(this post is long and will come in two parts)
Recycle, Repurpose, Refinish, Reuse
These words can be related to items that furnish a home. Recycled furniture is so popular now, that many antique dealer and flea market businesses across America and Europe, are booming. Estate sales, garage sales, flea markets, auctions, and online websites like; Etsy, eBay, Ruby Lane, and 1stdibs feature quality previously owned items and antiques that can add just the right touch to the interior of a home.
Getting excited about most of the mid-range furniture made today can be challenging. Over the last 30 years people have become high on instant gratification and keeping up with the ads, or I dare say... CATALOGS! Shoppers seem unconcerned that things are made cheaply and disposable. Mass marketed furniture for the brand addicted in-crowd is classified as "mid-range" priced and sold in the plethora of corporate stores surfacing shopping malls across the country.
You can buy those "Made in China" clothes to coordinate down the mall with an overpriced, poor quality, pattern-of-the-season chair. And just as you turn the corner a cute accent table catches your eye and you are convinced to buy it too because of the great sale! Months in, the table is wobbling, its finish is dull, or coming off and the darn thing begins to crack. The pattern on that chair now looks hideous and the seat cushion is flattening. Actually, the chair cushion and fabric looks older than you.
You call the store and they direct you to their customer service number. You then dial it only to talk to a rude CS rep who enlightens you on how it's all your fault and the warranty doesn't cover items that people heavily use. They claim you should have been more careful. Suddenly you realize the helpful sales person who sold you that crap was no more knowledgeable about furniture quality
than the jeans folder at the GAP.
IMO, gone are the classic techniques in producing quality items in America's mass market furniture era of PB, WE, C&B, RH, A haus, and the like. Oh, they claim to still use some CT and do say their pieces are made from quality materials, but all you have to do is visit one of their factory outlet stores and the product tells the real "Made in Wherever" story. Much of their items are very attractive and I am sure some do hold up, but read the online complaints and reviews from real buyers. It can be discouraging to a person shopping for the classic quality many older American furniture makers once produced.
Refinished
First, let's admire a visual of superbly refinished small antique pieces. The two beautiful tables featured below are from the Maryland antiques shop...
Tone on Tone
(source)
(source)
3
Recycle, Repurpose, Refinish, Reuse
These words can be related to items that furnish a home. Recycled furniture is so popular now, that many antique dealer and flea market businesses across America and Europe, are booming. Estate sales, garage sales, flea markets, auctions, and online websites like; Etsy, eBay, Ruby Lane, and 1stdibs feature quality previously owned items and antiques that can add just the right touch to the interior of a home.
Getting excited about most of the mid-range furniture made today can be challenging. Over the last 30 years people have become high on instant gratification and keeping up with the ads, or I dare say... CATALOGS! Shoppers seem unconcerned that things are made cheaply and disposable. Mass marketed furniture for the brand addicted in-crowd is classified as "mid-range" priced and sold in the plethora of corporate stores surfacing shopping malls across the country.
You can buy those "Made in China" clothes to coordinate down the mall with an overpriced, poor quality, pattern-of-the-season chair. And just as you turn the corner a cute accent table catches your eye and you are convinced to buy it too because of the great sale! Months in, the table is wobbling, its finish is dull, or coming off and the darn thing begins to crack. The pattern on that chair now looks hideous and the seat cushion is flattening. Actually, the chair cushion and fabric looks older than you.
You call the store and they direct you to their customer service number. You then dial it only to talk to a rude CS rep who enlightens you on how it's all your fault and the warranty doesn't cover items that people heavily use. They claim you should have been more careful. Suddenly you realize the helpful sales person who sold you that crap was no more knowledgeable about furniture quality
than the jeans folder at the GAP.
IMO, gone are the classic techniques in producing quality items in America's mass market furniture era of PB, WE, C&B, RH, A haus, and the like. Oh, they claim to still use some CT and do say their pieces are made from quality materials, but all you have to do is visit one of their factory outlet stores and the product tells the real "Made in Wherever" story. Much of their items are very attractive and I am sure some do hold up, but read the online complaints and reviews from real buyers. It can be discouraging to a person shopping for the classic quality many older American furniture makers once produced.
Authentic dove-tailed drawers made from solid hardwood was a fine feature. Veneers were placed over real wood, not particle-cardboard. The wood finishes were done by hand instead of an industrial machine that creates plastic looking results. You could once smell real craftsmanship, but now you gag from the stench of low wage labor and the fumes of chemicals. And today, most delivered new items never turn out looking as awesome as the floor models you fell in love with at that mass marketed store.
Okay I'll get off the soapbox
These days there can be sticker shock when you do find new furniture or antiques of iron-clad quality. With a tight budget in mind you can either...
a) find satisfaction with ill made items engulfed by synthetic and cheap materials
b) cough up the ducats on that beautiful refinished antique piece and plead "the 5th" on what it cost, then eat more ramen
OR
c) inspire to be resourceful for finding quality used items at a practical price and revise them into worthiness
Refinished
First, let's admire a visual of superbly refinished small antique pieces. The two beautiful tables featured below are from the Maryland antiques shop...
Tone on Tone
(source)
Both of them (gorgeous) probably had an old wood-stain finish before being transformed into these fabulous pieces. Many older wood accent items look dated and some of their finishes are no longer pleasing to the eye, but the construction and style is remarkable for today's interior style of mixing the old with the new.
Oh, I must mention that these two antiques probably aren't budget beauties. The first one is Swedish and the second one is stated being 19th century Continental/French.
The point is... with a little patience and effort, you can find and transform a used item into something fabulous!
Readjust
With moving into a new home comes an adjustment period, where taking inventory is needed for what the home will need to flourish and reflect your style.
1
A small chair side table adds convenience.
Purchased at my favorite place to browse thru in the city, Austin Antique Mall this small table is well made, but the stained finish was not for me and needed to be changed to give it a softer appeal. I sanded the shiny glaze off the top and painted the bottom using Farrow & Ball - Middleton Pink, then toned down the color with a dark wood stain and finished it with a layer of Howard Citrus-Shield neutral paste wax.
The plan for this cute little table is to sit next to the future slipcovered reading chair in our master bedroom. It's the perfect size to set my glass of wine, or cup of tea on.
2
I found this old grandma looking footstool at the same antique mall with dark stained legs and dated fabric...yeesh! But it is a solid piece and I wanted a nice size footstool instead of larger ottoman for that same MB chair. I refuse to pay the cost for reupholstering, so I painted the legs a light taupe using a small color sample, then aged them with a gray wood stain and made a simple slipcover from heavy Libeco natural linen fabric.
3
The next two items are an example of what can be done with good used furniture, having a wood-stain finish that needs to… disappear! The Ethan Allen french country nesting tables were found on the eBay shop Z Brothers and are thick, solid American made with a date stamp, 03-11-85. The small cabinet is an imported (yes, I did once buy a "made in wherever" and it had fumes that are gratefully long gone! lol) piece I purchased 12 years ago and has only the after photo, because I was in too much of a hurry and forgot to take the before shot. These will sit on each side of a brand new Belgian style linen slipcovered sofa, atop of a hardwood floor.
Come back soon to see the revisions of other used furniture items I have found while shopping on a tight budget. They will be featured in Wood you like to change? ~ part 2.
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Some of my favorite eBay used furniture dealers are…
Be sure to check out the wonderful blog for the shop Tone on Tone
In Austin during the hot summer, if you're in the mood for recycled treasure hunting, try the air-conditioned booths at Austin Antique Mall
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Till next time ~ Rethink
