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Tag Archive | "Reuse-Recycle"

Refinishing 101: Trial By Fire

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

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In October 2009, I blogged about cleaning up this mahogany Duncan Phyfe table, which turned out to be so badly damaged it required refinishing, at least the top needed refinishing. Having never tackled such a major project before, I was reluctant. But since I got the table on Craigslist for the give-away price of $40 I thought, what the heck, if I ruin it I'm out 40 bucks but I will have gained invaluable experience. Prior to taking on the project I had the pleasure of meeting Angie Martzoukos, co-proprietor of Montreal antique shop Ambiance Eclektic (762 Rue Atwater), who showed me a few of the pieces she rehabilitated and offered to provide advice should I ever require it. Well, I took her up on her offer before tackling my Duncan Phyfe . . .

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Dumpster Diving Pays Off

Monday, November 1, 2010

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I had to do some pretty fancy gymnastics to fish this lamp out of the garbage on Saturday. I was thwarted by a fence protecting the trash, so I went home and got a coat hanger that allowed me to reach over and pull it out with the hook. The lamp is in nearly perfect condition with a speckled white and grey texture on the lower half. I had a small dinner party that evening where we discussed my fabulous find and what size and shape of shade would be right for the lamp. No one suggested anything like what I found yesterday while walking Judy -- I am not making this up, I swear! There in the middle of a gravel car pad outside my building was this made-to-measure, lined silk shade, cast off and left for dead. Coincidence? I think not.

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The Vision Thing

Sunday, October 17, 2010

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I'm probably the only Craigslist junkie whose heart skipped a beat when I saw the high back chair at left. Too old lady, you think? Not in the right hands. Imagine it in acid green or maybe a psychedelic print à la Austin Powers. Or how about all white, legs and all? There's a high-end decor store in Atlanta called Pieces and this chair is right up their alley. I surfed over there looking for suitable examples of what this red chair could become and voila, there was a trio of chairs all priced at about 100 times the cost of my $25 diamond in the rough.

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Wood Refinishing 101: Start Small

Monday, September 21, 2009

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What I know about woodworking is enough to fill a single blog post, this one. I'm as rank an amateur and you'll find. But that didn't stop me from trying to rehabilitate this teak bar cart which looks incredible now, thanks to a really good sanding and a rub-down with my new favorite product, polymerized tung oil.

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A Belt With No Buckle

Thursday, August 27, 2009

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I was doing some style scouting on the Rosedale decor strip Tuesday when I happened upon the Seatbelt Chair at the fabulous L'Atelier (1224 Yonge Street, 416.966.0200). All staff could tell me was that the chair comes to them from Montreal and is also available in red, black and white. Imagine a seating group with one of each colour? You'd make the cover of Dwell for sure!

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