Green DIY: Refurbishing vintage furnitureGreen DIY: Refurbishing vintage furniture

My husband and I recently installed new floors in our home, becoming lengthy overdue and well received as they greatly improved the look of our circa 1953, 900-square foot home (the original oak flooring was, unfortunately, as well far gone to save).

The problem? Our beautiful, shiny new floors now highlight just how crappy our furniture is. The motley collection of hand-me-downs and dumpster scores that were acquired much more for function than for great looks now made our house appear like the Delta Tau Chi frat house (albeit with truly nice flooring). In truth, the only piece of new furnishings that my husband and I’ve bought is our bed, and that was over three years ago. With excellent determination and really little cash I set out to discover a way to furnish my little mid-century house that accommodates my spending budget, and that appeals to both my individual taste and my desire to be eco-friendly.

I’ve never been a fanatic for antiques, particularly, or a lot of an interior decorator, but one point I’ve always wanted is a large, solid wood dining room table. Becoming chefs by trade, my husband and I love to feed large gatherings of buddies and family in our house. Whilst we’ve usually managed somehow to accommodate everyone, we’ve had to break individuals into groups — some sitting within the kitchen, some within the living room, us standing in the counter — which is not conducive to meal-time conversation and socializing.

 I found my first ‘treasure’ on craigslist: a 1940’s Duncan Phyfe-style mahogany table. The genius of this table is in the style — it has two drop leaves and two removable leaves. Folded up it takes up following to no space, and fully extended it seats 10 comfortably, solving the issue of needing to store a large table in a small house.With six chairs and a sideboard it price us a whopping $100. Whilst not it ideal condition, a little TLC brought forth it is historic beauty.

Not wanting to disturb it’s patina, I didn’t bother to sand, strip, stain or otherwise torture the table. Instead I utilized a item called Howard Restor-A-Finish which cleaned it up nicely, removing minor surface scratches and water marks. The claw feet caps are brass, and following a good soaking in a answer of salt and white vinegar (and a little elbow grease) they shined up beautifully.

table 005With my fire for vintage decor ignited I started scouring estate sales and craigslist. Together with some Goodwill chotchkies, like a 1950’s crackle glass table lamp ($6) and a stunning antique green glass vase ($2), my following “score” was in the Restore on Hillsborough Avenue. This resale shop salvages items from tear-down or restored homes with the profits going to Habitat For Humanity. Talk about a win-win situation! Additionally to furniture The Restore sells plumbing fixtures, hardware, doors, windows, cabinets, lighting fixtures along with other miscellaneous housewares. I bought an antique mahogany bedside table for $35 and the nice gentleman that functions there told me that the table had only just been dropped off that day — timing is every thing, right? He also gave me an insider’s tip: most people drop off unwanted products on Saturdays, so if you want a good selection, it’s the best day to shop.

With a little web study and perseverance, you can discover a style that suits your taste along with a price range for reasonably priced unrefurbished vintage furniture. Not into do-it-yourself projects? There are many resale stores in the Tampa Bay region, for example Sherry’s YesterDaze in Seminole Heights, that sell vintage furniture, often currently fixed up and prepared to go.

There is a profound satisfaction is this type of treasure hunting. Not just do you find yourself stumbling upon unique, affordable items that seem created just for you, but you’re performing your part to reuse perfectly functional if not beautiful furniture. If you’ve been itching to redecorate your house this may be the ideal excuse.

 Source: The Daily  Loaf