite smooth. You have started to close the grain you opened when sanding, When you are happy with the FEEL of the wood, you will know the stain will flow more evenly and absorb more evenly

• Applying the stain with a sponge brush like THIS will ensure a smooth application and you can rub the stain in and off, there is no need for a cloth to RUB OFF THE EXCESS. However if you are using a bristle brush you should have a cloth to hand for the excess.

• Apply one or two coats of stain until you get the desired colour

• When thoroughly dry you can apply varnish to seal

• This is when I FEEL the wood again. It may feel a little rough, so I then rub lightly over  the surface with THIS sanding pad again. This totally closes the grain and the wood will feel and good as it looks.

Hope this makes sense and if you have any questions pls give me a shout by DM on Instagram or comment under the video below.

Product LINKS:

Sanding Pad,

Sponge Brush for Applying Stain and Varnish. 

Here is my latest video on restyling a faded, tired looking picnic bench. In this video I stain the top of the table but I have also created a design under the stain by using paint and a stencil.  Did you know that you cannot completely cover paint with stain??? This is such a fun technique and can be used on everything from breadboards to tables and creating your own wall hangings.

The post Get The Perfect Stain Every Time appeared first on Shabby.ie.

Hi and welcome back to a new tutorial ,using a really effective technique to create a design under stain.

Recently I started to create a garden, from scratch, in our new home . We built a patio, pergola, firepit area and garden shed bar . You can see  this project highlighted on my Instagram Account.  Then I  looked at our picnic bench and thought…wow you need a makeover worse than me lol lol . You will see the BEFORE in the video below.

STEP 1

So the first thing I set about doing was taking it apart. I no longer wanted to be stepping over a bench to sit down and I wanted a little more comfort. I had bought four wicker chairs last year for only 50e and wanted to use them for this table in the summer. Yes of course they will rot if I leave them out all year, but the intention is for them to be out under the covered pergola ,for the summer months only.  There are links to products in this post but only the ones I stock. Other products are available nationwide.

STEP 2

After taking the benches off the table and putting the legs back on straight, so they didn’t stick out , I decided to prime and paint the under side. I primed the wood in the oil based bloxx it  and then painted it in the new outdoor paint from Fleetwood Paints call Superflex and is available in most Fleetwood stockists around the country ( Ireland) . You can get this paint tinted into any colour you want, so I chose one of my own colours. Shabby Vintage Lace, its an off white. 

You will see the application in the video, but basically I rolled on both the primer and the paint with the 4 inch microfibre rollers and I used this sanding pad in between coats to to give a lovely flat finish.

Before I could stain, I sanded the table top as there was paint etc on it from lots of other projects. It started to look better already . If you want to know more detail about staining you can see this blog post HERE.. How To Get The Perfect Stain Every Time. 

But here’s a quick few tips that are all covered in the video below.

• You must be working with raw wood
• If you are sanding back a pre painted or varnished piece of furniture , you will  have used a medium or coarse sandpaper to remove the coats of paint.
• You MUST then go up the grades of paper finishing with a fine or superfine to close the grain .
•  I usually finish with this 500grit pad ( have a few to hand, as once you use them they will become an invaluable part of your projects ). The wood then goes from feeling rough to feeling quite smooth. You have started to close the grain you opened when sanding, When you are happy with the FEEL of the wood, you will know the stain will flow more evenly and absorb more evenly
• Applying the stain with a sponge brush like THIS will ensure a smooth application and you can rub the stain in and off, there is no need for a cloth to RUB OFF THE EXCESS. However if you are using a bristle brush you should have a cloth to hand for the excess.
• When thoroughly dry you can apply varnish to seal, Then rub lightly over  the surface with THIS sanding pad again. This totally closes the grain and the wood will feel and good as it looks.

Then I grabbed this A5 Stencil ( one of the range of stencils we sell on www.shabby.ie)  and painted a stencil design onto the raw wood. When stencilling I always recommend using a repositionable spray. This will ensure you don’t get any bleed through. I used a stencil brush but you can also use a roller. Be sure to remove excess paint on some paper of kitchen roll before applying to the stencil.

When I had the pattern complete I was ready to stain.  The stain will NOT cover paint, so you will be able to see the stencil design through it. The stain I used was the exterior stain from Fleetwood Paints and I finished with yacht varnish, although you do not have to varnish over this stain. I only did so, because we use this table a lot for eating outside in the summer and all kinds of spills end up on it. Also It has rained a LOT since doing this table and the rain has just sat on top, not penetrating the wood at all. The colour of the stain was a mix of natural oak and a dark brown .

Now here is the video tutorial. Enjoy and tag @shabby.ie if  I have inspired you to give it a go.

Follow me in Instagram for a lot more projects and tutorials.

Aileen Hogan of Shabby.ie (@shabby.ie) • Instagram photos and videos

Aileen x

The post Picnic Bench Makeover appeared first on Shabby.ie.

by Aileen Hogan

in Association With Fleetwood Paints

Welcome back to the second blog and video ( see below)  on a Baby’s Cot. In the last blog I talked about how to paint a baby’s cot and what is the safest paint on the market to use.

Now we are going to assume that baby has grown out of the cot . Rather than pass on the cot to another, why not  turn it into a craft table. I did this some years ago, when my two kids had moved into single beds. I then moved the craft table into the playroom and they got YEARS out of it.

Two little Ikea chairs in front, some storage boxes underneath and some funky frames on the wall behind, to show off their art work and you have a craft station that will be the envy of all.

So lets talk through the stages of turning the cot into a craft table.

If you have not painted it before please see the first blog post on HOW to paint it, what primer to use and the safest paint to use.

If you have painted it and now want to give it more colour like I did, take it apart again and begin adding bright pops of colour.

I used the same paint range as last time The Advanced Range of Paint from Fleetwood Paints .  These paints are available nationwide. I got the colours mixed into the advanced satinwood again. It has a slight sheen making it easy to clean and is hard wearing… needed for kids lol .

And again I chose some colours from the new ‘Kids Collection’. You can pick up this brochure in any Fleetwood Stockist or order your free copy on the website www.fleetwood.ie

I lightly rubbed it down with a sanding pad before painting it again, but you don’t have to worry about creating a build up of paint. The paint is water based and it never looks like the oil based paints of years ago, that seem to sit high on top of each other.

When I had it painted I put the base back on. There are two heights on a cot base and this time I chose the HIGHEST one, which gives you space to put little chairs up against it and allows the children to sit at the table comfortably . I then went to my local DIY store and bought a light piece of MDF 4ft x 2ft and tacked it to the wooden cross bars of the base with panel pins. I then painted the MDF with two coats of Black Board Paint

I reattached one side of the cot which now acts as the back, leaving the other side off.

And that was pretty much it. Done and dusted.  Pop it in the play room and watch the kids get years of fun out of it. Here’s the full video. Hope you like it.

If you give it a go, please tag Fleetwood Paints and Shabby.ie in your photos on social media. We would really love to see them.

Thanks for reading guys.

See you next time.

Aileen

The post COT CRAFT TABLE… a tutorial appeared first on Shabby.ie.

How To Paint A Baby’s Cot . To celebrate the launch of the new KIDS COLLECTION from Fleetwood Paints this month, we decided to answer one of the most frequently asked questions, in both a video tutorial and blog post. Can you paint a baby’s cot ? ………..You will see links to the products that can be purchased on this website, as you go along. So here we go.

If you prefer, you can skip straight to the video by clicking here

Yes, you can paint a cot, or indeed any children’s furniture and/or toys, but you really should be using a paint that has the EU TOY SAFETY certification. The paint I use in the video ,has been given this certification, as have all the paints in the Advanced Range from Fleetwood including the Shabby Paint Collection

THE COT

Step One

Thoroughly clean the woodwork using a 50/50 mix of methylated spirits and water in an old shower spray bottle. Spray the mix straight onto the wood and wipe clean with a dry cloth. This mix does not wet the wood more than necessary and does not need rinsing. I took the cot apart , as i found it easier to prepare and paint in separate pieces .

Step Two

Give all the wood a scuff sand. That is scratching up the surface which is highly varnished. This will give your primer something to sink into. You will see how I sand on the video below

Step Three

Now that the wood is cleaned and sanded its time to PRIME

Before we talk about primer I want to explain WHY you prime. This wood has a shop finish on it. Highly varnished/lacquered and this finish repels water. Remember paints are water based !

So using a primer which has high adhesive qualities, means you have something that will STICK to this surface. The primer will also dull down the varnish, making it ready for your paint.

The primer I used on this cot is water based, so is easy to use and dries quickly. Its called PURE GRIP and is available nationwide.

I rolled on one full coat of this primer using the microfibre 4inch rollers. I find these rollers give you a smooth flawless finish.

And I want you to see the new roller tray ROLL RITE that was only launched in the last few months. This new shaped tray is very helpful for not getting too much paint on the roller and you can buy packs of plastic LINERS !! woohoo.. seriously love this. I cannot tell you how much easier this makes your clean up ! Check your local stockist for availability.

Step Four

The last step is to PAINT. I used the Advanced Satinwood in Zurich White. You can get this paint mixed into SOOOOO many colours. I chose a colour from the new Kids Collection Brochure which is available now in your local Fleetwood Stockist.

I gave the cot 2 coats of this paint. Mostly rolled on, but I also used a small cut in brush for the areas the roller couldn’t get to.

In the video I show you a tip on how to enhance carvings that might be on the your furniture.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the video. Please tag Shabby.ie and Fleetwood Paints in any photos you put on social media, so we can see them.

Watch out for our next video which will take this cot and turn it into a CRAFT TABLE that your children can use for years !

Aileen

The post How To Paint A Baby’s Cot appeared first on Shabby.ie.

by Aileen of Shabby.ie

Hello again and welcome to another blog post on my exploits in interior decorating .

If you follow me on IG and Facebook you will probably realise I am quite impulsive and not always great at planning ahead. You might call me a ‘winger’ but hey ho, it works for me lol ….!

I got so many messages and comments when I posted this panelling on IG stories , asking me for more detail ,that I decided to put this blog together. If I had prepared better I would have had more photos for you, but I have a few, so lets see how we get on. 

I started in the smallest bedroom and as I had never done anything like this before, I did a little research first. Anytime I think of a new project I browse Pinterest and start a board  saving the pins I like. On Pinterest you will see many different ways you can panel a wall. They all say it’s easy and I believed them ! This was the photo that inspired my project. Simple clean lines

Panelling is very ON TREND at the moment and the main way to do it seems to be buying large sheets of MDF or Plywood and getting it cut ( usually into 4inch strips) . I had no idea who would do that for me and knew instantly that would create such a problem, that it would end up stopping me from doing it at all. So I went down an easier root with very little cutting.

I decided to use 2 x 1 lengths of planed timber, available in any good timber merchants. My local store always has a ton of it in and they deliver. So that was the supply issue sorted.

Remember if you decide to use 2 x 1, get the planed version, as the other is rough wood.

Here is my step by step tutorial for how to create and install simple batten wall panelling.

 Measuring

There are many blogs telling you how to install the panelling, but a lot of them don’t go into detail on HOW to measure everything and thats the trickiest bit. So I am going to go into detail on that. If you want to skip this bit… scroll down to the paragraph on INSTALLING

 I’ve used my actual measurements, but you will use your own.

Get yourself some paper a pen and a measuring tape. And if you are terrible at figures, like me, grab someone else to do this part with you. I gave this bit to my hubby who is a maths man !

• Firstly, measure the full width of your wall to work out the length of your one top horizontal board.  Make a note of the measurement. Mine was 300cm. (If you are doing a horizontal board at the bottom you will need to include that measurement when buying the wood) I didn’t do a bottom board, I just let the vertical ones rest on the skirting. I did say an easy version right …

• Next, you need to decide how tall you want your vertical battens to be. You can make your   panelling any height you want, but I decided to go approximately 2/3 of the way up, to match where the grey paint changed to white

• Getting the spaces right >You can space the uprights to the size that you like. I spaced mine just over a foot ( 32.5 cm )and how I chose this space, was by standing a few uprights against the wall and looking at them. It can be hard to visialize otherwise. This would give me 8 spaces, for which I needed 9 uprights… are you still following me ?

Getting the space measurement right ! I got this wrong !

I wanted 8 spaces right…but I forgot to take into consideration the width of each board.

So here is what you SHOULD do .

My example

300cm was the width of the wall. Take away the width of all the boards which was 40.5 ( 9 x 4.5cm) which gives a total of 259.5. Divide THIS by 8 ( for your eight spaces)  gives you 32.43 for each space

INSTALLING

I bought  six 16ft long lengths of 2 x 1 ( they also come in 12ft lengths) as I could use one for the top board and I would get 2 out of every length for the uprights. I was only doing uprights. I didnt want to create a square panel like this… that would have been too busy for this small room. I wanted simple clean lines. I am thinking of doing this in another room though so watch out for that.

Add the top board first

I have a chop saw which makes cutting wood like this very easy. The first piece I cut was the top piece that would go the full width of the room. I measured it and cut it to size and then stuck it to the wall with  instant adhesive. Our walls are block and cement so it was easier to stick it first, then go in with a couple of screws to secure it, but if you have plasterboard you could use some panel pins ( much easier )

Then cut your uprights

I then cut all the uprights and I did them individually after measuring the exact place it was going. This is because I have learned over the years that walls and floors are rarely even  and of course this turned out to be true again. There was a full centimeter in the difference between one side and the other.

When I had all the uprights cut and standing against the wall, I attached the side two. One right and one left. From there I could mark the top board with all my measurements.

So basically

…………I  marked the top board 32.5 cm out from the first side upright.

…………then I marked the 4.5cm for the upright,

…………then I again went a further 32.5 cm,

………….then marked the 4.5 for the upright and so on until it looked a bit like this….excuse my very basic little drawing lol lol I used a level to ensure I put it up straight. In hindsight I should have cut ONE piece of wood 32.5cm wide, to use as a guide. I would recommend you do that. I filled in any gaps with white pre mixed filler and then primed the wood with BLOXX IT primer. The timber has knots in it and I wanted to ensure I sealed them in.

After priming I went ahead and painted the wall and the boards in the same paint that it had just been painted in .  TIP : Another mistake I made… don’t do like I did and decide to panel AFTER you got the whole room painted !!

The paint I used was Shabby Light Grey mixed into Prestige Washable Matt from Fleetwood Paints . The quality of the prestige range of paint is superb and both me and the painters I employed to paint the room initially,were very impressed with it. You can buy the prestige range in any good Fleetwood Stockist.

( Find your local stockist here)

I then added a moulding to the top board to create a little shape and put LED lights in behind it. As it is sitting on the 2 x 1  I had the space to do that.

So what do you think ? Would you give it a go ?Please tag me in any photos if you do have a go. I would love to see them.

I am thrilled with it and my son got quite a surprise when he came home from school .

I painted the pine headboard and pine bedside locker in the lovely Shabby Dark Grey from the shabby paint collection for Fleetwood Paints. I still have a small wardrobe to do and I want to MAKE a cool light for the locker ( one that will hang from the panelling) and hang some photos.

You can follow my progress on both Instagram and Facebook. But I am well on the way to creating a nice room for my teenager son. He certainly approves so far.

Thanks for reading guys If you enjoyed it please check out some of my other blogs by clicking here

Aileen

The post Easy Wall Panelling appeared first on Shabby.ie.

Removing WAX and preparing wood for Staining can be a nightmare and can put some of you off even starting a project. But it is not that bad when you know how.

This is an instructional step by step video tutorial on how to remove wax from furniture.  You MUST remove the wax to ensure your paint or stain fully adheres. Candle wax is used as a resist in paint layering and furniture wax will do the same and stop you getting a strong durable lasting finish.

You will be taken through the stages of how this old chest of drawers was transformed using both paint and stains and latex rubber mouldings.

And see how it turned into this

HERE IS THE VIDEO

www.nookhome.iehttp://www.generalfinishes.com

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As promised here is the blog post and full VIDEO on How To Paint PVC Windows and Doors. I have broken it down into easy steps and all the products I used are listed and linked below and to see the full video just scroll to the bottom of this blog post.

Before I begin telling you what I did, let assure you that PVC can indeed be painted and YES it does last. This was the most popular question asked when i started doing this project over on instagram stories a couple of weeks ago.

( click here to follow Shabby.ie on Instagram) 

Step 1 …. CLEAN

For this used washing up liquid and water on the back door ( it was filty) and a mix of methylated spirits ( denatured alcohol is another name for it) and water 50/50 mix in an old shower bottle. I just sprayed it all over the window frame and wiped with a sponge. Then i dried it off with some kitchen roll.

Step 2….. SCUFF SCAND

As you will see in the video below i lightly scratched up the surface to help the primer stick. Use a medium grade sandpaper for this.

Step 3…. MASK OFF ALL THE WINDOWS

For this I used washi tape and here is the link to that product

Step 4 …. PRIME

This is the important bit. You must use the RIGHT products on PVC or you are not going to get the adhesion you need. The primer I used is HERE.. its Bloxx it from Fleetwood Paints

Its known as the primer for difficult surfaces like laminate , PVC and for its blocking qualities. So if you have a water mark on your ceiling or walls, or a painting raw pine with knots that will bleed through water based paints, then this is the primer you need

I applied the primer with a flawless microfibre roller on the door and a 20mm cut in brush on the window. Both of these should be in your kit as they are essential for applying the primer and keeping it FLAT> this primer is oil based and not as easy to use as a water based version but it has the best adhesion you can get !

Step 5… PAINT

The paint I used is the ADVANCED SATINWOOD from Fleetwood Paints and the colour is Shabby Lucky Duck . This is one of the colours from my own range for Fleetwood and if you would like to check out the colours click here

I rolled on two coats of paint  with another micro fibre roller ,but this time i used a better quality cut in brush. It is the same size 20mm but its a softer bristle and helps the paint glide on, as you will see in the video below. Here is the link to that brush

As always i line my trays with tin foil so i dont have to wash them out afterwards. I am all for time saving tips ! And i also wrap my brushes and rollers in tin foil when i am keeping them for the next day. You will see this in the video too.

Now its up to you. Here is a link to the PAINT YOU PVC DOORS KIT giving you all the products you need.

A huge thank you to all of you that have already sent me photos of your Teak and PVC doors. I am delighted to see that i can be of any help at all. Keep them coming . You can do it yourself. I hope this blog and video will give you the confidence.

Follow me on www.instagram.com/shabby.ie for my weekly stories. ( lots coming up these next few months)

If you are on Facebook, you can catch my LIVES every Friday at 1pm www.facebook.com/shabby.ie

And all videos are uploaded to the Shabby.ie Youtube channel. When you subscribe to our you tube channel you get a notification when i upload a new video.

The post How To Paint PVC Windows and Doors appeared first on Shabby.ie.

As the weather gets better and we start working on our gardens, its also time to look at the external doors of our homes and check it they need a revamp. I restyled this door for a friends birthday and did this blog and video, How To Paint Your Teak Front Door, so you might feel confident giving it a go.

Teak is the usual hardwood used for our front doors and a lot of them are stained. As you will see from the video below, this door was very weathered and in need of some TLC.

To start with, I sanded the wood back with my palm sander , to even it all out. ( see video below). I cleaned it with a 50/50 mix of Methylated spirit and water in an old shower bottle and a sponge. Wiping dry with some kitchen roll.

Then I rolled on a primer that will seal in any nasties and the primer I would recommend for this job is BLOXX -IT

Its much easier to roll on this oil based primer rather than use a brush, but i did use a small cut in brush to cut in. Here are two brushes you could you for that.  So I would recommend buying a mini roller set and using the microfibre one for this primer. This keeps the primer flat which is important , as you don’t want to have brush marks coming through your paint. Also do a full two coats . You want full coverage on this, as you need to block any bleed through. You should get this primer tinted to a dark colour if you are painting the door in a darker colour ! !

Using a superfine sanding pad in between coats of paint and primer also helps give a super finish. Use washi tape to tape off the windows so you don’t spend AGES carefully cutting in, or worse still , having to take paint off the glass later.

The paint I would recommend for this job is the Advanced Satinwood from Fleetwood Paints. Its a 25% sheen lowering to a 22% sheen as it cures. Its hard wearing, easy to use and gives you a sprayed like finish.

So have a look at the video here and if you have any questions you can message me on Instagram or Facebook .

ENJOY Aileen

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Today I want to show you how I turned an old chest of drawers ( that was really heading for the bombfire ) into A Chest Of Drawer Herb Garden. I wanted  something none permanent ,as we are moving in the next few months. And this proved ideal.

First of all let talk paint. I had already painted this in Fleetwood Advanced Eggshell. Thats a low sheen self sealing paint that i usually use on Furniture. The colour is Shabby Teal ( yes of course its one of my own collection , after all thats what i have plenty of ! ) and I had added wallpaper to the front.

To wallpaper furniture you cut it to size and soak in  water for about 10 mins until it softens and is easier to use. Cover the drawer front in cheap PVA/white craft glue . Let the paper drip for a few mins over a towel to get rid of the excess water and then lay is down ( wet) onto the glue and walk away. Let both the glue and the wallpaper dry at the same time. If you need to add more glue to the edges the next day that is easy enough to do. Varnish over it in clear water based varnish. I gave mine 3 coats

For the herb garden did the following steps

1. I stapled thick plastic refuse sacks to the inside of every drawer to line them

2. I added tree clippings for drainage

3. I added the soil

4. I planted my plants

No seedlings for me thanks, I wanted and immediate garden, so i had visited the garden center the day before to buy the plants i needed.

Now a big word of warning !! The drawers are now full of soil and plants and as they are all open, the whole unit becomes FRONT HEAVY. You must either brace the unit to the wall or fence or add heavy cement blocks to the back of the bottom drawer like i did. That balanced it out. I also have to support the bottom drawer with an old can to lift it up off the ground.

Here are some photos of the process

Here you can see the clippings for drainage, the stones to balance the furniture so it doesnt fall forward and the planting. When putting the drawers back in go from top to bottom ( not like i did oops )

Please let me know if you have any more questions by messaging me on Facebook or Instagram links below and I will adjust the blog to ensure i answer them.

www.facebook.com/shabby.ie

www.instagram.com/shabby.ie

Hope you enjoyed that

Aileen

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