G and I have been on the search for bedroom furniture for the past few months now.

We brought our first home (a new build flat) around 8 years ago now and back then we kitted out our bedroom in MFI flat packed furniture. Our tastes have changed a lot over the years and we didn't like it any more. So when we were packing to move to our current home G got rid of our wardrobe and we had been using a rail in our room for the past 18 months or so.

We couldn't justify spending a fortune, when there are so many great solid pieces of furniture left unwanted and unloved. By chance I had another look at eBay and found our new wardrobe. Which then led us to revamp the whole suite.

Cue this little project.

We wanted a mismatched look to our bedroom furniture. We have a 1950s wardrobe and dressing table plus an antique pine chest of drawers. Next on the list were the side boards to go with our newly ordered bed. I thought some painted pine drawers in a colour pop hue would be super fun.

These little beauties popped up on gumtree for £45. Perfect.

I was keen to avoid the distressed look and went for the bold Annie Sloan chalk paint in English Yellow. I ummed and ahhed about the brand of paint and technique but kept coming back to the Annie Sloan range. The lack of prep needed really appealed to me as did the matt finish.

I found my local stockist who was so very patient with me while I debated the pros and cons of Provence, English Yellow and Antoinette shades.

So I plucked for yellow, my favourite colour and the clear wax.

Never having done this before I wasn't sure if it would be a success but I am really pleased with the results.

I simply washed down the units to remove any dirt and grease. Then dried and started painting. I found the paint to be really thick and I think really we needed some better quality brushes. But the coverage was great, especially considering the dark pine top the tables once had.

We applied two coats of paint, which dried pretty speedily.

Before then applying the wax with a rag. The paint dried quite pale and the wax then deepened the colour again whilst giving a lovely light sheen. I gave the tops an extra layer just to ensure they remain protected. We even have around two thirds of a tin of paint left and plenty of wax. Maybe ask me in a few months time if I fancy another up-cycling project mind due hehe.

And now I am excited to bring the rest of the room together. They are already cheering me up on those dreary dark mornings :-) We just need to move the cot out of our room to give us our grown up space back.

Have you up-cycled furniture before? Do you have any projects in the pipeline?

Happy DIYing XOXO Lou