'Twiggy'- redesigned 1960s dressing table

If I could have picked the decade that I came of age in, I would have picked the 60s... the fashions, the music, the cultural shifts have always strongly appealed to me! I went through a stage when I was 17 of having cropped hair and wearing chandelier earrings, extremely thick false eyelashes and a long leopard coat in the style of Edie Sedgwick... but thats another story!

So when I was first introduced to this 1960s dressing table, I just had to snap it up! It was in fantastic condition with just a few scuffs and scratches to the drawer faces and the handles had become tarnished with age... I also couldn't help but think that it could be funked up a bit, to bring out it's retro charm even further!

Channeling a Space Age-y vibe, here is how she turned out:

The mirror can be removed so she can become a sideboard too!

And with legs like those and all that 60s pizzaz, it was easy to pick a name for this piece!

Ziggy + Twiggy... a match made in heaven!

'Grace'- the redesigned vintage telephone seat

Who says getting sitting down, getting comfy and calling up your friend for a blether is a thing of the past? Social media may have taken the allure away from wondering how someone is getting on, but you just can't beat a good catch up over the telephone (if it's not possible to meet up in person of course!)

Once a practical hallway staple and now a quirky indulgence, telephone seats are wonderful pieces of furniture!

Remember Devon from The Velvet Peach, who had me do up a desk and chair for her? (Click here for the full story!) Well she had been given this vintage telephone seat and didn't know what to do with it, so sent it my way! It was a little scratched and washed out looking, but it had so much potential and I couldn't wait to start work on it!

I came across this image on Pinterest and loved how the antique gold complimented the rich, dusky violet/charcoal fabric... so I decided that this was the look I wanted to channel for the telephone seat!

And after lots of sanding, painting and getting fully reupholstered, here's how she looks!

And with her elegant shape, classic beauty and little gold crown, there was only one retro icon that this piece could be named after.... Princess Grace Kelly!

Now on sale at Lovely Things 

37 Dock Street

Dundee

DD1 3DR

www.lovelythings.org.uk

♥

'Brian'- the redesigned 1950s coffee table

It is always lovely to receive an email from someone asking if I can help them source a piece of furniture that they have in mind, but just can't find! And this was why Richard got in touch- he was moving to Edinburgh and was on the look out for a mid-century coffee table for his new flat.

I actually had this one in stock, waiting patiently on it's transformation, and it turned out to be exactly what Richard was looking for. It was a simple, unfussy design but it still had potential to be reworked with a quirky edge!

As for colours, Richard was keen to stick with a retro, mid-century vibe and came across this signage for the Festival of Britain which he sent to me as inspiration. 

We decided to pick three out of the four colours and chose to go with the blue, yellow and green. 

Green for the legs, yellow for the shelf and blue for the underside of the table, so you would catch a flash of colour as the ends of the tabletop curve upwards.

Here is a snap shot of how the table was starting to shape up... drying upside down between coats! :

The wood on the table top had some really interesting patterns in it and was in great condition for it's 60 odd years! I thought it would be a nice idea to restore the wood on the top and leave it unpainted to add a further twist to the finished piece. I sanded off the original stain and varnish and used Danish oil to give it a lovely new finish.

Here is a photo mid-sanding!

And while I was updating Richard on the table's progress, he asked me who it should be named after... I couldn't help but think that it's shape was reminiscent of a surf board and so I suggested "Brian" after Brian Wilson from The Beach Boys. Richard loved the idea of having a piece of furniture named after the music icon!

And what's funny is that when I posted up on Facebook that we were looking for a name for the coffee table, one of Ziggy's followers, Louise suggested the same thing! I am glad that others see the method in my furniture-naming madness!

So here he is, 'Brian' in all his redesigned glory!

When I delivered 'Brian' to his new home, Richard had discovered that the table had been painted coincidently in the exact same colours as the cover to Brian Wilson's solo album 'Smile'!

He was obviously destined to be called Brian all along!

I really enjoyed this project and I am very happy to hear that Richard did too! Here is the lovely testimonial I received from him:

"I am delighted with the 1950s coffee table that Amy sourced, beautifully restored and reinvented for me with a fantastic paint job of mid-century colours. Amy took a piece of design inspiration I provided and came up with the perfect design based on this. It was a joy to be involved in Amy's creative process and she kept me up to date on her work at all times. The quality of her workmanship is excellent and it's clear Amy takes great pleasure in doing the very best work for her clients. I very highly recommend Ziggy Sawdust's bespoke service. Thanks Amy."