Creative Projects with Gilly's - Hayward House Furniture

May 14, 2024

Hayward House Furniture, where every project has a story, and every piece of furniture gets a whole lot of love. We interview Shannon, featuring her transformation of an old farmhouse hutch, using Gilly's Lime Wax.

Please tell us a little about you and your business. We’d love to hear about how long you’ve been involved with what you’re doing and what inspired you to take this career path and when.

Although I have been painting furniture for nearly 10 years, my journey from corporate cog to creative business owner started 2 years ago. I had worked in corporate all my life, I was burnt out and had nothing left in the tank.

Then COVID happened ,,, It turned my world upside down and with it, my mental health.

I needed help from my GP having had my first panic attack in a shop with my beautiful 10-year-old girl and had to call my husband to come and get us both. This was the beginning of a long and winding road. One that has led me to where I am today.

Not able to return to corporate life I took time off and got back into my workshop to “keep myself busy” as I was recovering. Armed with my painting kit and a bunch of Facebook marketplace finds I had my work cut out for me. From this point, I turned my hobby into my sanctuary.

Fast forward to today and my passion project has levelled up into Hayward House Furniture; a full-time furniture refinishing business where I get to makeover forgotten furniture pieces for my amazing clients.

The spark? Well, after years of the corporate grind, my spirit needed a revival. So, I took a leap, backed myself, and I was away.

The ethos of my business? Simple: Restore life and energy into old, make the worn-out wonderful, and ensure every piece can create new memories for my clients.

How long have you been using Gilly’s products and how did you first come across them?

My love story with Gilly’s products began over around 18 months ago. It was like finding the missing piece to my puzzle.

Is there any particular product you prefer to work with and if so, could you explain why?

The range has been a game-changer, but if I had to play favourites, it’s their epic Lime Wax. This magic in a tin transforms the mundane into magnificent with an ease and depth that's simply unmatched. By far my most used product from Gilly's.

Could you tell us about what you are working on right now and give us a step by step guide on how you are making it.

I recently refinished a farmhouse-style hutch that had been gathering dust underneath a house in Petrie, North Brisbane. It got the full Hayward House treatment and boy does she look incredible now.

Tired old farmhouse-style hutch in need of some Hayward House Furniture TLC

Prep:

I started with a solid clean & vacuum, removing dust and debris. I removed the glass panels on the upper section door fronts. The lower door fronts had covers on then and were also removed to open up the hutch. From there, I installed new mesh wire to tie in with upper and side panel wire mesh inserts.

Sanded cabinet After Lime Wax application

I restored the original trim from the lower section and installed new oak trim framing for the upper and front door panels. New black hardware was installed to finish the project perfectly.

Once all the changes were completed, I applied a coat of Gilly’s Lime Wax to re-vitalise the project, followed by a clear wax to seal in the beauty. This project turned out so beautiful!

Check out the reel for this project here:

Do you have any tips and tricks pertaining to Gilly’s products that we haven’t included in our own material? We often have people contacting us with some really innovative uses of our products!

Now, for those secret sauce tips using Gilly’s you're all dying to know.

One of my all-time favourites is applying Orange Oil underneath drawer runners for a smooth gliding drawer track. I also apply Orange Oil to the inside front panel of drawers for a beautiful fragrance each time my client opens the drawers.