My children are quite artistic little people, so creative in fact that just occasionally they decorate something I’d rather they left alone. A couple of months ago they took a pen to two small chest of drawers. My reaction was one less of artistic delight and more of ‘what on earth am I going to do with these chests now?’

Shabby Chic makeovers for old furniture seem to be gaining in popularity at the moment. Some of them are absolutely adorable, but some are definitely verging on the shabby side rather than chic. Thankfully I was able to consult one of the masters of Shabby Chic ‘Ruby & Betty’s Attic‘, who gave me some wonderful tips on which paint brands to use and which to avoid. So armed with a rather lovely shade of Farrow & Ball paint we started about the transformation.

The paint went on very smoothly and soon the artwork started to disappear. We’d also lost most of the drawer handles, so they were replaced with something a bit more stylish.

I love the finished chest, admittedly there wasn’t a lot of stylish shabby-ing going on but paint effects are still a new area for us. The handles are a wonderful cracked porcelain design.

With a lot of leftover paint I started looking around for our next project. On a recent trip to an Antiques Centre I came across an Edwardian towel rail. It had definitely seen better days and looked a little unloved. In the photos it appears quite Shabby Chic already, but in reality the paint was peeling and rough, which made the rail unusable. After some haggling on price, we took it home. A foot fell off in the car, but luckily we found it and survived further dramas. We treated the towel rail to a good sanding and priming, before painting to match the bedside drawers.

Here is the finished result. Now it’s painted I think it looks ever so cute! One of the lower bars is missing a chunk where a knot has fallen out, but even this has a quirky charm. The rail has taken up residence upstairs and is improving the look of towels that were previously draped over a radiator. I quite fancy picking up another one of these for the bathroom.

The only problem now is, the rather addictive nature of painting furniture. I better invest in some new colours before my whole house turns green!