believe it or not, this is going to grow up to be a kitchen island:
and from the side:
and the lovely top:
This dresser that someone discarded (pictures of drawers later) is actual real wood. I have a keen eye that is able to spot real wood on the side of the road that has lots of potential but somehow no one else has been able to see.
This particular specimen ended up being within 1 inch of the size we had planned to build, since we couldn't find anything the size we needed prebuilt.
so.... after chopping it's height down, changing the drawer slides to shelves, re-doing the top, putting nice wood on the back, and stripping, sanding and staining (the BIG "3"), and depending on my work load in the next week or so, there hopefully will be pics of our brand new kitchen island.
I have a lovely credenza that is the sturdiest piece of furniture I've ever owned that was in an alleyway, with the legs falling apart. A thorough cleaning, a light sanding, a nice paint job, new legs and some nice nickel knobs, and it is sleek enough to almost pass for ikea (although would probably weigh much less if I'd bought it there).
(I'll post pics later since now I know you all have a fantastical visual image in your heads of this amazing transformation, and you'll suffer aesthetic withdrawal if I don't show you.) ---found one on flickr, but it's hard to see:
oh, and let's not ever forget the infamous 'zebra chair' as we refer to it now. (All the former trash to treasure pieces were taken with one of those historical devices using FILM of all things, so the original photos are in a beautiful coptic bound notebook with those adorable little photo corners, rather than being in digital format on my hard drive somewhere.) I did find one picture of it on my flicker - you can see the living room is in a different arrangement here:
The zebra chair is my most beloved furniture overhaul to date, and was previously a bedraggled - shredded 'cat nail sharpener', and I found the tag inside the real horsehair tufted cushion that said 'chicago - 1926'. This was a chair that was in my husbands apartment before we got married, and rather than set it on fire or throw it off the side of a cliff like a normal person, I chose to spend a good 30 - 40 hours of my life completely fixing it. One of the arms was broken and hanging off the side, and the upholstery fabric that still had a few threads hanging was so hideously mustard- ugly, I can't imagine how it was ever a beautiful piece of furniture even when new.
And after many hours of sewing, hammering, re-attaching, staining, etc, it was finished. No visitor in our home has ever failed to notice it! {There were a few hysterical tears when beloved cat previously mentioned decided to consumate the back of the completed zebra chair with her nails.} The chair was then unceremoniously wrapped from top to bottom in duct tape and every wool blanket and piece of thick fabric I could find was piled on top until you could no longer tell it was a chair.
But since that kitty is no longer with us (not because of her affinity for zebra print, but due to natural occurences) the chair now holds a place of honor in front of the TV.
lucky for me my honey enjoys going on these scavenger hunts with me to pick up trash I've seen around town :)
