Showing posts with label outdoor space. Show all posts
Showing posts with label outdoor space. Show all posts

Thursday, August 15, 2013

fun diy outdoor blackboard

During the holidays we put up an outdoor blackboard in a lovely sunny spot at the end of the verandah.  Miss J and I have had fun drawing under sea creatures and sailing boats.  Her favourite is the rainbow fish.  The best thing is every time it rains the board is wiped clean, ready for more art.
Make your own!
You will need: a sheet of marine ply, undercoat, and Rust-Oleum Chalk Board paint.  
I got the hardware store to cut the marine ply sheet for me.  Top tip: measure your car before getting the board cut to make sure it will fit.
Once you have your marine ply to size it is as simple as prime, paint and hang outdoors.  We attached ours to two metal garden posts which were hammered into the ground.
The Chalk Board paint goes on smoothly.  After a few coats let the paint dry for a week and then season the board by covering entirely in chalk and leaving for a few days.    Ta daa!!  You are ready to start drawing.
I put our board in a spot that gets afternoon sun in winter but is lovely and shaded in summer, now the chalk dust and the children are all outside.  Perfect.  

Rust-Oleum supplied the product for this road test but all opinions, as usual, are entirely my own.


Tuesday, May 14, 2013

a little auction luck...


The trick to auctions is patience, and a little luck ofcourse, but mostly patience.  I have been waiting for a year for the right verandah table to pop up and finally it did.  I ended up paying a little more than I planned but it is solid oak and a perfect fit, and I love the greyed off colour of the wood.  It looks all kinds of gorgeous against the black shadowclad walls.


I bought the seagrass basket as a gift for a friend but I couldn't resist having it on the table for an afternoon.  These lovely baskets are from Pond, I may have to pop back and get one for just me.


All images by Eva of Build House Home
I love auctions, something I inherited from my grandfather apparently, and I love a bargain.  I am still bemoaning the ice glass chandelier that got away last year, but this time luck was in my corner.  Now all we need is for the right benches to come up too.