Besides painting, needlepoint and knitting, I enjoy refurbishing old furniture - and I mean really old furniture.
This is the type of furniture where I've found chair (let's say) and it's been left out somewhere because the last owners can't fix it. But I can see its potential. So, I pick it up and bring it home, sand the old stain off and apply a few new coats of stain and then it's usable again.
But it's not only chairs I fix. And I started small - really small.
I stared out with an old cutlery box of my Great-Grandmother's. My Mum had it under the house and I spotted it, asking if I could fix it up. She hesitate as she wanted to do something with it, but then said yes. So, I got in and gave it a new life as a peg box - wooden dolly pegs in one side, plastic ones in the other.
Then, we picked up my late-Grandmother's Glory Box/Hope Chest. It had been in storage for some time and badly needed to be looked at. My Aunt wanted it, but wouldn't do anything about it - she kept saying it was supposed to be hers. Then I started working on it and she didn't see it until I posted some photos into a photo album on Facebook and she said she wanted it. Mum told her that I had been working on it for about a month and it was a great project and it looked good in my bedroom.
One day, one of my neighbours found an old chair next to her place where somebody and left it to be picked up. She told me it was all wrapped up and she didn't want it. So, we opened it and I found it was an old 1970's chair without the cushions (why they weren't there puzzled me, but that chair was naked!). Anyway, I offered it up to her, and my neighbour said she wouldn't know how to fix something like this and let me have it. Oh! I had so much fun fixing up this chair; as it was just so beautiful to start with... to curves and turned wood was lovely.
It took me around a week or so to get it back to what it looked like when it was bought almost brand new. Then, Mum and I took it to Ash Chapman's at Noel Street, Slacks Creek. This place works on old furnishings and upholstery; and did a wonderful job on my chair. It takes pride of place in my office now, as my Reading Chair; and yes, I've fallen asleep in it a number of times while reading my favourite books.
I've also fixed up a square coffee table, which I found during a council toss out month... which is now in my living room and a few other things, as well as my Chiswell Dinner Table and chairs, which I bought on Gumtree as is.
But my biggest project thus far is my Great-Grandmother's wash table. It's been going for about a year now, and has been put away to dry properly. I'm so happy to wait for the next few days until I can pick it up and bring it home, placing it in my bedroom... where I can put the basin, jug and other bits in place for them to look as beautiful as they're supposed to; instead of looking out of place in my living room.
Well, this is my other hobby I love. I don't get to do it very often as where I live doesn't allow for the noise of electric sanders and stench of stain to bother my neighbours... it's all legal stuff and red tape I have to deal with... but it's something I'd love to work on more because I'm good at it. Until my next post, keep creating.
This is the type of furniture where I've found chair (let's say) and it's been left out somewhere because the last owners can't fix it. But I can see its potential. So, I pick it up and bring it home, sand the old stain off and apply a few new coats of stain and then it's usable again.
But it's not only chairs I fix. And I started small - really small.
I stared out with an old cutlery box of my Great-Grandmother's. My Mum had it under the house and I spotted it, asking if I could fix it up. She hesitate as she wanted to do something with it, but then said yes. So, I got in and gave it a new life as a peg box - wooden dolly pegs in one side, plastic ones in the other.
Then, we picked up my late-Grandmother's Glory Box/Hope Chest. It had been in storage for some time and badly needed to be looked at. My Aunt wanted it, but wouldn't do anything about it - she kept saying it was supposed to be hers. Then I started working on it and she didn't see it until I posted some photos into a photo album on Facebook and she said she wanted it. Mum told her that I had been working on it for about a month and it was a great project and it looked good in my bedroom.
One day, one of my neighbours found an old chair next to her place where somebody and left it to be picked up. She told me it was all wrapped up and she didn't want it. So, we opened it and I found it was an old 1970's chair without the cushions (why they weren't there puzzled me, but that chair was naked!). Anyway, I offered it up to her, and my neighbour said she wouldn't know how to fix something like this and let me have it. Oh! I had so much fun fixing up this chair; as it was just so beautiful to start with... to curves and turned wood was lovely.
It took me around a week or so to get it back to what it looked like when it was bought almost brand new. Then, Mum and I took it to Ash Chapman's at Noel Street, Slacks Creek. This place works on old furnishings and upholstery; and did a wonderful job on my chair. It takes pride of place in my office now, as my Reading Chair; and yes, I've fallen asleep in it a number of times while reading my favourite books.
I've also fixed up a square coffee table, which I found during a council toss out month... which is now in my living room and a few other things, as well as my Chiswell Dinner Table and chairs, which I bought on Gumtree as is.
But my biggest project thus far is my Great-Grandmother's wash table. It's been going for about a year now, and has been put away to dry properly. I'm so happy to wait for the next few days until I can pick it up and bring it home, placing it in my bedroom... where I can put the basin, jug and other bits in place for them to look as beautiful as they're supposed to; instead of looking out of place in my living room.
Well, this is my other hobby I love. I don't get to do it very often as where I live doesn't allow for the noise of electric sanders and stench of stain to bother my neighbours... it's all legal stuff and red tape I have to deal with... but it's something I'd love to work on more because I'm good at it. Until my next post, keep creating.
