Filling our house for free!

Following becoming a Mrs in July 2012 I went with my Mr to travel the world and meet some of his close family members that weren't able to come to our wedding. We had such an incredible 8 months and were so thankful for so many kind wedding gifts towards our trip. We came back with, lets say, quite a bit less in le bank than we had left with. Moving into our new flat we knew it was a big priority for us both to have a warm, cosy, open home so people always felt welcome and at home when they came to visit the Kwant crib. 

When we were planning our wedding decorations we quickly discovered the vintage geek within and got hooked on visiting the local charity shops on Dumbarton road in Glasgow. Our motto is that if its lasted more than 50 years in such good condition then it'll last another 50! As my Dad says..'They don't make em like they used to'. Furniture was made to last in the good ol days and I just think its the best thing ever that now you can find this really solid furniture for cheapy cheap in charity shops. 

Great furniture+ giving to charity= a great buy!

We collected vintage teacups for our big day and no joke Tim was on speed dial on quite a few lady's phones who ran the charity shops in Dumbarton for whenever they had an incoming stock up of teacups in their shop. Tim found a bargainous old trunk in a local antiques shop at £20 which my Mum (upholsterer extraordinaire) helped me to re-felt the inside of. 

After a bit of umming and arring on where to put it and what to use it for in the flat, we tried it out with our DVDs and they were a perfect fit..meant to be!

We moved into a furnished flat but the Ikea white and brown plastic and glass furniture just wasn't our idea of homey but these two artists were thankful for the blank canvas before them. So..we went hunting in my parents shed which had treasures untold:) My Mum had kept my Great Auntie Aida's table which had been varnished a very dark brown. It was a perfect size for our little living room as the leaves folded down for when it wasn't in use and I think it was grateful to be used again. My awesome husband yet again came to the rescue with the power tools and sanded down the top and revealed a gorgeous oak underneath the varnish. It gave the old farmhouse appeal that I love. We waxed the surface to protect it and made up our own version of green chalk paint for the legs.

Here is the finished piece with its first use. Obviously a cream tea was the way to celebrate!

Our next finding was an old carved wardrobe with little twisty coat hooks and a big drawer- perhaps Edwardian style? Its pretty solid and we really loved the design but again it was quite darkly varnished. After chasing out a few ginormous spiders with their webby homes..Tim started up the old sander and blasted off the dark colour to reveal a lighter wood underneath. We got it into the flat but didn't quite manage to get it up the narrow stairs to the bedroom:( so...it became a coat wardrobe in the hallway. Well I suppose you need a fair few coats living in Glasgow so its not entirely crazy! The bottom drawer became Tim's man drawer. Well you've gotta give them something eh?


                                                 

While Tim was doing some manual labour with a family friend who was renovating an old house he came across this dresser. Its destination was unfortunately the bonfire so the hero that he is saved it from its firey death. The sanding master yet again transformed an old unappealing fire destined furnishing into a gorgeous masterpiece! 

              

Sanded then oiled with Danish oil to bring out the grain for the final touch!

Our final freebie was all thanks to freecycle and a very kind giver. Although full of memories he very generously decided to do an act of charity for those skint people out there and put an awesome old wooden rocking chair up free for re-homing...and we were very willing to oblige in doing that. He even dropped it off for us. What a guy. We're still undecided if it needs a bit of a spruce up or not with a lick of paint...we'll see. Either way it really adds to the homey touch we're wanting for our new abode.