One man's trash ...

The last time I posted we had embarked painting the family room. I am happy to report other than a bit of the mortar on the fireplace we have finished de-sauna-fying our back room. The walls are now lovely white tongue and groove planking with the trim and fireplace a sand colour.

We are now waiting for our flooring. Sourcing out flooring provided us with a bit of a dilemma (it would have cost us half as much to purchase Chinese-made pre-finished hardwood), but we followed our hearts and went with the re-milled barn board flooring from The Timeless Material Company. We want to keep the rustic feel of the cottage and we are really excited to be using recycled materials while achieving this look.

In the mean time we've been visiting the Sarnia location of the Habitat For Humanity ReStore in search of a few little gems for our crooked cottage. We have not been disappointed.

First we bought this door to replace the one that currently exists between the kitchen and the family room.

Mike purchased this dresser that he plans on transforming into an entertainment cabinet. It will be modified to be incorporated with our (non-functioning) fireplace in the family room. The tv will sit on top while the componentry and dvd's will be housed in the cabinet. It is a "Peppler" of Hanover piece from before the time that the company was Sklar Peppler.

My personal favourite is this little cabinet. I'm sure most of you will think I'm crazy (I know our kids do) but I love this piece. Initially Mike didn't want it. He said we didn't have room. I assured him that there is a space for it in the livingroom and that once restored it will house some of our less frequently used china. I also told him that it was all I wanted for my birthday and it only cost $20, so what could he say?!

It is hard to see from the picture, but there are some cute little carved details on the front and a built-in silverwear compartment on the top. I plan on repairing the veneer, rebuilding the interior shelves and then painting the piece. Since the veneer is quite badly damaged in some areas and it doesn't appear to be a high quality wood I am not going to attempt to patch and stain the cabinet. Rather, I will paint it to go with our new kitchen cupboards (once we have them picked out).

There is a label on the back of the china cabinet that identifies it as having been built by the North American Bent Chair Company of Owen Sound. I did some research and discovered that this business was established in 1892 and closed its doors in 1945. That means my little ugly duckling is at least 76 years old.

We are excited by our vintage finds, especially because we have managed to discover some pieces that were manufactured in the area. We really like the idea of bringing some local history into our home.