01 August 2010

So I found my sewing table... sort of

Yesterday afternoon I was driving around the neighbourhood for a quick afternoon lesson with John when he spotted a retro table on the footpath (along with a whole heap of junk like a torn mattress). I drove around the block so we could have another look. What we found was a solid timber dressing table, which we quickly realised would make a perfect sewing table for me! We dragged the filthy old thing into the back seat of the car and drove it home. There was also an old mirror with kids' stickers all over it, but we left that behind.

Obviously as it's meant to be a dressing table used with one of those little stools (or perhaps it's meant for a child?), it's far too low. The section in the middle (above the drawer) is the perfect width for my sewing machine. My plan is to ask my resourceful neighbour and his woodworking friends to make the table sit about 15 centimetres higher by removing the pretty legs, adding blocks of timber in the right shape, and then screwing the legs back on. Then it will hopefully be a perfect fit for my ladder chair!

This is the best part. I opened the cupboard doors expecting to find cobwebs and old lining paper. Instead I found these stunning drawers - perfect to hide sewing bits and pieces! Why anyone would just throw this away is beyond my comprehension.





I'm thinking that I'll strip the whole thing back and paint it gloss white (the same as what I plan on doing to the chair). I was tempted to paint the doors and outer drawer gloss red, but now I'm thinking a lovely charcoal grey would look nice.

Can anyone out there tell me how old the dressing table is? My guess would be 40 or 50 years, but I really have no clue!

8 comments:

  1. What a find and a freebie! At first glance it I would have said circa 1930's era but looking at the silky oak drawers with the retro handles, this has now totally confused me - unless the drawers were a new addition.
    Will come up fabulous though for a sewing table. Great find.
    Pam

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  2. LOVE the drawers! It's a really cute sewing table. Are you going to paint it, cause I quite like the white and green combo as it is??

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  3. Well I WAS going to paint it (the green doesn't go with my place, although I know it would look great in yours!), but I've been told that the timber might be silky oak. So now I'm considering stripping it back instead. I guess I would at least sand it right back and see what I'm dealing with, and then decide whether to paint.

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  4. What a great, great find! I stumbled across your blog when reading someone elses blog and I'm happy to have found it :)

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  5. What a great find!Good luck with the make over ;)

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  6. What a great find - looking forward to the makevoer shots

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  7. She's a beauty! Look forward to seeing the makeover:)

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  8. Oh lovely and bonus when it's free!! Keep us updated on the progress :-)

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