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Thursday 9 February 2012

Striking it Lucky . . . Awesome Old Finds


So this last weekend we were planning on stripping tiles out of the bathroom. But as you can see, we didn't get around to doing it. We didn't actually do anything D.I.Y or house related. We have decided to take the rest of this month off and chill out a little and then hit the D.I.Y again hard in March. . . But don't despair, I still have quite a bit of stuff to share with all you lovely people who are actually following our blog . . .

Check out all the rad stuff we have been finding over the last few weeks . . . 

THE CLOCK

Starting with this awesome old clock that is in need of A LOT of TLC. It belonged to my great grandfather, W. A. Russell. I actually found it under my parents house. From what we can see it needs to be sanded down, re-varnished and have a few holes fixed and then the working parts need to be made to work again. It has a plaque on it that says it is from 1928. So that makes this clock 84 years old. Is anyone in the clock business and have any helpful tips on restoring old clocks like these? I wonder how much it would be worth now? 


THE BALL & CLAW CHAIR

While I was under my parents' house, all covered in dust and sand, I also stumbled over this old oak ball and claw chair that belonged to my mother's grandmother. It also just needs to be sanded down and varnished or sanded down and painted in a nice glossy white enamel paint? We are still deciding what look to go with . . .  It originally had a wicker/cane back but we aren't really fans of the wicker look, so the plan is to make a nice backing out of plywood and then cover it with a cushion and also have a new cushion made for the seat part. We are thinking stripes, maybe cream/white/grey/navy blue stripes. We will just have to go and scout out some fabric and see what is available.
Maybe something along these lines? What do you think? We will be doing a charcoal/grey feature wall in the dining-room so I am thinking top-right if we want to keep it neutral, or maybe the top-middle if we want to bring in some blue/navy to the room. Bear in mind the chair will be painted in white enamel paint . . .

THE KIST

Next up on the list of cool things we have found is this kist. It is nice and big and also just needs a light sand and varnish/wood sealer. There are lovely brass handles on the sides and a brass latch on the front that needs to be polished up to reflect its former glory. I had the perfect place under the window in our dining room just waiting for something like this to be placed there . . .

THE DINING ROOM TABLE

Up until December we didn't own a dining room table. We have never really had the need or space for one. After we moved into the new house the area that was the 'dining room' was so bare and in desperate need of a nice table. Although we have never had a nice big table, I have always had a picture in my mind of what it must look like but I had yet to find it in reality. One weekend around Christmas time we were window shopping and browsing in a couple of shops and we saw this table and both instantly fell in love with it. We had no intention of buying anything, let alone a dining room table. We didn't really have the money for it at the time but as always we came up with a plan and thanks to Mom & Dad Strydom we now have a lovely dining room table . . . 

THE CHAIRS

BUT we didn't have any chairs. Ever since then we have been on the chair hunt. We have seen some lovely chairs for around R500-R800 each which doesn't seem too bad if they are real wood (We have also seen some for this price that aren't even solid wood and made really badly). So thanks to Gumtree, we now have two chairs to add to our table and the two of them together only set us back R350. Yes, they are completely different chairs, but that is the point. I am wanting to get 6 completely different old looking chairs that are made from real wood. I want the whole mix-n-match vibe. BUT my challenge is to get them for under R200 a chair, or free if that is at all possible. So, two down, four more to go . . .  

*Side Note: If you are reading this and you have something similar hanging around full of dust and unwanted, we would gladly take it off your hands. Drop us a mail and we will make a plan to get it from you. :)

This first chair looks like it has already been 're-done' and although its got a few bumps and scratches, we love the way it looks and are going to keep it just the way it is.


And here is the second chair we picked up today, like all the other pieces it just needs a bit of attention. We are thinking of just sanding it down and putting a darker stain on it so it matches the colour of the other chair and then getting some nice cushions for them . . .

THE WINGBACK

This lovely old wingback chair wasn't really part of our search for dining room chairs but while browsing Gumtree, I found this lovely old chair was going for R150! I felt like I had struck gold when I found it!! I couldn't pass up the chance. So off we went all the way to the Bluff last night to pick her up. Don't get me wrong, the old lady, as she will now be called, needs to be fully re-covered and needs a makeover but for R150 it is well worth it. The legs also have a few holes in them from borer bugs but nothing that can't be treated and fixed . . . I have got a few quotes to get her recovered but I am really toying with the idea of us trying to re-do and re-cover her ourselves. Maybe another 'Step-by-Step' in the pipelines? Has anyone ever done any furniture upholstery before? Feel free to drop us a mail with any helpful hints/comments . . .

Last, but not least, check out this rug we got for a bargin and a half (R200). This is one of those natural fibre woven rugs. It is massive and it weighs a ton. (The width of it is slightly longer than the length of our 6-seater dining-room table. It also needs a good clean and a little TLC but I think it's going to look just fine in our new lounge . . . Compliments of a lovely co-worker and friend . . . Thanks Raapie . . .
*Side Note: I have no idea why there is an arrow on the right pic :). 
Sometimes weird stuff just happens . . .

What do you think of all our lovely finds? Let's hope we can fix them all up and make them look really good. We will keep you posted as we go along. Not sure when they will all get done, the en-suite bathroom looms . . . but maybe they can just be side projects when we have had enough of the big projects :) Has anyone else got any D.I.Y, home projects, furniture restoration they are busy with?
Let us know . . .  Send us your before and after pics with a short write up and we'll pop it up on the blog. We are very keen to get a South African home renovation vibe going where people can get a chance to show others what D.I.Y / renovation jobs they have managed to pull off on a small budget . . . and even if you not from S.A, drop us a line and say Hi, we would love to hear from you :) 
oldhouse.newhome159@gmail.com
Until next time . . .



3 comments:

  1. Table yes! Kist doublo Yes!! Clock wow

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  2. You have some great finds here. LOVE that clock!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Melissa. I feel like we hit the jackpot. Can't wait to start giving all this old stuff some new life :)

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