DIY Diaries: Frenchicing the Downstairs Loo

I've become a little bit obsessed with Frenchic and decorating this year as you could probably tell from my post on painting my entire kitchen with Frenchic paint!

Skip to a couple months later and I was wondering what I could paint next...Queue the downstairs loo!

The downstairs loo has been a bone on contention for me for quite a while. When we moved in it was carpeted which is a whole load of gross! Teamed with a sickly green wall colour, this space really wound me up.

Radiator Cover- Argos

Candle Holder- Asda Home

Mirror- eBay

I used Frenchic Alfresco in the colour Black Jack to paint the skirting boards and door frames and the radiator too. It makes such a change to not undercoat, prime and gloss skirting boards and instead lightly sanding the skirting boards before painting straight onto it. 

With different Frenchic colours, they cover differently and in the case of Black Jack, it takes 3-4 coats. Thankfully you only need to leave it to dry for two hours and you can paint again. It also makes the radiator more of a feature in the room with I love! 

Another feature I wanted to change and make more of a statement was the tiles. Now don't get me wrong I love decorating and DIY but I do not feel confident with the idea of tiling myself! Instead I did a cheeky hack of applying stick on tiles. Admittedly I was a bit dubious of them initially but having seen lots of positive reviews I took the plunge and I'm really pleased with the result- so much so that I extended the tiles onto the side of the wall (pictured above) where they randomly stopped previously. 

Tiles- Amazon

Soap dispenser and towel rail- Amazon

Bathroom cabinet- eBay

Shelving- IKEA

I probably wouldn't use them to tile over an entire bathroom or an area that gets a lot of water traffic but for a downstairs look sink they are perfect and easier than attempting tiling for the first time!

I decided not to put the mirror above the sink and opted for shelving with a few bits of decor. I know a lot of people are of the opinion that a mirror should sit above the sink but I felt that instead hanging a mirror over the radiator and adding a radiator shelf made use of another area that would otherwise be unused space.

Chunk in a new blind and a plant for good measure and voila we have a new downstairs loo! I know it is only a loo at the end of the day but I'm honestly so much happier with it now than how it was before. 

Blind- Amazon

Have you used Frenchic in your downstairs loo?

DIY Diaries: The Kitchen Edit with Frenchic Paint

It's been a while since I did any DIY around the house- partly because at one point we were looking to move but we've since decided to stay put. With COVID happening, I thought decorating would be the perfect thing to keep me busy and then I really got the bug for it when I discovered Frenchic Paint.

Radiator Cover- Amazon

Having discovered a Facebook group where people are raving about this paint and sharing their makeovers, I quickly became engrossed. They weren't just doing your usual makeovers of wooden furniture and what not. Oh no! Front doors, kitchens, leather sofas and more were being made over in this paint and it got me thinking...Could I do our kitchen?

The paint we decided to go with is the Alfresco Range in the shade "Swanky Pants" for the top cabinets and "City Slicker" for the bottom cabinets and "Dazzle Me" for the tiles. This particular range can be used both indoors and outdoors and is self sealing, self priming and is suitable for woods, laminate, UPVC, composites and metals. With COVID going on, we were lucky to place an order online with a stockist in Peterborough called Golden Crown Furniture and collect it. We also purchased the sugar soap to clean everything with as well as the Frenchic detailer brushes and large and small oval brushes.

We got to work prepping the kitchen firstly by cleaning the kitchen cabinets and tiles with sugar soap before lightly sanding them down so that the paint had a better surface to adhere to. We then went ahead removing door handles and taping up the windowed cabinets before painting the ceiling and walls with white paint.

The next step was to start painting the cabinets! In all honesty I was a bit nervous to begin with but shortly after the first few brush strokes I changed my mind as this paint applies like a dream! It's creamy consistency doesn't run or drip and a little bit really does go a long way so I felt reassured that my 750ml tins would cover the entire kitchen. The brushes are also amazing, especially the detailer brushes to get into difficult nooks and crannies and for precision when doing edges too. After the first coat the kitchen already looked brighter and more modern and the best part was you only have to wait two hours for it to dry before applying the second coat! It took two coats to cover the bottom cabinets in City Slicker whereas the top cabinets in Swanky Pants took 3-4 coats to cover. I also found this when painting the tiles in Dazzle Me so I would say that for lighter shades, expect to do 3-4 coats on a project.

It took us a day to paint the kitchen and already we were over the moon with the result!

The day after painting! Excuse the mess lol

Along with painting the cabinets, we also wanted to re-vamp the worktops. A lot of people using Frenchic paint have used DC Fix- an adhesive vinyl material that can cover over many surfaces. I bought the Ribbeck Oak wood effect and again I was initially sceptical as it is a bit of a sod to apply. I was having flashbacks to my school days of covering my school books with sticky back plastic. It's basically doing lots of that but I am so pleased with the final result.

I will however admit a teething problem (even though this kills me, but I'd rather be honest so you don't make the same mistakes we did) I've since had with the DC Fix, but this is our own error. Where one edge finished and another began, we had lined it up beautifully. It was flush, but what we should have done is overlapped it slightly to compensate for shrinkage. We didn't realise there would be residual shrinkage after application so we have noticed some space appear between sheets. It is incredibly minute- we're talking a millimetre and is probably only something notice but it is doing my head in so I wouldn't be surprised if I re-do it at a later date!

Overall, I am over the moon with how the kitchen has turned out. I'm still waiting on a few bits to arrive to finish it off decor wise but I apart from that it's now complete!

I've also written a post on these DIY shelves which you can read here

Bar Stools- Amazon

Blind- Blinds 2go

Kettle- Dunelm

Toaster- Dunelm

Tea, Coffee Sugar Cannister set and matching bread bin- Dunelm

Henry Watson Coffee Canister- Amazon

Wooden coffee scoop- Amazon

We were so impressed with the paint that we then went on to paint the radiator in Frenchic's Blackjack and DC fix the radiator shelf which has made for the perfect little letter area!

What was a dated kitchen now feels really fresh and modern and cost under £200 to decorate as opposed to paying thousands on a new kitchen.

I'd definitely recommend giving this a go if you're looking to revamp your kitchen on a budget and would highly recommend Frenchic Paint for painting projects!

DIY Diaries: The Master Bedroom Edit

Aloha! I'm back with another room makeover/ decor post and this time it's the master bedroom!

This post has been a long time coming, having finished this room in October 2018, however  I'd been toying with a few bits which I'll explain further on this post. So first, lets discuss the inspiration for this room!

I'd been struggling with knowing how to decorate this room to please two different tastes. I love girly style whereas Chris naturally despises it so we needed a compromise! I also wanted something that's cosy and Chris didn't want anything too fussy so we got to thinking of places we've stayed in the past and liked the aesthetic plus the wonderful world of Pinterest to draw inspiration.






A big inspiration for us was our stays at North Star Club (which you can read about here and here) as it made us feel cosy witht he fux fur soft furnishings and partly connected with nature through the rustic logs and wood of the rooms.

The Moon Suite at North Star Club

Naturally we'd have loved to had put logs at each corner of the bed for a rustic four poster bed look and cladded the walls but it just wasn't practical so instead we went with rustic wood style wallpaper and these faux silver birch branches which we pick up second hand from someone's no longer needed wedding decor and fashioned together a rustic piece to hang above the bed. The finishing touch was the wicker heart which came from our own wedding decor stock and I think it ties in beautifully.

Super king Bed- Dreams
Throw- The Range
Bedding- Hyde & Sleep

Wicker heart- QD

Faux silver birch- picked up second hand

Wallpaper- Wilkos

Bedside tables- IKEA Hemnes range (but picked up second hand)

Clock- Amazon

Lamp- IKEA (similar here)

Deer Artwork- iamfy

Cow Artwork- iamfy

Frames- The Range

Now you probably don't recognise this room from before but it was in fact my office when we moved in (see here.)

Before!

With the addition of a new bed, we needed a space free from built in wardrobes to fit this monstrous super king bed. You might be thinking we're mad for buy a big that big but honestly we've done the double bed, the king size bed and still I was bed hogging- so much so Chris didn't sleep properly for the first five years of our marriage!So yes we lost some wardrobe space to accommodate this mahoosive bed but the bed is an ottoman, meaning we have plenty of space underneath and with a hydraulic assisted lifting mechanism, it makes lifting up the bed a breeze rather than a ball ache and we can sleep soundly too.

The crisp white bedding was actually thrown in with the bed when we bought it and its actually lovely quality so we just chose to finish the bed off with some cosy cushions and a throw.

Chest of Drawers- IKEA Hemnes range (but picked up second hand)

Lamp- The Range

TV- Old and god knows where from!

Curtains- The Range

Blind- The Range

When it came to furniture, I was actually really pleased with myself for sourcing it all second hand, saving us a hell of a lot of money and giving unwanted furniture a second life. I'd always recommend looking to see if the furniture you like can be sourced second hand or if you can find something similar as you can get a  real bargain and you're helping to upcycle rather than condemning good furniture to landfill. I had been eyeing up the IKEA Hemnes range and picked up both the bed side tables from one person and this huge chest of drawers from another for less than £150!

So I'd been toying with painting the chest of drawers grey but after some careful consideration I decided against it as it might look too matchy matchy plus I quite enjoy this dark cosy corner.

Overall I am really chuffed with how this room turned out! It's definitely become one of my favourite rooms to relax in and the bed teamed with the tranquil, cosy cabin aesthetic means I've never slept better.

Would you go for this in your bedroom?