Rescued From The Dump To Blow Up My Imagination
The son of the original owner showed me this old piece he was getting ready to toss and asked me what i thought of it. “Funky” was my first impression. Needs lots of love and I’m just the guy to love it, was my second thought, so I asked him for it. Before saying yes, he said it was broken while he was rushing to get it out of his house. He then told me it was made by his uncle, a German cabinet maker of some repute. I was too excited to ask his name, because I started looking closely at the piece and the incredibly fine woodwork.
To be honest, it was standing on it’s side, drawers out, top cabinet removed, and a small pile of broken wood, leaning against it when I first saw it. It was deeply scratched, water-stained, the shelves were broken and gone, but the joints were in perfect condition, and when the owner’s son gave me the keys to the locked doors, I knew I had to have it. I love a challenge like this one and when I pull it off, it will be awesome. I rushed it home and added it to my already bursting at the seems with projects workshop. I started doing a little research, brainstorming, and imagining, then I dove into getting it ready to work on.
This piece will require lots of love and care to bring new life into it. First step was to take it apart, sand down what could be sanded, determine what is veneered, what is solid wood, what needs patching, what signs of life on it add charm and which ones don’t. Then I started sanding it. Let me first tell you, that it is a much heavier piece than I expected it to be, so moving it around is a challenge that revealed just how solid and well made it is.
My next step was to wash the dust off it, and let it dry properly. You might be able to see here where the wood is permanently stained. I suspect that was the original colour of the teak veneer. The rest was bleached in the sun. The good thing about this staining it I now see exactly where to assemble the top parts and see clearly in my minds-eye what the new shelves will look like. So, now I go at it. Building the new shelves, painting certain parts in bright colours, and using finishing waxes to condition and seal the rest.
Until Part 2, hopefully within the next couple of weeks, please feel free to make any suggestions or comments.
Ps: This will also be featured on my new site at Found – The Repurposed Design Company. Please follow and like me there as well.
The New Renaissance Mindset 