Vintage Linen Basket - Upcycled

Hello and welcome to my latest upcycling project.

This linen basket (laundry basket) was a constant in our bathroom when I was growing up in the sixties and seventies.  I remember Mum proudly mentioning that it was a Lloyd Loom, a wedding present in 1953.  Fast forward several decades, and this linen basket made its way into my garage after Mum had to move into a nursing home, three years ago.  She is 93 now.

My sister was ready to throw it away because the inside always smelled of dirty laundry (think sweaty socks... ugh!).  It still smelled, even after a few years in my garage!  I don't think the inside had been painted since it was made!

However, a jolly good wash, followed by a few coats of paint has helped matters immensely!

I don't want to use it for dirty laundry, as I suspect it just hasn't got enough ventilation (hence the constant unpleasant odour) but I figured it could be useful for storage, and I really love that it has such strong memories for me.

I researched vintage Lloyd Loom, and I think it is more likely that it was made by a company called Sirrom, who copied the Lloyd Loom style.  

Like Lloyd Loom furniture, it's definitely made from woven twisted brown paper (you may be able to see this in the picture below where the paint had flaked off). But Lloyd Loom furniture included a steel rod as well as twisted paper, and this linen basket is definitely not attractive to magnets!  Despite being made of woven paper, it is surprisingly hard wearing - this has been in a bathroom since 1954 (apart from the three years in my garage) and I remember Dad standing on it to change a lightbulb!

In the picture below, you can see the remnants of a stay chain on the upper left.  This had broken and subsequently been painted in, many decades ago, and I did eventually manage to prise it off with pliers.

The wood underneath the hinges had split, so I filled that in ready for new ones - the old ones had seen better days.

I decided some foam and fabric would make this into a nice occasional seat. I had some of both left over from my ottoman project.  I cut the foam to size, and measured up some fabric to go over the top and under the edges.

I'm no upholsterer, but this was a fairly simple project.  I eased the fabric in places, and folded it in others before stapling it into place.  Like I was always taught in dressmaking classes at school, I also cut away some of the bulk of the fabric at the corners.

I also used scissors to push into the corners and create a neater edge.

 I glued the raw edges in place with PVA, before gluing a contrasting piece of fabric in place (also using PVA) … 

… then completed it with some ribbon edging.

I love this vintage ads fabric - I bought it in about 1978, not having any clue what I was going to do with it.  I've used some on various projects over the years (including this sewing kit).  The fabric possibly says a lot about the 1970s as well as previous years - it's mainly a mixture of old adverts for smoking accoutrements and alcohol, paired with baby's prams.  Maybe it's now a statement on social history! I hadn't thought about it that way before now!

I put the new shiny brass hinges on to fix the lid in place (disappointed B&Q didn't have silver/chrome ones in stock - what is going on? A pandemic?).

I also needed a new stay hinge, to make sure the lid didn't flop back when it was opened.  I decided to go for a fabric hinge, because the previous chain hinge had damaged the wooden frame by getting caught in it. Plus, fabric was the cheapest and most environmentally-friendly option. 

So, the fabric was measured, cut, folded, ironed, daubed in PVA glue ...

… and hung out to dry on a typically Great British Summer's grey day (a tiny tip if you are going to do this too: cut an inch longer than needed and don't glue the top inch - that way you won't glue the pegs or washing line up too!).

And there it is, complete with stay hinge stapled in place - this method makes for a surprisingly strong stay hinge and is so easy to do.

I could have left it here, but I thought one more small detail would complete this project: a little piece of fabric at the front to act as both a focal point and a kind of handle to lift the lid.  Once again, I decided to go for the option of use-only-what-I-have-already-got.

A scrap of fabric - measured, cut, folded, lined and ironed ...

… with a little wooden heart - painted red, with a vintage button sewn in place …

… plus a scrap of embroidery thread, a little time, and easily stapled to the lid. The heart and button match the ones on my ottoman.

I figure we can store blankets, cushions or throws in here - maybe even by the back door for the garden.  I love bringing new life to something that's old, unwanted or unloved!  

This linen basket was possibly all three but , although it's still old, I feel it will be loved and wanted for quite some time now! 

My Upcycled Dressing Table

Hello there!  Hope you are safe and well.  I'm sharing another upcycled furniture project today...

This dressing table was part of a bedroom set my parents received as a wedding gift in 1953.  It has definitely seen some service and has been in constant daily use since 1953! I didn't get a before picture, but it had definitely seen better days!  It was dark brown and definitely looking tatty!

I took it apart to work on and made a start on the white paint before under-painting some of the corners with blue, ready for a second (or was it third?) coat.

I decided on the top two drawers being blue... there is a lot of blue going on with these furniture projects at the moment!

And I just sanded the bottom two drawers.  This was a really quick job, as the varnish was over 60 years old and quite brittle (and worn away in places).  

I also sanded the frame of the mirror and the rather fancy posts which hold the mirror in place.

I was quite pleased with the mix of blue, white and old wood (apparently walnut).

You may recall the dog in the above picture, especially if you used to read this blog years ago - Quentin was a guide dog puppy who failed his training on grounds of his dodgy kneecaps!  He has grown into a happy, kind, gentle but still quite excitable family dog although he is much calmer than he used to be!  He photobombed this picture!!

I sanded back some of the white finish so that some blue paint and some of the old wood showed through.

I waxed the two large wooden drawers after sanding, which gave them a lovely smooth finish and will protect them.  I also waxed the paintwork - not sure how necessary that was, but it does give a lovely finish and is likely to protect the finish.

I'm really pleased with this dressing table, which of course has sentimental value (my mum used it daily for several decades before giving it to me) but is also a really well-made and sturdy piece of furniture which will now have a new lease of life - and may well last longer than I will (now there's a cheery thought!).  We really can't wait to move house now.  

We decided against taking this back upstairs to the bedroom - so it's still downstairs for now, surrounded by boxes until moving day!

The Mediterranean Mirror

Welcome!  Hope you are safe, happy and well!

So, the latest in my long list of Furlough Furniture projects (upcycled pieces I've only had time to complete because of coronavirus furlough!) is what I'm calling my Mediterranean Mirror.

This mirror frame with little drawers was something I found at a car boot sale, probably about 7 or 8 years ago.  I made a start on it at that time, but lack of time meant I then stored it in the garage and it didn't see the light of day again until recently.

It had at some point been a woodwork project for someone - it is clearly handmade and not built in a factory.  I love that about it.  Despite it being very solid and having great potential, the  handmade drawers were a nightmare - they didn't fit properly and were made of such hard wood, it was very difficult to work on them.  I very nearly gave up on them.  I was ready to make drawers out of papier mache to fill the gaps!

I persevered though (one thing I did have was time!) and ended up eventually with three beautifully fitting and very well-sanded drawers.  There is still a kind of mismatched rusticity about them, but I really quite like that.

The maps were from an old world atlas: I chose maps from the Mediterranean - Crete, Malta and the Balearics all feature (and hold memories for us) as well as the gateway to the Med - the Straits of Gibraltar (which we may well one day visit, if we are ever allowed out of lockdown!).

I tore the maps to shape rather than cut them, stuck them on using PVA, varnished over them with more PVA, then waxed them for a more hardwearing finish.

I then waxed over the wood and painted finish, too - inside as well as outside.  The finish is beautifully smooth, almost like glass.

I made little plaits from string for the handles, taped at each end, which I threaded through the holes which were already in the drawer fronts.

I then glued the overlap down inside with a glue gun (you can see some of the overlap inside the drawer, below).  I figured a long overlap would add to the strength of the handles.

I didn't have an actual mirror to fit.  I looked online and my first quote was for over £150.  I found another for £52 including postage, which I was happier with.  But then my daughter's partner recommended St George Glass in Leigh (they have a branch in Bolton, too).  I paid just over £30 and collected myself.  They were speedy, efficient, helpful and polite and I would definitely recommend them if you are based in north west England.

I also cut a piece of hardboard to back the mirror.

Fixing the mirror into the back was a lengthy, frustrating and complicated process!  I reused the original fixings (above, nicely cleaned from their previously very rusty state) but the wood was so solid it was incredibly difficult to screw into. It is a very hard, heavy and dense wood.  The fixings had been previously nailed in (you may be able to see the remnants of an old nail, just above the fixing in the picture above).  I can see why they were nailed in but I now feared for my mirror glass if I got the hammer out!

I even broke the bradawl in the process of trying to make some screw holes!

The finished piece is extremely heavy, so I think it might lead onto another project - a piece of furniture to rest on so I am not relying solely on new-build walls to support it.  We definitely can't risk this falling onto someone!

I love these map projects so much I can feel some more might be coming on before too long!  

I am happy to report that we have now signed contracts for our new house, so the move should be imminent.  Can't wait, this has been a very long time coming!

Old Schoolteacher's Desk - More Furniture Upcycling

Hello - hope you are keeping well and not too fed up with social distancing and lockdown.  I'm spending much of my lockdown time upcycling old furniture in readiness for a house move.  Here's my latest project...

I found this old schoolteacher's desk about 8 or 9 years ago on Freecycle.  At the time, I wanted a sturdy table for my sewing machine, and this was perfect for that.  The drawers didn't fit properly, but I didn't really need them at the time, so they sat in a slightly damp garage for a while, which may have made the fit even worse.  However, this is a really sturdy piece of solid wooden furniture and was worthy of so much more.

Fast forward a few years, and we are now downsizing to a house half the size we are currently living in.  I didn't want to get rid of this desk - I really like it - and thought it might make a lovely, if slightly quirky, dining table for our new home.

I sanded it back and realised the top had ink stains beyond what could be considered acceptable.  It was going to have to be painted. The diagonal stain across the top left in the above picture was just an ink stain too far!  It was much darker in real life than it seems in the photo.  There were splits in the table top too, which needed filling.

I painted the table top first with a stain blocker.  It's horrible stuff to paint with but it really does a good job in blocking out pretty much all kinds of stains.  I lost count of how many other coats of paint - white then blue - went on.

When I was sanding the sides, I found quite a bit of graffiti, some of it carved in and would have to stay.  Like I said: this is going to be quite a quirky table!  I quite like that we are keeping some vintage graffiti, especially as the bits we are keeping spell out Dave and (a bit more bizarrely) Japan.  Dave is my partner and his son is due to start a new job in Japan in September... kinda feels like it was meant to be!

You may have to look very closely, but it definitely says Japan!

One of the drawers wasn't squared up properly, and both stuck dreadfully.  I did a lot of sanding on the drawer sides, tops and bottoms, and this, along with some furniture wax, ensures they now fit and slide beautifully.  They now make my heart sing, which possibly sounds overly dramatic and may just reflect the struggle I had with them!

It was a lot of work to get both drawers to this stage - one of them even fell apart at one point!!

In keeping with the quirky feel, one drawer is red inside and one is turquoise.  The paint hides a multitude of felt pen marks and yet more graffiti (who managed to get inside a teacher's drawer to write their name?).

I really love the newly-rounded and well-sanded corners of these drawers.  The wood finish is now lovely and smooth and it retains that old, worn feel that I like.

I also love the sanded back effect of the table top, with some of the wood grain and joins showing through. A fair bit of filler went into some of those joins, and I found a lot of sewing pins in there too!

The last job was waxing  - the table top first, followed by the legs and sides.  I'm really pleased with the effect... but this project (as projects often do) led onto another.  We will need something to sit on - bench project coming up!!

For now, though, it works really well as my temporary desk. 

I was really hesitant about painting the table top, but I do love the finish now.  I feel that the character still shines through, and its imperfections and history are still very much a part of the finished project.

I just hope it will work as a dining table in our new home!