I have always recycled items. Everything from turning my youngest daughters bridesmaid dress into a nifty coat and beret for her oldest niece to using every piece of lumber available for projects here at Little Plum Place. In an earlier post you saw the finished “Man Cave”, created exclusively from lumber found in the old wood shed. Today I wanted to share a project that began in March and until three weeks ago has been sitting waiting for the final plumbing hookups and finished wall and floors. There were a few pew left in the Little Plum School house. Two were in dire shape. My options were to burn the remnants of the pews or “up” cycle to another purpose. I
chose the latter. Rick and I had been discussing for some time the concept of a ‘farmhouse’ type vanity for the master bedroom/bath area. After looking at several vanities that were close but not exactly what we envisioned, I picked up my sketch pad and designed what I thought would be the ideal vanity. Once again dear old Dad helped to schlep the two older pews to the construction area. I believe these were some of the original pews to the 1879 church. I say that because during the deconstruction phase I found these pews to be assembled with square nails. The size of the pews were clearly constructed for smaller people, another nod to a former era. I have kept one of the pews for display in our basement bungalow.
I spent almost a week on this project, cutting boards,sanding and assembling. I wanted to preserve the original color of the wood, especially the black stain of the top of the pew. To some it may seem odd to sand off 99% of the stain,
simply to reapply the exact same colors, but I found that to be the best solution when recycling wood from one creation to the next. The legs are wood from another dismantled project in the basement. I opted to keep the white paint on the interior legs for contrast. (Okay, and I was really tired of sanding).
The finished vanity is six feet long. The plumber did a great job installing the vessel sink that Rick had purchased in December and the faucet hardware (purchased on line) contributes to the vintage look we both desired. I still have to procure a second antique towel bar and sew an apron to mask the modern plumbing, but we are very satisfied with the finished product. The oversized mirror was purchased at an antique store near Madison, Indiana on our last trip to that town before we headed north. This massive, heavy mirror with a couple of wear marks that add to the charm of the vanity set us back $13.86 (with tax). It is a miracle that the mirror made it intact to Wisconsin. I love a big bargain.
We have settled into the basement. Now the work begins on opening up boxes, sometimes with delight and other times with sheer amazement. “Why did we pack this?” We thought we had downsized, but the reality is we need to purge more items. Letting go is sometimes easier said than done.
Until next week. Be well family and friends.