DIY satisfaction and my great bargain from the local Tip

I have had such a busy couple of weeks what with clearing a corner of the garden which resulted in many trips with a car full of garden rubbish to the local tip.  It must have been fate because on one of the days at the tip I spotted a sideboard that looked rather 'vintage ' to me and it was marked up at £10 !!! the hubby took one look and said NO, but undeterred I insisted it would be perfect for the hall (fantastic storage) and it would look amazing perhaps painted cream and distressed (which was what the hubby was at the time !! ha ha)

So we went home got some cash and went back for my 'Treasure'  inside one of the drawers was a brass button that said 'Lebus' furniture and in the middle of the button the initials H.L. We got it home and it fitted the hall, what luck !! as we stupidly in my excitement forgot to measure the space. I looked up Lebus furniture on line and sure enough the company started in London  in 1900 and closed down in 1969 the HL stands for Harris Lebus, see the link below.
http://www.ferrylane.org.uk/?page_id=41 
I haven't found out the date of my sideboard YET, but at a guess it's late 1950's to early 60's so definitely vintage.
I sanded the doors which someone had varnished dark and oddly (but luckily) they had left the carcass and drawers the original colour. It took me almost 3 hours to sand 2 doors and I am so thrilled with the result that I have decided not to paint the whole unit, but just the top looks good painted lightly and then rubbed off. Here is a photo of the after I wish I had taken one of before. I did take one on my phone but not with the camera, shame !

It's a quirky design as it looks like it has six little drawers but it is only two long ones. The door fronts are veneered so they look like four doors in the photo, but it's the inlay of a lighter wood in the veneering.
I still have work to do on it as it's far from finished, but I really love it and can't believe my luck.

My second DIY project was to paint my summerhouse which I stained in Red cedar when we first bought it. I hated it as soon as I had done it and almost five years later have decided to get on and do it in a 'Natural Stone' Cuprinol garden shades colour which looks more in keeping with the 'Seaside' theme inside and makes it stand out more in the garden instead of blending in with the fence behind it.  Again work still in progress as I haven't finished the horrid little window pains on the bow window and the little windows on the french doors need another  coat of paint.

Before in Red Cedar

After (well almost) in Natural Stone. It's a kind of putty colour and changes in the different lights

I do have lot's to post about the allotment but I will leave that for next time as by then I will have some photo's.  The broad beans should be ready to harvest in a few weeks, the globe artichokes are growing well, the asparagus seems to have taken this time around and they have the dreaded beetle, but I didn't panic this time I just knock them off into a container every time I go up to the plot and them kill them ( I know I am a terrible person!) and the eggs are like hairs down the stem, so when I can spot them I squash them too.

I hope to catch up on my blog reading this week to see what you have all been up to. Have a lovely week.

M x