We've lived in our current home for 11 years. Longer than any other place. After moving all over the country, courtesy of the military and the airline business, we landed in the Midwest and settled in for what we thought would be a short stay. When we tied our past record of 9 years, it became obvious that we weren't going anywhere anytime soon! The appearance of the basement space made that clear too!
My better half hates basements. I happen to love them, as long as they're dry. It's a great place to keep "stuff". Yes, they have to be cleared out from time to time, but the stuff can just reside there, out of everyone's way, waiting to be put to use. I started re-creating junk out of and appreciation for old things and the desire to keep things out of landfills. Amazing what people put at the curb for the trash collectors to pick up. We also had a lot of left over resources from past home improvement projects, so the challenge started with "what can I put together for free from the stuff stored in my favorite room? The basement! And since I love old worn out stuff, I happened on ways to make brand new things look like they'd been around a long time. Magic!
I don't use any particular process to achieve the look. I've never used chalk paint, and have never seen anything done in chalk that really looks old. Don't get me wrong, the things are beautiful, but they look like newer things trying to look like they have a history, or old things that HAD a history made over to look old again, but better, but the history is all gone. Just my opinion. So, I use what I have on hand; mix my own colors from paint left over from other projects, sand it, beat it with an old dog chain, drag it around the garage floor, poke it with forks.......... You get my drift? Whatever it takes to get the look I'm after.
This business may get huge. It may go nowhere. And that's fine. Because all Resurrection Upcycle is about it keeping me busy and out of trouble. And creating less trash. The hippie in me screams for release!!
Here's an example of things rescued from the trash (literally) and made not to look old, in this case, but certainly beautiful again.
I pulled up to visit my mom, and right in front of me, sitting outside of a dumpster, I saw these:
There were three of them. And they sat there for weeks before I finally figured out how to get them into my car. Which warrants an explanation: I drive a small car, so I'm pretty much limited to small projects. And since I seem to be a chair junkie it works.
So, I got them in the car and drug them home. And they turned into this:
In Welsh, this says "Please have a seat!"
These are a beautiful eggplant color.
Of course, there was a lot that came in between, but the end result was 3 VERY sturdy, very comfortable, very aesthetically pleasing chairs that have gone on to their forever homes.
Keep your eyes open for other projects coming soon, complete with pictures of the resurrection process!
"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink or whatsoever ye do,
do ALL to the glory of God."
I Cor. 10:31
