Then there was that time that the garage sale find created a new living room lay out

Summer and its crazy work schedule has been put to rest for the year with the remainder of my paying jobs being done at my studio at home. This means that Jack and I have had lots of time to treasure hunt throughout the county via garage sales and the epitome of treasure hunting - Craig's List.

  One afternoon we found this Amazing Beautiful Wonderful THING. I found it first but the man who was selling it sat on his front porch reading a magazine and wouldn't come down and talk. It was not priced and no amount of friendly smiles, waves, or pointing at the Amazing Beautiful Wonderful THING could get the man to move. Very frustrating behavior. So I took a picture of it and sent it to Jack so that he could see and be in awe of the Amazing Beautiful Wonderful THING and hopefully get the man to leave his porch and sell it to us.  This worked and about a week later Jack came home with the ABW THING and asked what I wanted it for. This kind of stumped me and I mumbled something about saving beautiful carved items and got busy doing something else. I honestly wasn't sure what I would do with it but it has the character, history , texture and interest that I am forever trying to add to our early 2000's house. So I had to have it. What to do with it? We could figure that out.

The Amazing Beautiful Wonderful THING.

I shimmy-walked it over to the wall so it was front and center between the living room and dining room. I refused to let it go to the garage - the kiss of death for anything that I want to see again in this decade. And there it sat for about 6 weeks. Every now and then we would discuss what it might have been - part of a church altar? A very fancy piece to a depot railing? A newel post? DING DING DING! And then the proverbial light went on (the light that usually has Jack a little nervous and chanting things like 'load bearing wall', 'structural integrity' and 'I need a back hoe for that'.)

   'Lets make it a newel post for our stair case!' I say. 

    To which Jack says 'We don't have a railing to attach it to.' and then he gets it and says 'Ohhhhh. You want a railing?' 

DING! DING! DING! 

And the planning began. No mention of load bearing anything or heavy earth moving equipment.

Last night we began the tear out of the cabinet that butted up to the pony-wall which enclosed the steps going downstairs.

cabinet that acts as a packing station, storage, and laundry folding area

will be cut down and moved under the window

Cooper found all of this fascinating

And because we are super frugal waste-not-want-not types (Ok, we're OCD when it comes to re-using stuff) the two ends of the cabinet with the drawers will be re-used as end-caps to the kitchen island giving me much needed extra work space.

cabinet being dismantled

measuring to cut it to fit

one end piece that will be re-located to the kitchen island

testing for fit

Cooper approves

Once removing the cabinet the wall had to be removed and more flooring run to cover the area.

cabinet gone

retro fitting the cut down sections

Bentley staring into the abyss

Cooper and Bentley checking it all out

At that's where I went to bed. This all began at about 8pm and I was sleeping through saw-zaw noises by 11pm.

But I woke up this morning to this...

smaller version of cabinet installed and awaiting a top

The ABW THING standing proud and beautiful in its place.

Tonight we will begin placing spindles and railings....  Stay Tuned!