Reuse, Reduce, Recycle, RESTORE!

Our first trip to the Salvation Army two Saturdays ago yielded two pieces that we bought for $90 total. The two of us spent probably a total of 8 hours working on them and I learned a ton about materials and restoration. As much as buying "green" is so trendy (and I basically agree with the concept), I think buying vintage pieces that have already been made and have been rescued from a landfill is probably the best way to go. Not to say I didn't just buy a brand new bed, mattress, and daybed for the apartment, but I guess we all do what we can (The thought of me or my guests sleeping on something used just wasn't so appealing to me!).

The mirror was painted white, which was okay, but it was a bit dirty and moldy. Since the rest of the wood in our house is medium-to-dark, I wanted to darken it. So I cleaned it, we worked on stripping it as much as possible, then I painted it a black/brown I mixed using some of D.'s old paints he had lying around. The result? Hopefully distressed-wood-look to this very solid (read heavy but hopefully quality) piece.

We loved the cast iron base of the dining table, its compact size, its square-with-rounded-corners shape, and its sturdy wood top. We weren't crazy about the very lacquered '70's wood color, so D. spent hours stripping through the layers of lacquer. I cleaned off the iron base (I may treat it with the mineral oil we used on the work table base once we move it) and we took turns trying to figure out the stain (which was more complicated than I ever thought). We still have to finish it (we bought a 'satin' finish) but it's almost there (I like the shots where you can see it reflected in the mirror, before and after).