My children are used to me now. They woke up and said, “oh no. What has Mom dragged home now….” and are not really that alarmed.
In fact, they were actually a bit surprised and excited at my latest haul…
You see…. I can’t hardly pass up something so pretty, so old and wooden, so carved and unique standing on the side of the road with a FREE sign on it. In the dark. When I’m driving to the bank in the late of the night to make a deposit I forgot to make during the day.
In my jammies. And boots. And coat.
Hey, I was just going to the next town over and the ATM… My pink pony flannel pants are probably considered street legal in many cities and such! Besides, I just didn’t feel like changing, just for a little late ride.
Free!!! People… how could I resist?
You should have seen me do a double take and turn old Blue around on a dime.
There was NO WAY I wasn’t getting that thing home.
Problem was, it didn’t want to fit in the car. No way, not at all. And brother, I tried. For 20 minutes, I push and lifted and turned and tweaked and flexed and grunted and shoved… that thing was coming home one way or another. Whatever it was.
It was a good thing it was dark and there were very few vehicles on the road because with this beast precariosuly dangling from the back of the station wagon at a mere 30 miles per hour and with flashing lights… well…. it would have been a good You Tube video, let’s just say that.
It was a long 6 miles home.
Thankfully, only one vehicle had to pass me. That was good. And I left it in the car, sorta for the night. It was heavy.
Well, near as we can figger, this is the wooden case for a turn of the century pump organ! There is a fellow in the town that is an old organ repair specialist and I have a hunch I know where he lives now. (gggg) The paper that said free was the flyer from his shop in town!
Maggie took one look at this beast and fell in love. Since I wasn’t exactly sure what to do with it, I thought, hey, sounds good. She is looking for a new desk for her computer and vinyl cutter business.
So she had me drive her over to the local Sauder Outlet store where they sell these lovely fake marble desk tops for a mere $5 And also a back piece for another $2. And we stopped and got a bottle of lovely orange oil to run this old gal back into a beautiful wood shine. So for $12, Maggie converted this into a gorgeous old fashioned computer desk! She was so excited… she used some of her pig money from raising the hogs and she was so funny…. she told me on the way home that she felt really grown up, buying and fixing her first repurposed piece of wooden history! Love my kids for sure.
I helped her to cut the desk top down a wee bit to slide into the case. And she cut some oak trim that we had gotten awhile back from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore shop. She glued it to the top strip. Looks like it belonged there all the time! She cut a little oak plaque in half and used it to make little wing shelves that look like they belonged there all the while! She’s not totally sure yet, but we’re thinking a little velvet foot pillow in that open space would be divine! Red of course…
Pretty keen!!! Can’t wait to see it all gussied up and active! She’s still got a few little kinks to work out, but I think it’s stunning and lovely! The orange oil stuff really brought out the beautiful patina of the wood. This thing is so pretty!!! Can’t believe I found it on the side of the road!!!
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Saw this on Facebook the other day – wonderful and creative re-use. Almost definitely an old organ. My grandmother had one that was a gift from her parents. And this looks hauntingly similar. Even had the little handles on the sides as I remember dangling from them. Hers had a mirror and shelves for knickknacks in the top half that’s missing from this one. Shame this one didn’t last as hers did, but seeing another life as a desk is heaps better than the landfill! All that beautiful carving! And I bet the area at the bottom could be used for storage or electronics. I don’t have any photos of hers, but this one is similar – notice how there was a panel that covered part of the open area – on hers there was a lever that opened it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoodicoff/6281304701/
It’s beautiful!!! She keeps working on it a little bit at a time… hasn’t totally figured out what she wants to do with the bottom yet… that’s fine. I like that my girls can sit and ponder about something a bit before just rushing in and doing whatever. She’s getting a new computer for Christmas from her father, so she’s really game to get it all just right!!! Haha. It’s way cool how it all came together… you’re right, It’s just stunning and pretty, all the carving and handles and such!!! Can’t imagine someone throwing it out…. but then, hey, our landfills are full of tons of stuff!!!!
Thanks for stopping by!!!
Sherri