Saturday 8 November 2014

Nearly New Wood Challenge

My lovely friend Alex, aka Hydrangea Girl, has started a Nearly New Wood Challenge.  Alex explains it perfectly in her post, so I won't repeat it again here.  But, briefly, the idea is to go down the second-hand route when buying new furniture, to reduce the demand on mass production and thereby help to reduce our impact on the environment.  It's a bonus that you should/could end up with a bit of individuality in your home.

When I read Alex's post, I thought I only had one second-hand piece of furniture... then I actually looked around and realised we're not doing too badly!

A friend was moving last year and wanted to get rid of the below dresser, so we took it off his hands for free!  It was the original pine when we started, but we painted it and changed the knobs.  This is how it looks today, but you can see the makeover here.


Our dining table is a hand-me-down from the Lumberjack's grandparents...


He ate many a Sunday dinner at that table as he grew up, so it's nice that we can keep the memories going.  (There is usually a fourth chair, but I moved it out of the way for the photo.)

I guess I should have styled the table with some pretty bits and bobs - instead I just removed all the piles of accumulated junk off it, so be grateful!!  Bad blogger!

The Lumberjack also did a makeover last year on an old Ikea chest of drawers he had from before we met...


Read more about the transformation here.  This is in our bedroom - mentioned, but actually hidden off camera, in that post - as the top of it wasn't very tidy!  I guess it wasn't officially second-hand - but making it over meant we didn't need to buy a new chest-of-drawers instead.

The most recent addition is the console table for the hallway, blogged about here...


That was found on Gumtree, and bought second-hand, to go with the Lumberjack's great great grandfather's clock which he recently inherited...


So that's another bit of old wood!  (Not that we would have actually gone out and bought a new grandfather/grandmother clock, mind you... but still.)

We have bought new furniture from Oak Furniture Land, and an abundance of Ikea furniture too - so we are far from perfect!  I'm pleased to see that we've done better than I thought, though.

Do you feel like giving it a go?  Next time you are planning to buy a new item of furniture, maybe have a bit of a search and see if you can find something nearly-new that could do the job.  It's very satisfying when you find the perfect piece, or transform something a bit old and tatty into a pretty new thing!


6 comments:

  1. We have a mix of Ikea - quite a lot! - and "vintage" furniture that we paid a fair bit for and then some inherited things too. I like the old things best!! You have some lovely pieces of furniture. xx

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  2. Dear Maria
    Our whole house is full of hand me down treasures or new-to-us furniture - other than kitchen appliances, we don't buy new. I love old, pre-loved, 'vintage' stuff - it is usually well made and can be changed as the new owners wish - just like you have done. We have quite a few things from my mum and dad, so there a lots of memories attached to the furniture too, just like your table.
    Best wishes and here's to making use of pre-loved wooden furniture!
    Ellie

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  3. Que bonito post, me he paseado por tu bloc y me ha encantado, te invito a ver el mío, esta semana seguro que muchos de vosotros no resistiríamos la tentación de comerse un buen puñado de castañas calentitas. Pero sabeu cuál es el origen de esta fiesta? ¿Por qué, año tras año, cuando llega el otoño, nos gusta reunirnos con la familia o con los amigos para tostar las castañas y comérnoslas juntos y por eso adornamos la casa. Os explicare algunas razones y cómo decorar el hogar para esta ocasion, Deseo que te guste y si es así y no eres seguidora espero que te hagas, gracias por visitarme.
    Elracodeldetall.blogspot.com

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  4. We only have 1 piece of furniture we have bought new (mainly as a one wage family we havent been able to afford new). My fave piece is a large Welsh dresser I found just around the corner from us for £30. We have been given bits here and there through the years, dining chairs, lounge chairs and a bed. Out of the whole house I think there are only 2 or 3 pieces we intend to take with us when we eventually move to New Zealand, so that should make things a bit easier. I love the whole reuse ethos when it come to furniture, second hand is usually more interesting that new, mass produced stuff.

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  5. Definitely my cup of tea! It is something really satisfying when you find THAT piece, it might take a little bit longer than picking it up in a furniture store, but you know you have something unique. Specially if you do a bit of work on it. Proper treassure hunting! xx

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  6. My heart just about burst when I saw this in my blog feed, Maria! And I think it's fair to say you're well and truly part of the #NearlyNewWood Challenge team. We'll have to come up with a uniform of sorts. Just off the top of my head, but I'm envisioning something along the lines of the Power Rangers' suits. I call dibs on the black one. I'm going to hazard a guess and say you're leaning towards the pink suit? The blue is far too dark for your signature palette.

    You have so many nearly new pieces. Your dining room table is beautiful and has such lovely sentimentalities behind it. And I remember when Lumberjack repainted that dresser years ago! Wow, I seem to be quite the blog stalker. Did I ever mention to you that I spent the entire night at Blogtacular combing your hair as you slept? True story.

    xx A

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