Ivy Washstand

When I saw this pine washstand up for sale I wasn’t even looking for a project but I simply had to have it.

On closer inspection I discovered that they were not only Victorian but handmade, it was not surprising they had already lived quite a life and had the odd scratch and knock. If you look through the photos you can see the original piece.

The clean up and repair operation was a labour of love but well worth all the effort. After cleaning, sanding and filling in any holes they were primed with a stain blocker and painted a neutral cream/beige. Accents of age were added with a darker shade around the drawer edges and table top. An ombre effect of warm grey, to beige, to cream was graduated up the legs and across the foot rest.

The inside of both drawers were painted in the warm grey and the outside cream with a leaf stencil on all sides for a pop of fun when opening the drawers.

I had decided on Little Ivy Designs as a business name but I didn’t have any ivy influenced pieces in the collection, so it felt right that this would get the full ivy treatment. Ivy was added with the use of stencils and hand painted in places up the legs and across the piece to give the impression that nature was reclaiming this one.

To really make the ivy design stand out I used Karisma pencils on every single leaf (I didn’t count but I am guessing there are well over 100) to add shade, veins and intricate details and finished with satin topcoat.