Over the years, we have all ended up with pieces of furniture we love and don’t want to let go of, even if they are not part of the overall ‘theme’ of the room they live in. A great way to bring these precious items together is with a hand-painted finish. Once there is such a striking factor that links them, they suddenly belong together.

These pieces of furniture were recently hand-painted for my client in Gravesend. They chose to use the Farrow and Ball colour Stiffkey blue No 281, an inky blue which is named after the Norfolk beach where the mud, along with the cockles, share a particular deep navy hue.

The tops were sanded down and 3 coats of clear wax were applied. As a finishing touch, new ceramic white knobs were fitted to the sideboard.