One piece completed and another now takes it place.

We finally finished our refurbishment of the 19th Century Oak Dresser today. It is now ready for its public debut and will be going into our bay at Lifestyle (Hitchin) tomorrow.  We also have a Facebook selling page if you would like more details at The Owl Cottage Secret Cupboard. Please take a look and we hope you will Like our Page at the same time.

The dresser needed a number of repairs including replacement inserts of new timber mouldings, so lent itself to being painted. The top was stripped of its old oak veneer and re-stained in Liberon Dark Oak Wood Dye, and finished with dark Briwax to match the oak backboard. I'm quite pleased with the result and love this dramatic shade of Antibes Green Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan.

Jacobean Oak Dresser painted in Annie Sloan
Antibes Green Chalk Paint, with Dark Wax

The rest of the day has been taken up with labelling small items to go into our bay, a time-consuming but essential part of the business, while my other half sizes up his next project, one that will definitely NOT be painted.

This beautiful 19th Century rosewood work table boasts a beautiful grain and is in good condition. However, one of the hazards of bidding in haste at auction, is repenting at leisure when one finds an important moulding is missing. Now, how is he going to get round that without incurring the expense of a professional carpenter I wonder.

I'm having a clear out of a number of chairs Ive bought over the past year, with the intention of either painting or restoring them. Today I sold 6 Ercol 20th Century Fleur de Lys chairs, and with 4 more going into our shop this week, I am gradually getting through my glut of chairs at long last.

Our van's loaded with new stock to take into Lifestyle tomorrow. All that remains is to wait in anticipation to hear what we've sold there today, when it closes at 5pm.

Shipping Day - Couriers & Carriers

With four items of furniture to be shipped out, our first priority had to be to ensure each was fully protected with bubble wrap for transit.

Victorian Dressing Chest Painted in
Farrow & Ball Lime White

A dressing table destined for a Manor House in Cornwall, a Georgian tea table to Wales, a students bureau to Sussex and a bookcase to Baldock which we were delivering. The beauty of Ebay is that it reaches the parts that other websites dont, and we can ensure items are delivered door to door thanks to our reliable Nationwide courier service. We also have the added advantage, thanks to our volume of business, to be able to offer this service at an affordable flat rate.

Regency Mahogany Folding Tea Table

20th Century Students Bureau

Ercol Vintage Bookcase

Since we work from home, as a concession to our neighbours, we rendezvous with our courier at the local A1M service station to hand over the items, rather than have a regular collection outside our cottage. Anything to keep the peace, since early on, our immediate neighbour objected to a courier van being loaded on a weekly basis next door to her house.  Despite the fact she looks out on a beautiful church in a country lane - a commercial vehicle calling once a week was, for her, a blot on the landscape and just unacceptable.

We also sent a parcel off via our local post office, as well as one via Hermes - a brilliant courier employing local people to collect and deliver parcels, hold on to them all overnight until they are collected by a main van and taken to the depot. This keeps their charges to a minimum and provides local employment too. The Post Office could learn from them.

While Mike took charge of packing and despatch, I completed painting an Edwardian washstand in Annie Sloan's Duck Egg which I finished in dark wax fading to lighter tinted wax.

I also painted a Victorian pine table base and two chairs in Duck Egg, with tinted wax to create an aged effect, as well as a bookstand. For the latter, I used the paint effect suggested by Annie Sloan in her book, Paint Transformations - two contrasting shades on the same brush. In this instance, I used Antibes  Green and Aubusson. Delighted with the end result. Photos to follow.