DIY: More Market DIY

More Market DIY

The past month has been a flurry of activity. I seem to have found my niche at the local markets. Which is wonderful since I truly do enjoy rescuing old furniture and repurposing many of my finds. I have always agreed with the old adage, "One man's trash is another man's treasure".  

Years ago, when my husband and I were young and our children were little, we were like many young couples: completely broke. However, I found that my desire for nice things wasn't diminished by lack of funds (after all, who doesn't enjoy nice things?). There was no other choice but to get creative. All of those years of looking at old objects with a creative eye continues to inspire me. I find a deep sense of satisfaction in breathing new life into objects deemed no longer fit to serve. The two pieces I am sharing with you today definitely fit that description.

My husband is a paramedic for a local ambulance service and, he is away from home for two-three days at a time.  During his shifts, my daughters and I usually drop the station for visits. The station is located in an old business district that is on the edge of an older residential area. On one visit, I noticed what appeared to be several pieces of broken furniture on the side of the road, awaiting trash pickup. I asked my dear, sweet, longsuffering hubby if he could bring those pieces home, at the end of his shift. Of course, he obliged. My haul turned out to be an old dresser with a very damaged mirror and shelf combination. The mirror/shelf was beyond rescuing- it had many pieces missing. So, I just dismantled what was remaining of it and put the pieces away for future parts. After sorting through everything, I discovered that all of the drawers were there. Happy Dance! A few drawers needed repairs, but after that, the dresser only needed a thorough cleaning, a new finish, and new hardware. The top was terribly stained - it had nail polish, marker, and makeup stains. Despite that, after a bit of sanding, it was in good enough shape to take a dark stain finish. The rest of the dresser received a distressed black finish. New hardware was added, and Voila!