Reuse Redo

Yesterday I told you that I've been working on my office.  I'm really excited about this post because it shows how you can take old things and reuse them for new, different things.  I've been trying to find the perfect office desk for awhile now but just couldn't find anything I liked or could afford.

I've also been trying to find a filing cabinet.  I can't believe how expensive new ones are, so I've been trying to find used ones that I could redo.  There's a store in town called Habit for Humanity ReStore where people or contractors donate used or excess materials.  If you have never been to one, you really should check it out.

The stock changes every day and you never know what you are going to find.  A co-worker was taking a trip over there the other day and asked if I needed anything.  I told her that if they had any filing cabinets to take some pictures and let me know how much they were.  She came back with lots of pictures and prices from $15-$25.  I couldn't believe how many there were and one was perfect for my office.  I called Mike and told him that we needed to run to ReStore right after work, that this wasn't a deal we could pass up.  He agreed, I picked him up after work, and we headed straight there.  Here's the cabinet I purchased :)

What I didn't realize from the picture was that they were connected; I thought it was two separate pieces. After looking at it for a bit, Mike figured we could disconnect the two pieces and put them on separate bases. I was so excited!  Do you know what the best part was?  I got it for $19!  Furniture was 25% off that day :)

We weren't able to take them home that night because we didn't have the truck, but that gave me time to figure out what I was going to use as a desk top.  Awhile back I had gone through my grandma's chicken coop and found this amazing table:

It may have originally been a coffee table although it seemed a little too long.  It was missing a leg but was perfect for what I wanted. Here it is all cleaned up.

Something else at ReStore caught my eye . . . vintage chairs.  We were in a rush so I didn't take the time to look at them, but they were in the back of my mind all night.  The next day I called to see if they were still there and put them on hold . Since we had to go back to pick up the filing cabinet, I figured I could take a closer look at them. They were still there and even more amazing up close :)

They were $10 a piece (there were four of them)  and the 25% off was still going on.  How could I NOT buy them??!!???  I envision a desk chair, two chairs for clients, and then a chair for me to sit on during consults.

Mike loaded all four chairs up and the filing cabinet and we headed to my mom's.  I was praying the table top I wanted to use was going to be the right size - it was :)  I couldn't believe how everything was all coming together!  We loaded up the table and headed home.

We got the cabinets in to my office and began to disassemble them. It was quite a bit of work but we were able to separate them.  The table top needed some touching up, so I spent an afternoon using a toothpick and silver paint to fill in all the tiny indents.  Here it is all done.  I need to put a coat of sealer on it but I think it looks great!

Now for the exciting part! At least for me. Here is how my office looked before.

Here it is now :)  It's not all done and organized, but I think the filing cabinets and top turned out great!!!!

I need to get all my samples printed and up on the walls.  The room is finally starting to come together and it's turning out better than I could have imagined.  I'll post more pictures once the room is completely put together.

I hope everyone had a great weekend :) I sure did!