SPCF - Save the Shelf

Let's start a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty against Furniture! I mean, honestly, sometimes it is just too mean what people do to lovely pieces of furniture, carefully crafted by some craftsman and then cruelly neglected or sadly misused!!! Take, for example, this lovely little shelf/towel holder which was found in this sorry state and completely outside its usual habitat:

The poor little thing had been cruelly ripped out of its usual habitat, a warm country kitchen, and been transplanted into a cold, dirty and untidy garage/workshop. To add insult to injury, it had been stripped bare of its fur towel and was used for storing paint tins and decorating paraphernalia. Some brute left burn marks (of a cigarette?) on its coat top. Clearly this once-loved shelf (indicated by the little pink heart) had once served its purpose beautifully and well, but now it was tired and needed help.

Cue the rescue squad (aka Queen of Crafts Sonja). I had previously already rescued the shelf from my grandfather's basement, together with this lovely specimen (see left). I decided to cocker up the little darling with a bit of care and gloss.

First of all I sanded down the discoloured paint and gave it an undercoat of white paint. I also cut a piece of dowelling to size which I found among its tormentor's things in the garage in order to replace the towel hanging rod. I had to drill a hole into it so that it still hinges and allows to slide something onto the rod.

Then it was ready to be painted again with white gloss. And I fixed the rod back into its slot, using a nail on which it could hinge. I was a bit distressed that I had to go at it with sandpaper, but I distressed it all the same...

It's back to its former glory now and will be placed in its new home, soon. But you will have to wait for another day to see where it is going and what it will be used as. To be continued...


Best,