Free is Good

A couple of projects to work on now that things are slowing down for winter.

I sent my husband on a mission to find a used office desk that he could scrap-pass at work.  His company has a scrap yard/warehouse where employees can get things for free that the company no longer has a use for.  Tools, building supplies, scrap metal, old office chairs, who knows what all is in there (I wish they'd let me in so I could look for myself!)  All you have to do is sign it out.

He hit the jackpot with a bunch of old office equipment they were actively looking to rehome so as to free up a little space.  As with the manure situation, I told him I'll take what I can get.  He brought me 2 metal work tables, 2 big metal desks and a 4 drawer file cabinet--all in great condition, just a few scratches and tiny dings.  I don't believe you could destroy industrial office furniture if you tried.

One of the metal work tables has gone to the basement to serve as a laundry table/place for my husband to lay his hunting stuff/place for my husband take his laptop and hide when he has to do the bills.  The other work table and the larger of the two metal desks will go to the garage for extra workspace and storage.  The file cabinet will also go in the garage for tool storage.

This desk is going to replace the crappy, assemble-it-yourself, wannabe-wood eyesore I bought at Ollie's that I am currently using for a computer desk.  I am going to paint this one a nice forest green to match my kitchen border.  It has lots of drawers, which is the part I am most excited about, to squirrel away all my junk.  I can't abide clutter.  It makes me crazy.

And then there's this thing...



Do you see what I am seeing?

Kitchen storage space!!

I have a decent amount of cabinet space already, but I could really use more.  Right now I have to stack all my pots and pans strategically to get them all to fit (and so I can find them again when I need them.)

I got this antique armoire from my mother-in-law when she was cleaning out her barn.  She brought me a lot of things to put in my yard sale this summer and this was one of them.  She gave $50 for it somewhere.  I put $30 on it and was really surprised it didn't sell.  It's in really good condition structurally.  The veneer on the doors needs a little work where it had pulled up here and there.  I am going to add a couple more shelves to the right-hand side, paint it burgundy, distress it a little and rub a black stain into the sanded areas.  I might do a little decorative painting or stencilling on it to make it cute.  I haven't decided for sure.

I'm going to use it to store all my dry goods in the kitchen (thus freeing up more space for my pots and small appliances) and make a cute little country-prim arrangement on top.  My kitchen needs a more deliberate attempt at decorating and I think this little armoire could be the start of some creative inspiration for me.

I'll post back later with the end results!