Bargain Stool Revamped
It’s good to have a mental list going of the things you’re hunting for when you regularly visit charity shops, vintage fairs and car boot sales. On my list was a small stool which I finally spotted at a Princess Alice Hospice charity shop in Weybridge last week. It had been reduced from £10 to a bargain £5.
This hospice cares for people with cancer and other illnesses living in Surrey, south-west London and Middlesex. Since moving to Surrey earlier this year, I have found that their charity shops are far superior in terms of quality of stock, cleanliness and volunteer friendliness. See links at the end of this post for a list of their specific High Street, furniture and baby/children’s shops. The vast majority of charity shops in Surrey are massively over-priced and full of faded Primarni tat!
We have just painted our front door in Farrow & Ball Mizzle – a soft earthen colour. There was plenty of paint left to revamp the dull pine finish.
Unpainted pine stool
Stool painted in Farrow & Ball Mizzle
Other paints ideal for painting furniture to leave a classic chalky finish are:
Annie Sloan – The original chalk paint brand and queen of painted furniture. Will give you a perfectly rustic finish in a massive choice of colour which can also be customised
Authentico – A choice of 130 colours. They follow old recipes using natural resins instead of harmful additives. Their paint sticks to almost any surface and is great for painting furniture and walls
Ecos Organic Paints – Organic solvent free paint
Earthborn Paints – Oil and acrylic free
Another recent thrifty acquisition is the below antique school chair for a little child. This was a random find from a lady doing a yard sale on the pavement outside her house in Guildford town centre. It cost £7. It will be perfect for the new little bottom in our house. (In a couple of years obviously!) The blue ceramic jug came from a charity shop in Birmingham, the Primrose Hospice in Rubery for £2.
Antique school chair
Links to Princess Alice Hospice charity shops:
High Street Charity Shops – The usual clothes and bric-a-brac
Specific furniture shops – I have seen some fab retro and vintage style pieces here
Specific children’s clothes and equipment shop – I bought some gorgeous barely used Baby Gap and Boden items here
