Vicar's Craft Corner - Second Hand Home

Ooh I love a new house! A chance to re-jig, rejuvenate and rearrange. It is a crafter's paradise and the new house has certainly not disappointed. Once again after this move I am thoroughly convinced of the merits of second hand not just for your bank balance but also for having a home that is all about you because if it can't be all about you in your own house then, well, where can it be!!

The new living room

As always I have been all over the second hand shops when it comes to new furniture. One of my favourite pieces in this move has been this brilliant solid wood table for our dining room for the amazing price of £37 in a charity shop. I painted the legs with some left over cream satinwood paint that I had handy. Beaut!

 

I also got the chairs at a charity shop for a tenner each and painted them up. Another favourite find was the drinks cabinet for the dining room which I picked up for £30 in a charity shop in Oxford. It has a great 60s vibe and had already been painted white and had the handles changed. I remember my Grandpa having something like this in his house and countless of these beauties have probably ended up in skips and yet they can come up so nice and look so fresh and contemporary.

 

 

In this picture you can also see one of my other favourite ways of using what is often bound for this skip, repainting old wooden frames. Why have some boring canvas that anyone could have in their home when you can have your own pictures on the wall that remind you of all the brilliant things you have experienced in life? These are all snaps of our great European adventure from a couple of years back and in our spare room I put together a couple of snaps from our trip to Africa.

 

 

When it comes to money saving another way to make a huge difference to a room is to put up some new curtains. I made these light blue ones for the bedroom which has two tall windows that flood the room with light, and even more so without great big dark curtains hanging there!

 

 

The bedroom is also host to one of my other favourite new items, this old wardrobe was a horrible dark brown colour but was rejuvenated with a couple of coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. This stuff is frankly amazing and sticks to pretty much anything you can image with no primer needed.

 

 

 

Of course I have been going mad for china with some new additions and old favourites to put out on display. I spent the whole move worrying about their safety and then feeling like a terrible person for being so materialistic! That is probably the one downside of second hand shopping, the items you gather really are irreplaceable.

 

 

So that's us, settling in slowly but surely and loving our latest second hand home!