Trash to Treasure

I think my favorite posts from other bloggers is their stories of 'trash-to-treasure.' There's nothing better than finding someone's throw-away and transforming it into something that you know would have cost you a couple hundred dollars to buy!  We have several of those things in our house - things we've bought cheap and fixed-up or remade into a treasure.

One is our railway cart coffee table.

I originally spotted one of these at Overstock.com and fell in love!  It was just under $400 and I immediately set out to make one.  My husband and I shopped around for wheels and hardware and during that time, I pinned a picture of one on Pinterest. Lynda @ Gates of Crystal   A friend saw my pin and told me that there were carts for sale at a nearby second-hand store.  That weekend my husband and I went and got one.

It was filthy and rough but we loved that it said, "Chicago Machinery Exchange" on it as we are about 3 hours from Chicago and love visiting.  We scrubbed and cleaned it and replaced the top with new wood, stained to match.  I love the rustic feel it gives our family room.

Another favorite is a table that sits in our Entry Hall.  Several years ago my husband and sons and I were driving down our street when I yelled, "Stop!!"  There was a yard sale at a neighbor's house and I spotted this table sitting on the grass.

It was a lot longer at the time and the wrought iron was a rusted green color and it was also filthy.  The owners said that they found it in "the river!"  We took it home, cleaned it up and painted it, and shortened it to fit in this space.

It's really heavy and solid and a great place to drop your stuff when you come in from the garage.  This summer I'm hoping to re-make it into a dining table for our deck and build a hall tree to fit in this space. The wall hanging above it is from Hobby Lobby.

One of my all time favorites I don't have a picture of.  We found a three-legged dining table in the trash, added a leg and I painted the top with chalk board paint.  We used it for home schooling and our kids loved drawing and doing math on the top of the table! From free to fabulous!

But I'm especially happy about our latest project.  My mother-in-law gave us "Aunt Thelma's Desk" many, many years ago.  I have always appreciated having it but wished I had a hutch to sit on top to make it a secretary.  Over the years, I've scoured the internet and second hand stores hoping to find something that would fit.  

A couple of weeks ago, it occurred to me that I had a book shelf in the basement that I had bought just a year or so ago that might work.  And much to my great joy it was a perfect fit and perfect color!

We're going to add some crown moulding to the top and beef up the shelves because they tend to bow but I am thrilled!  I'm also thinking of painting it to look like this...

What do you think?

I'll post the finished secretary soon.  We just returned from visiting our son in Boston and will be travelling to Auburn, Alabama next week.  And then I'll be blogging regularly again.

love and blessings~

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." 2 Corinthians 5:17