Trash *Thinking*

Since I have a blog, I feel like my life is an open book.

But maybe here's something you didn't know about me. I trash pick on a regular basis. I rarely use the term trash picking around the kids, I prefer to call it recycling. My daughter calls it trash thinking. That term came from this conversation:

"Mom, that's not the way to school, why are you going this way?"

"I'm going around the block, honey."

"Why?"

"I need to go past that chair back there on the curb and think about whether or not we want that in our house."

"Oh, I get it. You're trash thinking again."

Sunday afternoon I was out running errands when I saw a small table by the curb. From a distance it looked like a child's chrome table from the 50's, similar to one my sister has.

Would you have put this in your car?!?

When I got up close and looked at the top of the table I was disappointed. It was a 50's chome and formica table. Adorable and rare child's size. But the top was in terrible condition. I had to take a pass on this one. Then I took one last longing look and realized something. That was not grey marbelized formica. It was grey marbelized CONTACT PAPER. I peeled a bit off (see upper right corner) and underneath, was grey marbelized formica!!!!

I took it home and peeled about this much off (see photo below.) There were some gouges (see those little lines) and since they had covered it with contact paper, I figured there might be some damage to the top, so I didn't get my hopes up. I had to leave it in the garage and forget about it all evening since we were having people over.

The next morning, I started peeling a little more contact paper off. The sides were covered with contact paper too, and the legs were extremely dirty, but not rusty. My sister has taught me a lot about refinishing furniture, especially this stuff from the 50's. She had an antique booth for awhile and cleaned up a lot of stuff like this. Super fine steel wool and chrome cleaner from the auto supply will make those chrome legs shine like new!

It took forever to peel off all the contact paper because it just came off in tiny slivers. And even after I removed all the paper, the top was still dirty and took tons of elbow grease. And after that came the shining of the sides and legs.....but the whole time I was thinking about the perfect spot for it:

Right next to our dining room table (which we eat on every night--because of the windows) in that empty spot snugged up to the windows. Great for drawing and homework and keeping it all off the table that I'm trying to set for dinner....perfect for the season of fall/winter crafting which is just beginning!

Here's a close up:

So shiny!! Those spots on the top that I thought were gouges ended up just being dirt!

I love it so much. And I guess the kids approve. It didn't take them long to get moved in!

*p.s. Little chair you see in above photo was "recycled" in '04, painted and recovered with Amy Butler fabric.