P.S Hop on our Instagram to follow more of our adventures - we_are_keen_as_mustard

See you there x 

As we draw closer to our launch day we wanted to let you in on a little bit of a 'Keen as Mustard' secret. When you browse our products, you will see that each piece of furniture has a name - a male or female name. These are not made up names given to the pieces by Kate and I but the names of the lovely people we originally purchased them off. I think it's so wonderful to have furniture in your home that tells a story. When you buy something from 'Keen as Mustard', not only will you have seen us working on it via our blog and Instagram but we will provide you with all of the information we can about that particular piece. It will be named after its previous owner but we will also attempt to let you know (where possible) how long they owned if for and where they purchased it from. That way you can pass on the information to whoever you pass it on to and the history will continue. Be a part of a furniture journey with us and purchase a piece on April 1.

Han and Kate xx 

Katie has been working like an absolute trooper on our furntiure over the past couple of days - she's a star. Today we had our first experience with wallpaper - something we have always wanted to do but have never been brave enough to attempt. I think it turned out really well! We started with a brown chest of drawers covered in old stickers and after Katie's hard work, ended up with a super sophistcated and unique chest of drawers.  I will put up a 'How to' in the next couple of days for you - what's exciting is that I have seen really beautiful wallpaper jobs done on IKEA chests of drawers which would be a great way to spice up an old/common piece. 

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Hello there!

I hope you have all been having a relaxing weekend filled with sun, sand and afternoon naps. We are on the home stretch to launch day so things are starting to become very hectic! The furniture is all coming together beautifully and the candles are possibly the best smelling things I've ever had the pleasure of smelling (not to toot my own horn - but seriously). 

Have a look at this little coffee table? 

... now tell me you don't want it in your house. 

You can't because it's so precious!

Have a beautiful Sunday evening and i'll talk to you more as this hectic week unfolds!

Don't forget... APRIL 1st!

xxc 

This is my dream kitchen.

I want big windows, wooden bench-tops, a deep trough sink and constant baked goods.

Whats yours? 

I thought I would mix things up a bit tonight and share one of my other passions with you...weddings. I have fallen in love with weddings, not because I am even remotely close to being married but because I think the ceremony/day/decor have become very personal and individual and it's really beautiful to see a relationship represented in how the couple choose to style and run their day.

'The Lane' as well as 'Etsy Weddings' are my go-to places for a bit of a stalk of some real weddings. For me, real wedding pictures and stories are the way to go rather than simulated editorial photos - plus I am the ultimate sucker for a good proposal story! Karissa Fanning who created 'The Lane' is a huge inspiration for Kate and I in terms of how she built her business and continues to run it today. If you are looking to plan a wedding I would absolutely recommend setting aside a few hours and peeking through her website, it's just wonderful.

I found Ashley and Mitch's wedding on 'The Lane' last night and fell in love with their Eclectic Garden Party theme. You will see by their choice in decor and styling why it struck a chord with me (if you have been following our blog) - i just adore the turquoise and mustard colour palate and her bouquet is superb. I would have loved to be a guest at this wedding, their are so many comfy little areas to have a chat, little jars with colourful straws and adorable lights strung up as the sun sets.

All of these photos are from www.thelane.com and are a credit to their photographer John Benavente.

Enjoy and congratulations Ashley and Mitch!

Han x

Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second.
- William James

Kate's Tips and Tricks

As you may have noticed, we love the look of distressed, worn back furniture with that shabby chic/vintage feel. Most of the pieces we have on the site we’ve worked on ourselves to achieve that raw, rustic look. Transforming what was previously a fairly plain, bordering on ugly piece of furniture into a gorgeous, fresh little gem.

Since DIY has garnered such massive appeal of late, we thought we would let you in on a few tricks of the trade when it comes working on your own pretty pieces at home. 

Firstly:

Think about what you want the final product to look like: the colour and the feel of the piece. Consider where you are putting it in your home in conjunction with other furniture to assist in making decisions about colour, you want your pieces to compliment and enhance each other. 

Secondly:

Materials are key! You don’t want to get half way through a job only to discover you don’t have all the materials you need (trust me its bloody annoying!).  

• Sandpaper is your first stop; make sure you buy a range of grits because you WILL use them all. You’ll need a really rough grit, about 80-120, to work the piece back. Especially if your furniture has previously been painted. A range of medium to fine will allow you to experiment with different effects when you’re finally distressing your piece. Also, the sand paper blocks are a nifty little invention that you’ll get a lot of use out of, so be sure to add that to the list.
• Paint Brushes! Any shape or size your heart desires.
• Primer Paint is next, it will give you a nice even base to apply your coloured paint to. It is also what creates that gorgeous white that appears when you start distressing your piece back.
•  Coloured paint is the fun part. Make sure you purchase good quality furniture paint. There are a range of different finishes to choose from e.g. matte, gloss, and semi gloss. The type you choose is entirely up to you.  Although in my experience a matte, water based paint works really well when distressing your furniture.
• A few boring things you'll need to remember; a paint stirrer, drop sheet, mineral turpentine (to clean your paint brushes), a bucket (to soak the brushes in the turpentine), a sponge or cloth (never forget to wipe all the residue off your furniture before you paint) and scissors and painters tape (no one likes uneven edges). 

Most importantly:

Remember to have fun and don't be scared to experiment. Once you become more confident you can experiment with wood stains, spray paint and wall paper - the fun never stops! What are you waiting for?

We would love to hear about your own experiences with painting and distressing furniture so feel free to share any handy hints or discoveries you’ve made in our comments section or send us your pictures - keen.as.mustard@outlook.com.

You never know, there may even be a sneaky prize in it..

Kate x

A behind the scenes sneak peek at our application for the 'Greville Village Market' in Melbourne. We had to measure up a 2.4m by 2.4m space and submit an idea of what our stall would look like. I think the exciting thing about our stall is that literally everything you see is for sale: the furniture, the vases, the artwork - everything! All of the small colourful containers and cups will be made into soy candles over the next week (we are currently waiting on a delivery of wax). Our stall will also contain unique calendars hand-made by my sister Emma Fredericksen (who is also the photographer of all of our shoots) and beautiful gift cards with Kate's artwork printed onto them. I think we would make a good choice!

And if you're currently looking at these photos and thinking - I really want to buy that. Just remember... April 1st. Set your alarm, set a reminder, write it on your hand, your face, your forehead because everything is one of a kind and once it's gone it won't be back!

xxx 

We had a really busy day working on our furniture and sourcing unique containers for our soy candle range today. We painted a telephone table in a gorgeous grey, sanded and primed a bedside table and finished off with a trip to ‘Savers’. It’s incredible to see these pieces of furniture be given a second life and transform into what we had envisioned. It’s hard work! We are both mindful now that we need to alternate between arms when sanding as we can feel only one arm toning up… it won’t be a good look over time! Every day I go to bed feeling physically and mentally exhausted but satisfied and inspired. I hope you’re all working towards something that makes you feel that way too.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Can I have this in my place please?

Heaven.

The weekend is here again and we are off to the workshop to work on our furniture. We are working on an application for the 'Greville Street Market' which will be held in the Grattan Gardens every third Sunday in Melbourne - keep your fingers crossed we get selected! 

Hope your weekend is filled with afternoons in the sun spent with friends, tea parties and chocolate cake. 

Han and Kate xx 

After my last post, I felt inspired and so I went on the lookout for quirky bathroom storage ideas for you - and I think I found some gems! 

But I'll let you be the judge of that.

Old crates painted white and mounted on the wall make for a unique shelving unit if you're running low on storage or want to spice up a boring old wall:

Another great crate (good one Han!) option if you're running low on linen storage: 

I adore this use of a cake stand for all those bits and bobs that normally make a bathroom look super messy but look very cute displayed on this - particularly handy if you're a nailpolish or lipstick addict - Lauren I am looking at you! 

I already had an obsession with vintage suitcases but this has just taken it to a whole new level! Decked out by a adding a few wooden shelves on the inside (You could even glue an old spice rack inside for the shelves) and BAM it's a medicine cabinet. Just brilliant. 

What are you waiting for! 

Give that bathroom the makeover she so deserves. 

All images from pinterest. 

Now this is recycling!

An old wooden chair painted white and transformed into bathroom storage. 

Image from pinterest.com 

One thing that you should know about me, is that my boyfriend Tom and I are completely obsessed with french bulldogs. Obsessed. We have literally been waiting 5 years to get one, (until we live together) which will be next year and we have already become one of those annoying people who don't stop talking about their dog... even though we don't have one yet. 

Incase you are a crazy person and are thinking 'what's a french bulldog?' or you are thinking that they tilt a little more to the ugly side of the ugly/cute scale. Then you need to meet Trotter and you will be calling up breeders in 5 minutes to order your very own frenchie.

This is Trotter - all images are taken from his instagram @trotterpup

I JUST LOVE HIM!

Han xx 

Look at these cute little dudes!

We are making our own one of a kind soy candle range for the Keen as Mustard store and I think they look pretty nifty. What do you think? 

Wanna buy one for your mum/sister/granny/friend/teacher?

All of you beautiful people who have started reading and following our blog, thank you. We are very excited that there are lovely people out there who are interested in what we are doing. 

You're probably starting to think... when can I buy something? I want to browse the products of this so called 'online store'! 

Well ladies and gentleman the answer to that question is the 1st of April. Yes we are aware that this is April fools day but this ain't no prank! On the 1st of April you will be able to wake up, rush to your computer and shop away (and tell your friends too!).

We are keen as mustard to know what you all think of the beautiful pieces we've got. 

Can't wait! 

I now understand what it is like to be a workaholic. 

I have just crawled into bed after one of the biggest weeks I've had in as long as I can remember. It is impossible to believe that it was less than two weeks ago that Katie and I came up with the concept for 'Keen as Mustard'. We have since applied and received an ABN, registered our business name, filled our entire workspace to the roller door with furniture, built a web-site and blog and finished off the week with our first photo-shoot. Here's a cheeky little shot for you!

What a week huh? 

Kate and I are both very stubborn people and when we set our minds to something we don't rest until it happens. I am dreaming of furniture, wallpaper, sanding, paint - it never stops now! We have been up bright an early for the past four mornings to pick up furniture and I think I have seen more of Melbourne in the past week than I have seen in the past five years (which is wonderful!). On Friday we purchased the beautiful grey sofa that you have probably been perving on via our blog and instagram (we_are_keen_as_mustard). However what we neglected to tell you was that after we took the beautiful photo of Katie sitting on it, we attempted to fit it into the car, we tried manoeuvring it every way imaginable before finally giving in, carrying it back up the flight of stairs and ringing the poor ladies doorbell - assuring her we would be back to pick up 'Olivia'.

And we came back. With a ute. 

This morning we were up at the crack of dawn at Bunnings to hire our ute, which is beginning to feel like a second home these days. We love Bunnings on weekends because that means... sausage sizzle. I swear we have been single handedly funding the girls scouts after the past two weekends. We drove for FIVE hours. From Box Hill to Ferntree Gully to Melton to Box Hill to Home. It was bloody worth it though because we got 'Olivia' home as well as picking up the best bed-head and bedside tables. They have been the hardest pieces for me to let go of so far. I was very ready to put them straight into my bedroom but out of the goodness of my heart I have decided to allow one of you to give these beautiful babies a good home. 

But we did reward ourselves after our big day of driving... two sausages at the sausage sizzle. Each. 

Happy Sunday evening to you all, hope you've all had a lovely weekend.

Han xx 

It's official, cane has made a comeback.

Or perhaps it never went out of style? Either way, designers are re-inventing it and people are re-discovering it. At Keen as Mustard, we can't get enough of it! We love it for bed-heads, bedside tables, outdoor settings, lounge suites, study chairs - the list goes on.

This morning we sourced the most adorable three piece cane suite from Mary and Eddie (who are in their 80's). They had purchased the suite fifteen years ago and found they didn't have room for it in their home but couldn't bare to part with it until now. Due to its lack of use it is in PERFECT condition, a very lucky find.  They were the kind of people who are so unbelievably and unexpectedly lovely that they completely restore your faith in humanity. The print on the cushions has got to be one of its best features - but you'll just have to wait until it's for sale to have a perve!

In the meantime: here are some cane pieces we love:

Image: http://blackvelvetchair.blogspot.com.au/2010/12/eco-friendly-products-and-sustainable.html

Image: http://theaandsami.blogspot.com.au/2011_12_01_archive.html

Image: http://www.decorpad.com/photo.htm?photoId=67983&index=3&searchQuery=gallery%20framed&searchType=photos 

Enjoy! 

Happy Saturday everyone! Hope your day is filled with fresh flowers and treats. 

Han and Kate xx 

Picked up a chair very reminiscent of those sold at Matt Blatt this morning (whose furniture we love - but can't afford). Lucky this baby will be sold for a 5th of the price of their sofas on our website soon! Will you be the lucky owner? Fingers crossed!

Transformations happening everywhere at Keen as Mustard - get ready to snap up this adorable mint coffee table when we launch our online store! 

Can't wait for you to see all of the great pieces we have hiding away in the workshop - here's a cheeky preview of a delicious hallway table that will be available online soon. I bet you're as keen as mustard about this one as I am.