The first piece came with some Mattel Disney Cinderella set, as you can see by the cardboard backing still in place. I'm not even sure what this type of furniture would be called if you saw it in real life. A side table, maybe? It's not useful for much besides decoration. I would have put this in the pile to pass on except that I like the rose and silver details. Of course, I'd have to repaint those if I repaint the whole piece some more realistic furniture color than pale blue. Anyone seen any real furniture like this? If I do repaint it, should I paint the roses a single color or maybe go for more depth using shading (if I thought I could even accomplish this)?
I also wasn't sure I was going to keep this hutch, until I saw what Cheryl did with hers. Now I think I'd be crazy to give it up, especially since mine still has all the pieces.
The problem is, I've never been much of a paint artist, or necessarily creative making things "out of nothing," as it were. I suppose I could produce something to replace the oval piece at the top that has the "Princess" banner on it, using poster board or foam core and some beads. What I'm really debating is what to do about the doors. They're see-through, but shaded purple, which would probably not match any attempts to non-Disney Princess this hutch, and I don't know what kind of paint to use on this type of plastic.
To be honest, I'm a little scared of taking on either of these projects! Previous tries I have made to repaint Barbie furniture and give it non-Barbie colors has not ended well. I've looked up many tutorials online, but I'm still afraid to take the next step. I'm trying to convince myself that if I had any inspiration on how to decorate these, it might motivate me. Thoughts?
I love the details on the faces of both of those pieces - they have a lot of potential under the pastels.
ReplyDeleteI've been skimming some life-sized furniture "upcycling" blogs lately and there seems to be a trend of taking traditional pieces and doing something to simplify them like painting them all a single colour (or black and white, like this one). I've been tempted to try something similar on 1/3 or 1/6 scale pieces, but I haven't been brave enough to do it yet, so I'm going to be watching your project with eager anticipation!
And thanks for sharing the link to Artsy Fartsy - Cheryl's work on that hutch is stunning!
Thanks for the picture links. That's something to consider.
DeleteThat hutch looks totally different when Cheryl's done with it, doesn't it?
I second jSarie's thanks for sharing the link to the Artsy Fartsy post showing the repainted hutch. Wow, it looks classy repainted.
ReplyDeleteWould it be possible to pop-out the clear purple "glass?" Or maybe you could cover them with lots of tape - although I would imagine removing that tape afterwards would not be fun ;-{ .
The light blue piece could be part of a store display. Or a two-shelf bookcase/night table? I think it's a side board, possibly?
Maybe spray paint - like Krylon for Plastic in spray cans - would help reduce paint brush lines, etc.
Good luck with the project. Sounds fun. I look forward to seeing the outcome.
It's amazing how a good repaint can turn a piece of pink and purple plastic furniture around, isn't it?
DeleteI'd like to keep the doors, if I can. I'm at least going to do more research to double check whether or not that plastic can be painted.
I'm thinking that blue piece will end up being some kind of night table. I didn't show any pictures for proportionality, but it's a little small to be a sideboard.
Cute pieces! I think they will look really fancy once you're done renovating them. I agree with D7ana about the Krylon for Plastic idea. The ornate lines of these pieces are perfect for shabby chic style. I envision them in a creamy white. After painting, a simple way to antique in miniature scale, is to use a brown stamp pad to lightly touch the edges a little where the piece would be worn, then wipe off the excess to blend. I can't wait to see what you do with these!!!
ReplyDeleteCreamy white sounds pretty. I think I'm going to look around for pictures now that I have some thoughts on what to look for.
DeleteI wonder if you could paint the transparent doors with "stained glass paint". It should be possible, I had such paint once and it didn't have any weird solvents. Orange or yellow should neutralize the purple and keep the transparency.
ReplyDeleteFor the first piece yes, I'm afraid the easiest way is to repaint the silver details after you've done the rest. It shouldn't be too difficult, because the mould will guide you. You can paint the raised moulding on the other cupboard to match, I think it would look great in any metallic colour. For it to stand out, the body should be either very light or very dark.
I never would have thought of "stained glass paint." I'd been assuming that the transparency would have to go, but I didn't know if Krylon stuff would work the same on different plastic. I was already planning to go to the craft store this weekend, so I'll have to check that out.
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