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decorating with vintage – marble table with cast iron base

08.20.2023 by btslingerie // Leave a Comment

a hydrangea and black flower arrangement on a black cast iron table with white marble top with black ceiling fan and lights of patio above

Marble and cast iron pieces like this sell for thousands new but I was lucky enough to find the components for this Project for less than a hundred each at an auction and marketplace. We already have a bluestone and cast iron dining table in the house and I have been wanting a space to add a table like this, and the patio gives us the perfect sheltered spot for something this beautiful to live outdoors year round.

a round white marble table with grey veins, and a white ironstone pitcher with gilded stripe and washbowl filled with limelight hydrangeas and dark purple amaranth. On the table a stack of black coasters.

a round white marble table with white ironstone pitcher and washbowl filled with limelight hydrangeas and dark purple amaranth. On the table a dark black beauty dahlia, purple amaranth, and coral love lies bleeding amaranth draping over the edge of the table

Cast iron base – refinishing and sealing

I have used loctite rust neutralizer before on our cast iron planters, and this time I used it to refinish this cast iron base. First I started with wire sanding using a wire drill brush to knock off any finish and take down some of the rust. The product goes on and sort of foams when it encounters rust. When it dries down it forms a beautiful eggshell finish. With the rust being neutralized the surface now appears black.

Update *I treated both the top and underside and since this stays outside year round in a covered area its still looking good years later.

a round white marble table with grey veins and a rusty cast iron base on a gravel patio with grey wood patio furniture surrounding

Layla crouched on lawn painting the table base on tarp in the lawn with backlit forest behind

Refinishing marble

Refinishing the marble for this table happened at the same time as the vanity for the studio space. I ordered wet sanding discs online and started with a rougher disc moving towards the finer disc. It’s hard to see what is happening since wet sanding makes a slurry, and my first go at this was just on the vanity top and I didn’t stay long enough at each sanding level so I had to redo it.

There is also a need to keep the slurry going/wet that I got a better handle of on the second attempt. I think this would have been easier with an angle grinder because hovering above the drill made this a bit challenging but for a small surface area it worked.

Temper your expectations because this won’t remove deep stains but it will bring back brightness and luster. It will also take many more rounds of sanding to get a high shine, but I wanted a satin/matte finish that would hide imperfections.

Finally when the marble has fully dried you use a sealer and the surface will need regular cleaning and treatment to stay resistant. You will still need to clean up spills as marble is porous and prone to stains.

a white marble coffee table with wood base on gravel in front of green vegetable gasrden and forest in far background

a photo of a dirty white marble table top with orange stain and discolored white surface

Bluestone foundation

Sitting on gravel alone we knew mice and critters would nest underneath and it wouldn’t stay level, so we found this blue stone slab to match the ones at the door ways and along the stacked stone wall for underneath. We carefully leveled it before placing the finished table on top.

a gravel patio with grey gravel and grey patio furniture a square of gravel cleared

a different angle view of gravel patio with grey gravel and grey patio furniture a square of gravel cleared now set with bluestone

Through the seasons

The piece has been on our patio for over a year, I added a vintage ironstone pitcher and bowl as a vase and flowers out here last even longer in the house, I suspect bc of the more natural change in temps and breeze. We eat out here when the weather is nice and use this spot to take a rest when gardening, the table often holds baskets of our harvests before we bring them in for the day. It’s beautiful and durable and all it took was a little cleaning up and ingenuity to pair the top and base.

a round white marble table with grey veins and black case iron base on right, topped with a white ironstone pitcher with gilded stripe and washbowl full of yellow daffodils with orange cups. Next to the table is grey/white woven bistro chairs and a fluffy tan pomeranian on the gravel below

Want to see more ideas for home decorating with thrifted or vintage pieces? Find designer Layla’s series Decorating with Vintage

Shop Layla’s vintage finds Homespice Vintage

Product Range – Meet the Maker Day 8

03.08.2019 by btslingerie // Leave a Comment

From pyjamas to loungewear, everyday intimates to more hand finished heirloom pieces, I design and produce both machine washable and practical items to more fragile hand-wash specialty items. I have kind of dabbled in it all and that doesn’t even include previous collections. I enjoy the design process because there is such a huge range but that has to be balanced with what sells. Some of our best sellers shown here.

To add to this post further than what I was able to discuss on insta I’d like to talk about something that has come up on and off over the years – size range. As a small brand expanding sizing is a lot more complicated than it seems at the surface. Later in the meet the maker month I talked about the design process and how things are made – and we discussed grading and marking. One of the things that plays into pricing and size range for us as an indie is this step in the production process – it costs money to add additional sizes in every step of the process and all of that plus pre-making & holding additional inventory is an added burden on a small designer. I am always supporting fellow brands and I know there are others whose lines begin where ours end and I will point customers who are sized out of our line in their direction. Of course I want to see our brand expand in both scope of what we make and that includes sizing, but that has to be balanced with sales and not just items marked down but items at full price. That’s a conversation I’ve had with other brands and the Lingerie Addict on twitter many times.

I hope this gives an idea of why, at least for our brand it has been easier to expand our product range than our size range. I’m hoping that will change as we become more vertically integrated (which the market is forcing us to be, but that’s a topic for a future post).

To see the original post on instagram – click here

We’re collecting all of my March Meet the Maker posts here on the blog for ease of reading and all of you who might not be on instagram or facebook. It was a great opportunity to share a bit more about our brand and hope it helps you get to know me and BTS a little better!

Masha cats x lingerie

03.21.2015 by btslingerie // Leave a Comment

Masha Cats x Lingerie

There is a universal language that all cat lovers speak, I think if you’ve been following this series you’ll have seen it by now. There is a bit of the individual in the way we describe our pets, but specifically those fiercely independent felines. Something about that feline energy also really captures the allure of what it is to be a woman. It can be both playful and chasing its tail one minute, serious and focused hunter the next, and then with the blink of an eye hungry and affectionate for cuddles.

I love how each woman’s answer to the same questions have added to the photos, and this shoot & interview with Masha does not disappoint. She has incredible posture and while doing hair and makeup we talked about how her cat walks with her, sometimes on a leash sometimes not, and how they even go to the beach together!

So without further ado, Masha x Cats x Lingerie: