Dumpster Diving

One day a few weeks ago I was driving to work and noticed a sofa, love seat, dressing table, mirror and bench in the bushes by the dumpster. It was all soaking wet, but I decided to stop and take a look.

For a while I had been thinking about how nice it would be to have a little dressing table and mirror in the spare bedroom to use to get ready. The spare bedroom has kind of an old world, feminine feel to it. It has a burgundy red accent wall, three awesome prints that we picked up in New Orleans, burgundy silk curtains, a couch, and a wall of shelves with lots of little treasures. My bathroom has ZERO counter space, so it’s difficult to put on makeup or to pick out a necklace and earrings, etc.

I was so excited to find this adorable little dressing table with all of its drawers, and the matching mirror and bench! I took a closer look at the dressing table and noticed that it had a beautiful scalloped skirt and wood wheels. I thought - Hmmmm... My great grandma's furniture has wood wheels, I wonder if this is old and maybe even valuable. But either way, it was just what I wanted and it was FREE! I love a bargain and I love Antiques Roadshow! Frequently when I am watching it I will ask DK to come in to the den and watch a segment. Then I say something like "See, one of those things that I brought home could be worth a million dollars!" DK just looks at me, and I suspect that the look says "That junk? Dream on!" Any of you who know me in real life know that I am an incurable collector of all sorts of stuff, especially vintage and antique telephones.

Back to the soaking wet furniture. I loaded the three pieces into Bumble and took it home. It sat in the spare room for a few weeks, drying out. Last weekend I felt super motivated to get things done around the house, so I decided to work on restoring it to its original glory. As I was pounding on one of the table wheels with a hammer to remove it, I heard a "clink" type noise. I looked around and noticed that a penny had fallen out of the table frame. Guess what the date on it was? 1944! So that doesn't mean that the table is truly old, but I think it supports my theory. I like to look at the table, mirror and bench and think of all the places they have been and all the people they have seen.

I replaced the wood drawer pulls with beautiful crystal and brass knobs and gave everything a good cleaning. I fixed the mirror frame (it was in 6 pieces) the best I could without the proper supplies and tools. I considered getting a new piece of mirror cut, but I like the way the old mirror is flaking and worn looking. I went to home depot and had a new piece of wood cut for the bench and recovered the seat in the same burgundy silk as the curtains with a crystal trim.

What do you think? I am very pleased with the finished product. :)