Hello and welcome!

Two Little Dicky Birds is a collection of things that I love, be it interior design, decor, food, travel, art or craft.

In April 2006, my husband and I purchased our first home and spent four years redecorating. It was such a rewarding process, and fuelled a love of interiors, which is now driven by an obsession with decor blogs!

During April 2009, we moved on from our beloved miner's cottage, to a new family home, where we have been chipping away at renovating and redecorating, all the while raising our two little dicky birds, Noah (3) and Sam (9 months).

My two beautiful boys have ignited a long-forgotten love of photography, which you'll find me dabbling in on a daily basis.

I hope you stay and have a look around. You'll find a selection of just some of the things that inspire me, and hopefully something that inspires you too!

Abby xx

Mar 01 2010

Before & After: Dressing Table

Remember the dressing table I posted about here? I did promise you photos of the makeover, well, here it is! After a good sanding, a couple of coats of paint, and the paper I posted about last year, it is all finished and ready for a new home.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing -does anyone ever have a DIY go completely to plan? I suspect around 99% of my projects have at least one minor hick-up along the way!

An improvement? I’ve been really inspired by Bryonie Porter and her beautiful wallpapered furniture. You can see her incredible work here.

Share and Enjoy!

Posted in Decorate, DIY, Our Home, Projects Tags: Bryonie Porter, DIY, furniture, painting, projects, table, wallpaper, wallpapered furniture

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Anonymous - March 2, 2010 - 11:06 am

Abby, this is amazing!! I know how you feel about the whole ‘wood/timber’ thing – I have a fireside chair that i want to paint…… but i think its rimu, so maybe i shouldnt….. from tess

Abby - March 2, 2010 - 1:17 pm

Thanks! It’s a dilemma isn’t it? I say go for it, just don’t tell Mum

Kristin (Wanderlust) - July 15, 2010 - 9:09 am

Wow, incredible!! It’s gorgeous. And I love the photos in your header, they are beautiful.

Naomi - July 15, 2010 - 10:06 am

love it! well done – I love the top and the picture you have matched with it…I hope you feel it was worth the effort, very creative. Naomi.

Lauren - July 15, 2010 - 1:13 pm

Lovely job! You’re so talented… and have great taste in colours!

Kelly Be A Fun MUm - July 15, 2010 - 4:24 pm

WOW! WOW! WOW! I love it! Well Done!

Veronica - July 16, 2010 - 11:34 am

That’s lovely!

A Cajun Down Under - July 16, 2010 - 9:00 pm

beautiful!

Ash - July 17, 2010 - 5:12 pm

That’s gorgeous! I want to go to an op shop now and find something to revive. Thank-you for the inspiration!

Brenda - July 19, 2010 - 3:14 pm

Wow just wow!

dawn - October 24, 2010 - 8:44 pm

i hope this isn’t a dumb question, but what kind of paint can be used to cover furniture? what white paint did you use for this desk? thanks so much for your time

Abby at Two Little Dicky Birds - October 24, 2010 - 9:13 pm

Not at all! The type of paint you use really depends on what type of surface you’re painting, although with furniture you are best to go with a gloss rather than a low sheen as it wears better and is easier to keep clean.

I actually used a gloss spray paint for the desk – spray paints do give a smoother finish but they are a little fiddly and can run if you’re too impatient (like I was in places!). A can of paint and a brush does a nice job too, and you have a much wider selection of colours to choose from. My process is generally this: sand the old coat (whether it’s varnish or paint) right back and then paint a couple of coats of primer. The primer gives you a good base and will stop the previous finish from bleeding through. Then paint a couple of coats of top coat in your chosen colour and finish.

If you have questions specific to a project of yours, just flick me an email, I’ll do my best to help you out

dawn - October 24, 2010 - 9:52 pm

thank you so much for your quick reply! i’ve been wondering for a long time how to paint furniture and have always been a bit hesitant and shy to ask anyone who has. this was extremely helpful i have a bench that i’ve been thinking about refinishing so i think i will start there. thank you again, hugs!

Where Do You Blog? » Two Little Dicky Birds.html - September 13, 2010 - 1:07 pm

[...] might remember my wallpapered desk from this post earlier this year. If you want to have a go at something similar, but you’re not sure how [...]