I am currently in the midst of redesigning my website! I am quite enjoying it but I am fearful of some technical hitches coming my way soon!
I will let you know when it's set to go live when I have a better idea myself, but for now I thought I would share some 'Before + After' collages that I have put together to tell the stories of my furniture. Here they are:
'Grace' redesigned vintage telephone seat
'Mick' redesigned 1970s cocktail cabinet
'Twiggy' redesigned 1960s dressing table
'Marianne' redesigned 1960s dressing table
'George' upcycled free-standing display shelf!
'Marilyn' redesigned original 1950s dressing table
I went foraging for forgotten furniture recently and found a van load of treasure!
With a little tickle of my paint brush and some tender love and care, these pieces have some serious potential to be wonderful once again!
First up, a 1950's 'Beautility' Sideboard found with lots of vintage treasures inside!
Second, we have a ShragerWalnut Veneered Wardrobe and matching Dressing Table!
beautiful hardware
little glass faced, flip-up drawers with pretty flower handles!
Shrager furniture tag
It's needing alot of TLC, but I love this dressing table!
Any one who knew me when I was at art school, will know I have a thing for art-deco, walnut wardrobes!! I can't wait to rescue these pieces and bring them up to date :)
Next up, we have two very unusual Bedside Cabinets which will be tied together using colour and matching handles!
I also got my mitts on this 1950s Gateleg Table:
And this 1950s Coffee Table! Retro or what?!
And last but not least, a stunning 1960s Dressing Table (that's in very good condition!) which made it's way to me via Christine at Ivy Rose Vintage!
I love this piece!
Oh I am finding it difficult to choose which one to start on first!! I dare say that all this will keep me busy for a while!
If you spot anything that you would like me to tailor to suit your style and decor, I'd love to be of assistance! Any enquiries can be sent to hello@ziggysawdust.co.uk
From this post's title, you may be getting a Bowie + Queen vibe and may well have the 'do do do dodo do do' beat of 'Under Pressure' running through your heads....
but it's actually another collaboration of epic proportions that I am referencing!
Ziggy Sawdust + pop up tea room, Queen of Tarts!
With beautiful food served in a secret pop-up parlour, Queen of Tarts takes afternoon tea to the next level! You get to devour up to 10 mini courses and everything is fresh and homemade by Angela (a.k.a Queenie) who is also my lovely cousin!
I know it might sound biased, but hand on heart, it's the best lunch I have ever had... Stick around for photos later in this post!!
A while back, Angela asked me if I would like to take on a little project of hers. She had a lovely flip-top cabinet which was bought with the intention of becoming Queen of Tarts' cutlery cabinet....
but the inside was fitted with felt covered compartments which didn't fit any of her cutlery...
so it wasn't very practical!
Angela was also keen to bring out it's quirky character and go bold with colour, which was right up my street!
I started by pulling out all the felt covered wooden sections from inside (which was quite a task!) and then sanded her down and primed her so she was ready for action...
Angela chose her colours based on my previously redesigned nest of tables, 'The Supremes', so we were going for grey, pink, turquoise and yellow.
But when I test ran the three colours together, I felt as though there was something missing and Angela agreed...
So we decided to paint the cabinet's 'curly' legs a lovely navy to match the interior:
excuse the mess!!
So while all this was drying, Angela invited me to Queen of Tarts as a thank-you... and I was quite frankly blown away by the whole experience!!
My friend Karen + I went along last Saturday with empty bellies and elasticated waist bands (true story!) and we were warmly welcomed into Angela's very own tea room...
We sat at a lovely table that was set with beautiful vintage crockery and I met the cutlery that I have been building a new home for!
We were served everything from Rhubarb Fizz and homemade Saffron Biscuits...
to homemade Wild Rice + Onion Rolls filled with Beetroot, Feta, Cucumber and Rocket...
And homemade Tomato and Watercress Pesto Quiche!
But not to forget the cakes! Oh the cakes! Angela made Chocolate Roulade, Chocolate florentines, Gooseberry Buns and even her own Marshmallows!
Needless to say they didn't last long, and all this was just for a table of 4!!
Karen + I had a wonderful afternoon. Thanks so much for having us Angela, you truly are the Queen of Tarts ♥
Wow, the thought of all that food is making me salivate! But back to Queenie's Ziggy-fied table...
So here she is in all her new found glory!
And in true Ziggy Sawdust style, this little wonder has been named after a star... Angela is also a jazz singer and idolises Peggy Lee, so we have named this piece 'Peggy Leggy' after Peggy Lee and to also make reference to the cabinet's curly legs!
Angela is delighted with 'Peggy' and will be sending me some photos of her in situ! I can't wait to see them :)
So after a rather lengthy blog post, I'd like to leave you with a little ditty from Angela's hero, the original Peggy!
P.S If you would like to book yourself onto the next Queen of Tarts, click here for updates and more info or email thequeensedinburgh@gmail.com!
excuse the reflection of my needing-to-be-painted ceiling!
I posted the 'before' photos of 'Marilyn' way back in June and I hope you weren't thinking that I had forgotten about her! She has been lovingly redesigned and was all dolled-up in time for The Fruitmarket Gallery's DesignMarket.
To refresh your memory, here's how she looked before:
She is an original G Plan piece and vintage G Plan pieces are highly sought after in their original state... but this one was looking a bit tired and I knew a little TLC would make her even more appealing!
The dressing table was covered in shiny, yellowing varnish which didn't do much for her... so I stripped her back completely, colour blocked her frame and left her drawer faces as exposed, waxed wood for a contemporary feel.
Here's a snap of drawers before + after to highlight the makeover!
from old + shiny to new + matte!
Using rose pink for the outer casing, chic grey for the dipped-level table top + legs, along with sky blue drawer interiors + navy drawer handles, I have used colour to highlight the structure of this delightful piece of retro furniture! The structural design on this piece is very unusual. It's the epitome of Mid-Century Modern furniture!
I removed the broken light fittings from the sides of the mirror, painted the mirror's wooden casing + re-attached it... The mirror can be angled + adjusted to give you an almost full-length view of yourself!
I actually discovered that the mirror can be removed completely + the sloping back-board which sits underneath it at the back of the table top, can also be removed to leave you with a rather stylish chest of drawers! How versatile! (I painted each component separately so this can be done without affecting the aesthetic/paintwork!)
The rims + insides of the drawers have been painted sky blue, which you can see peeking out in the photo above. These subtle injections of colour make the piece feel really special.
But my favourite part of the entire dressing table has to be her quirky, hinged jewellery drawers!
These pull out and around making sure that you don't loose an earring or something in the back corner... and they became an attraction at The Fruitmarket Gallery's DesignMarket!
No Ziggy Sawdust redesign story is complete without an insight into the inspiration behind it all...
but I think we all know there is only one 'Marilyn' that this lovely dressing table could possibly be named after!
The colours in this picture influenced the colour choices for the dressing table and when I was ready to take the 'After' snaps, the paint wasn't quite dry meaning I had to wait a few hours before the photoshoot could begin, so she's a diva just like her namesake!!
Stay tuned for 'Ella'- the vintage sideboard's story + more snaps of DesignMarket...
