Alternative Cocktail Tables

I have a love/hate relationship with cocktail tables---and I live in New Orleans where they are definitely cocktail, not coffee tables.   I mean, the right cocktail table with the right accessories can MAKE a room.  And how do you live in a living room without them there to hold books, drinks, and (I'm sorry, Mother) feet.  Unfortunately, they are one of the hardest items to find.  I mean it's almost impossible to find one the exact right length, width, height, style, etc.  And for some reason, most of the ones I love are, almost without exception, extremely expensive.  There fore, for a long time, I lived without one, pulling in small  stools when needed:

 

The furniture arrangement is the same, but it's a whole different room now.

 What made it harder for me to find the right table was that the furnishing was such a mix.  The cocktail had to blend with these mid century tables, cream slipcovers,  and peeling paint.

 

And the other table in the room, is a butler's tray that I made from a drawer and the legs from a folding tray table (I guess I do like non- traditional tables):

 

 

 Luckily, on a trip home to the farm, I found this shipping crate, once used to ship tools, in my father's workshop. 

 All I did was clean it up (not too much) and add casters.  I didn't put a finish on it, because I like the rough look, and in my house, being used,  beaten up, and patinated is gonna happen anyway...the finish might as well start out distressed.

A corner of the cocktail trunk, but mainly an excuse to post a picture of Cleopatra.

 I also took my salvaging ways outside to make a cocktail table from a door I found on the street:

 And a buffet from a discarded packing crate:

Table from Scraps

Outdoor buffet made from a street find and scrap parts.

I've always been a fan of trash to treasure.  As much fun as it can be to shop for clients in high-end showrooms, what makes my heart go pitter pat is finding something unwanted and turning it into something stylish and useful.  Recently, some new neighbors moved in and promptly discarded this fantastic crate:

I immediately recognized that it could be great as something---I just wasn't sure what.  My first thought was planter.  My first step was to cover it in marine polyureathane, a necessity no matter that the end product:

I liked the idea of planter, but i didn't really need one.  But I started toying with the idea of a raised planter...but how to raise it easily, cheaply, and quickly.  When I started playing with options, I realized that the crate would be a great table--the high sides meant that I can stack paper plates and plastic cups for parties without worrying about wind or clumsy guests.  Thinking about guests and buffets made me think of tray tables---I happened to have some extra ones and realized that they would make terrific X-shaped bases (especially after a hit of color from spray paint left over from another project):

Salvaged crates, spray paint, and tray tables make an outdoor buffet.

A few accessories, and voila:  a goodlooking and hardworking addition to our party patio.

Desperation: the mother of creativity

What happens when you need a large scale piece of art for a client's bath and there is absolutely nothing left in the budget?  You keep your eyes peeled for inspiration, and after noticing that the paint splatters on your drop cloth form a pleasing composition....cut that crap up, staple it to a left over pantry door from the store room, and screw that baby on the wall.  It helps if you can keep a straight face while using terms like outsider art and the beauty of found objects.......

From Curbside to Bedside: How to refurbish a street find

Below is a pic of the great little nightstand I found abadoned on the curb when neighbors down the street moved out: It was a great find, because my guest room presents some difficulties. It's a small room, 12 x 14, made even narrower by a closet that juts out into the room. In it, I have a queen bed, which is too large for the space. However, I already owned the bed when I moved in with Thomas, I love it, it was relatively expensive, I didn't want to get rid of it, and we often have couples staying in the guest room. My intial decision with the bed placement, below, was to shove the bed into the corner to preserve floor space, and I used a small bench as a nightstand, both because of its diminutive size and because I really didn't have another home for it. Neither solution really worked; it was awkward crawling over another person if you shared the bed, and the stool offered no storage.

One day, while walking Cleopatra, the sweetest ,cutest dog ever, I stopped this little cutie on the curb. Sure she was a little battered, but at a little over 12 sq. inches, she was the perfect size, and the deco styling was a sure fit for our 1930s house. Furthermore, It was solid wood construction, and the veneer was intact except for a couple of very small chips around the edges.

The first thing I did was to thoroughly clean the piece with a 0000 steel wool pad soaked in mineral spirits to remove dust, gently sand down imperfections, and give a clean working surface. think of it as a gentle wood exfoliant. In the pic, you can notice the imperfections in the varnish on the top (the lighter patches of wood).

Next, I used a stainable wood filler to fill in the chipped door edges.

After applying, I sanded down the filler.

Next came multiple layers of stain and polish. I planned on keeping the finish in a similar tone to the original finish, but darker. This was for a couple of reasons. One, stain is like haircolor; it's easier to cover variations, mistakes, and inconsistency if you go darker. Second, while I didn't care if the nightstand's finish matched the bed exactly, I did think a darker finish would be a better complement.

First step, after patching, was to spot stain the worn areas in the finish, the stratches, and the putty with sedona red (which I already had left from another project) in order to blend the lighter patches with the rest of the finish.

Second, I lightly sand with superfine steel wool, and then did a couple of coats of a mix of Minwax Polyshade Special walnut mixed with Colonial Maple (the mix was also left from another project). I used the polyurethane with stain because the piece had originally had a laquer layer that had worn through in places. By using a poly, those unprotected areas would be given a layer of protection. I also needed the mixed colors to get exactly the color I wanted: a reddish tone with darker brown undertones. If you are looking for a certain effect or trying to match existing finishes, mixing is the way to go. Just remember to write down proportions as you are experimenting so you can recreate the perfect stain in larger quantities.

Third, because I wanted the piece to have a more authentic finish, I again sanded the entire piece with steel wool, and applied 3 coats of dark wax with a steel wool pad.

The piece in progress, after blending the lighter areas:

In place:

Since the stool was also narrow, I was able to squeeze it between the bed and the window to create a second nightstand. It's a little snug moving between the bed and the closet, but the benefit to having two nightstands is so much greater.

It's the perfect size for an alarm clock, a couple of books, and a small bouquet.

It was missing a pull, so I found a co-ordinating pull, painted it to match the original and added a broken beaded tassel for interest:

And for an extra touch, I lined the bottom drawer with a remnant of a favorite fabric:

Since I already had the stains and other materials needed for the makeover, my total out of pocket cost was $1.57 for the clearanced drawer pull. Considering the fact, I just saw a similar piece for $75 in a consignment store, I think it was a good deal.

Cheap Chic Decorating: AKA I found it on the street, continued.

Thomas and I are engaged in an ongoing project to create a party ready oasis in the backyard. One of the challanges has been to find budget friendly furniture pieces to create an outdoor living area that we don't mind exposing to the harsh Louisiana climate. We were able to get an incredible deal on the basic furniture, but it was time to add extra seating and the personal touches that would further the laid back, New Orleans, Boho, Caribbean flavored backyard we wanted. Luckily, the street curb has been a wonderful resource for doing just that: Above is the bench/low table we created with the paneled doors we found discarded from a house renovation in our neighborhood. I had the metal bases left over from a project where I used the table tops as art (for that project, view provisions interiors blog--the table tops are the series of wooden plaques.) The fabric through is an Echo shower curtain that I found on clearance at linens and things years ago. I usually use it as a table cloth, and its colors helped inspire my backyard palette.

Above are the doors as we found them.
We also found a gorgeous paneled door being discarded from another house. Attaching another pair of leftover legs as well as three coats of marine spar polyurethane resulted in this overscaled beauty (we decided to leave on the door knob for a quirky touch (i.e. it was too hard to remove and we were feeling lazy):

Here is the back of the dooring being prepped for exterior paint (for protection from the elements) and attaching the legs:

Here is the new seating area centered around the mantle we also found on the street (please ignore the ugly concrete that is awaiting staining):

The great thing about the table, is that even though it's smaller than a standard door, it has plenty of room for accessories, snacks, and drinks. It's even sturdy enough to be used as a bench. The low hot pink and turquoise tables just visible between the pairs of chairs are actually kitty litter containers I spray painted pink and left the turquoise tops. They're impervious to the elements, add a great splash of color, make great drinks tables, are a great way to reuse something that would otherwise be trash, and their destruction during a party will not upset me.

So remember, kids, when you are out walking the mutt, keep your eye peeled for usable discards. One man's trash is another man's decor.