reduce reuse recycle Archives - The Weekend Country Girl

Coldspring, DIY Projects, JJ Lane, recycled furniture, Thrifty decorating

Recycled Materials Coffee Table

May 24, 2023May 24, 2023 Karen

Years ago at our deer camp we found three short hairpin legs in a burn pile. We searched but it seemed there were only three there. Of course I brought them home. I kept thinking I would think of something to do with them. Last year my husband was grading the area that had been the burn pile and found the fourth leg! I will always wonder what the original table looked like but it is clear they came from something mid century.

Recently we cleaned the shop and I ran across them along with some other items and this time I knew what to do with them. I have wanted a coffee table for our front porch.

We have such a nice porch and having a place to put my coffee on and probably my feet too if I’m being honest.

The challenge I set for myself was to use as many items as possible out of my shop to make the table and buy as little as possible.

Ten years ago we made an extra countertop and cabinet for a home my son and his wife were living in. We had planned to make a tile top but at the last minute friend gave me some leftover butcher block that we used instead. We had already made the top out of cement board and plywood with wood trim. Of course I saved that too. I have a problem with saving stuff it seems.

I saw that the cement board piece would make a perfect coffee table top.

I also had leftover white subway tile from our guest house bathroom and another project along with tile adhesive and grout. Some are matte finish and some glossy. We used both randomly.

We were home for a day so my husband and I got everything out, spray painted the legs with rust restorer and spray paint.

I started laying out the tile and could tell it wouldn’t be easy to make the tile look symmetrical. I brought out the big guy (I don’t call him Mr. Math for no reason) to figure it out and even he said it would look funny with the tile I had but he also had a solution.

I had another bowl full of small thin marble tile in the shop that was leftover from our kitchen backsplash. When we laid it all out together it fit perfectly. The marble is slightly thicker than the subway tile but because it is all around the outside edges it works fine.

I thought I was being so smart numbering all the tile with a sharpie after I cut them and laid them out but I learned an important lesson. The Sharpie stained the marble and nothing would get it clean. Even straight acetone so I had to pop all of them up and reapply each tile around the outer edge. The sharpie trick works great on glazed tile, just not natural stone. Lesson learned.

Mr. Math cut a base to go under the tile top to attach the legs to with screws then ground off he part of the screw that came ther the plywood.

He used construction adhesive and screws to connect the two parts. I have no idea why I only took a picture of the legs on top of the tile!

It turned out so cute. I added a plant, an atomic ashtray we found under our rental property when we were working on it, and faux lemons that can’t stay because all my dog sees when she looks that direction is something to chew up. I do have a candle I light when I’m out there without dogs though.

I am crazy about how it turned out and am outside now enjoying the hummingbird war at the feeder with my feet up right now.

While the view is so pretty from our front porch this is closer to reality for me any time I try to sneak out alone.

This was a two afternoon project that cleared out some of my junk and cost close to nothing. Woo hoo!

Happy junking friends,

Karen

Coldspring, Fun with friends, recycled furniture, Repurposed Furniture, ship lap

An Unexpected Visit

September 8, 2022September 9, 2022 Karen

A funny thing happened on the way to the antique store this week.

The Social Planner, her sweet husband, Mr. Math, and I took a quick trip to a town I am falling in love with, Crockett, Texas. The town has some of the most beautiful old homes, a walkable downtown, and great food. It also has some really nice shops, resale, and antique stores.

The Social Planner hanging out with me in Crockett.

This was The Social Planner and my second visit in less than a week. I found something that I just had to go back for on our first trip and luckily it was still there when we wrangled the guys into going back and they were troopers. We found several more shops on Goliad Street that we hadn’t visited before and met the nicest people.

The unexpected visit on the trip started when we, four grandparents who looked like exactly what we are, walked out of an antique store to the roar of a chopper pulling out of the garage next door. It was beautiful. It looked like something off television and the rider could have been an actor from easy rider. As we stared at the chopper pulling away a sweet young lady walked out of the garage to tell us hello. She was so welcoming and pleasant we stayed to visit.

Robin and Ronnie own Filthy Gringos. They make custom parts, build custom bikes, laser cut designs in metal, and ship a lot of it to other places. They moved from Houston to this small town because they wanted a simpler life and lower cost of doing business and it didn’t really matter where they are located. I learned they bought the building two years ago that was literally falling down, rebuilt it, and got permission from the city to convert part of the building into living space. We visited long enough that we got to meet their son Oden and see the awesome home they are in the process of creating/finishing. As soon as I saw the space I knew they were my people. Reuse, redesign, reimagine. The building was originally a cotton gin and has 16 inch thick walls, at one time had a huge skylight, and still has the vault for keeping records and money when cotton was bought and sold. They retained as much of the original items as they could.

Welcome to their space: I am so sad I didn’t take more pictures. The entrance to the home is a wide barn door that was original to the building but I was so shocked she invited us in I didn’t get a picture. It takes a lot of courage to let a stranger come into your home with no warning and allow them to take pictures of the home.

There is so much cool and unique stuff there,

The kitchen area. That vintage sink is cool.

You can see some of the reused materials here.

There are no walls in the interior space. Rooms are divided with these repurposed bookcases from the high school which was torn down.

The bathroom was my very favorite. They literally turned the vault into the bathroom.

Ronnie did come back on the chopper while we were inside the home part of the shop and had a good visit with the guys.

Never pass up the opportunity to meet new folks. We got to see a super cool space and learn new things. if you get the chance, visit Crockett, Texas.

Blessings,

Karen

Charlotte NC, Country Style, crafting, Fun with friends, Rubbish Rescue, rustic, the Southern Belle

Making a Bottled Drink Holder

June 25, 2015 Karen

Want a quick and easy gift to take when you are an invited guest this summer that even the dudes will like? I have just the project thanks to Rogue Engineer. I love his detailed directions. Check him out.

Here is the link to his very detailed plans including how to cut and assemble.

Beer Carrier

Source: Rogue Engineer

Mr. Math cut four of these puppies out in less than an hour. We used reclaimed scrap wood so we probably had to work a little harder than necessary sanding, and adjusting for the wonky wood sizes but the wood was F-R-E-E. They were totally out of scrap wood left over from the media console.

The carrier works great for small bottles of soda as well as for beer and would be a fun host/ hostess gift for outdoor summer parties.

The total cost of the project for us was for the handle (check out ReStore if you have one close by) I paid two dollars fifty cents for my handles only because my hardware is all locked up in storage right now and our nearest Restore is thirty minutes away.

Bottle opener from Hobby Lobby ($1.49 right now.). They are 50% off at least once a month.

The first one is going to the sweet lady who called me to let me know she had cedar siding that she was getting rid of and wanted to know if I needed it. The wood for the project came off her house. She will enjoy seeing what we did with it. I left a lot of the green paint from her lake house on the cedar.

We added a lot of poly to the knot hole so that it won’t fall out. I love that piece of wood best.

The other three are headed to Charlotte, NC.

I can tell we will be making a few of these in the near future.

Mr. Math has already figured out the dimensions for a four bottle wine holder. I know I will have some takers on that, too.

I think the wine holders may be made from our red cedar hanging out in storage.

Oh how I long to have our shop up and running again! July is coming. Woo Hoo.

July 10 we close on our new spot.

Behr Paint with Primer, collecting, Repurposed Furniture, rescuing damaged furniture, Roadside Rescue, The Garagemahal

The Things I Do Not Throw Away

April 2, 2014April 3, 2014 Karen

This weekend we cut up some double bed foot boards and turned them into arms for benches. That meant that parts of the foot boards had to be removed.

Some people would have thrown the cut off parts away.

Let’s face it, some people would have thrown the double beds away. Since I was able to pick up all five of these beds for a total of $77.00, they are not very valuable these days, but I digress.

Back to the stuff I don’t throw away. I keep all the solid wood pieces cut off and try to reuse them. Here is a sample of the things I had laying around the Garagemahal this weekend:

I never, ever, throw away a chair or table leg.

I have even been known to rescue legs out of trash cans. At garage sales.

But look what they become: Building a bench from table legs.

I don’t throw away solid wood boards. I keep it and it always seems to find a purpose. These old fence boards became my reclaimed wood wall. This was cedar wood taken down and headed for the landfill.

It turned into this: Reclaimed wood wall

I don’t throw away drawers or even drawer fronts if the drawer is shot because I have used them for a lot of projects. Here is my sweet daughter in law’s Christmas gift to her buddies last year:

I do not throw away hardware. Hinges, knobs, handles, and even screws get saved. It may not work on the current project, but it has been my experience that I will need something as soon as I get rid of it. I even buy odd hardware at garage sales and thrift stores.

I also don’t throw away cut off sections of anything that was solid wood. This section of a door we cut off to make a headboard became a coat rack in my office.

I am not sure what I will be doing with the sections of headboard I saved… Do you have any suggestions?

I also save wood. Because we save every usable scrap, even scrap from building sites and out at heavy trash pick up, we don’t have to buy as much new wood. I love reclaimed wood and will keep every scrap until it is too small to save.

Paint gets used down to the last drop. I love buying oops paint when I can, but I am pretty picky about my paint (Behr paint with primer), so I do buy a lot full price and it is expensive. It gets treated like it is, too. I make sure the lids are sealed and try not to waste. When I am trying out a color, I always buy the sample first to make sure I love it.

I am not alone in the saving. When I visited Jeff at Facelift Furniture, he had this whole storage unit full of bits and parts. I have a feeling that most furniture repurposes are savers of spare parts.

I guess I am a hoarder. My husband accused me of being one this weekend when I was digging the spindles we removed from the trash can. I prefer to think I am doing my part to save the environment. That is my story and I am sticking to it.