Here's the story of some lovely tables

Who were discarded as if they were rubbish.

All of them were made of hardwood, like the others,

The recent one was Tasmanian Oak.

It is a fun thing to be able see potential in discarded objects. And for connoisseurs with skill, we live in a truly target rich environment. I’m constantly amazed at the sheer quality of useful items that are discarded rather than being repaired or repurposed. And I began thinking about that matter this week as we were applying Tung Oil to the new second hand hardwood dining table that we purchased for $100.

It was the editor that pointed out to me just how many tables we had purchased second hand and were now in daily use! The interesting thing about all of the restored and repaired tables here is that they all have their own story to tell. And it is an interesting collection of short stories which highlights the sheer waste going on all around us and also the sheer opportunity for those that are prepared to put in a bit of sweat equity.

Waste on the scale of today is a fairly new experience for us. Way back in the early 1990’s when grunge and garage bands ruled the airways and the recession “that we had to have” raged on, the editor and I were both working in uncertain employment taking whatever jobs were available. We both studied at University at night and were desperately trying to pay off the student debts that we had been rapidly accruing. In those days we needed a table to study at and so we purchased this bright blue table which was clearly second hand for about $70.

Observant readers with good eyesight, may be able to spot the pink velour couch just inside the door. That couch was pretty dodgy and some of the feet were even missing. Being the enterprising sorts that we are, we simply propped the couch on a few bricks and threw a sheet over it (which can also be seen in the photo). You may also notice the new timbers sitting on the concrete, as well as more timber inside the house which were being used to lift up the rear half of the house which had been slowly sinking into the clay and rotting.

Now I’m not particularly partial to bright blue tables as they clash with, well, everything really. That table offended my sensibilities, but it was the best that we could acquire. I should also mention that the vinyl linoleum that the previous owners had thoughtfully tacked onto the surface was a nice touch, but it smelled really badly of a very old and very dirty kitchen, that may have been washed at least once in the past four decades. The linoleum had to go and soon, which was why the table was sitting outside in the photo.

The vinyl linoleum was easily removed and discarded and it was then that we discovered that the table top had unfortunately warped – which was why it was covered over with linoleum in the first place. We could live with the warp far more easily than the stink from the linoleum, and so the table was sanded down to reveal that – we believe – the timber was very old and quite rare Australian teak wood. The table received many good coats of oil and was then used as a desk for the next two decades.

For the rest of the blog entry click on: http://ferngladefarm.blogspot.com.au/