A Weight of Work Benches

  Kristen came home with three different work benches yesterday to add to the one we already had in our driveway. And as you may have seen in our last post we had just taken a workbench, we got a couple of days ago, over to the WAC. Believe it or not we even have another work bench under the house that I can't picture as it is packed away. It will be, should be a subject of a blog post by itself as it is such a cracker, if I do say so myself. (It came from a science lab of the University of Queensland back in the 1930's)

But all these work benches got me to thinking that there should be a name for a multiple number of work benches.

Just as you have a "murder of crows" or a "brace of pistols" or a "gaggle of geese" I thought perhaps a "whack of work benches" a "worry of  work benches"  or a "wide of work benches" would suit. But after moving this many work benches this week I decided a "weight of work Benches" would be most apt.

This one is my favourite.  

Friday Omnibus ~ All Aboard.

Okay, so this week blogging just hasn't happened but I have been taking lots of pictures with the best of intentions to do a this and that different blog posts. Honest. So today I just thought blow it. I will just do one GIANT post and show you some of the new things at the Garden Centre and the WAC, along with the journey of a fantastic old work bench we got below.

Here it is when it came in.

It has an unusual metal top. The metal is attached over the timber top and you can see the lines of the timber planks in the metal from years of the top being pushed and bashed etc.

It was a bit grubby to say the least.

 

But here it is all restored in my stall space at the WAC.

I love the patina of the metal top it is smooth and almost soft to touch.

Set of five classic aluminium canisters we I purchased during the week.

Oh we Kristen got this one on Wednesday. It will probably go up on eBay some time as it needs a bit of TLC. I think it would be good flipped and trimmed with the sides becoming the base and top.

The Garden Centre is looking lovely this time of year.The florist is full of jonquils and daffodils and the nursery is full of orchids and daises.

Here are a few pictures of some of the new items.

The cutest wheelbarrow!!

This one is an old feed bin. But I think it looks great as a planter. See the arms on the back that are hooked over the timber. I think you could hook it over a fence or a balcony perhaps.

If you look closely you can see these funny hanging wire planters we got. They are round and you would put a pot in the middle. Pictured are two but we have three.

And on to the WAC. We have had lots of boxes.

Manilla cane style coffee table with glass top.

Unusual little cane fellow. I think it would make a cute little mini bar.

Jugs, jugs and more jugs.

Are you still there at the end of all that ? Hope you all have a lovely weekend. Can't wait to get around ands see what you all have been up too.

Slowly Going RETRO

When you do what we do and have an amazing volume of furniture and vintage homewares passing through your hands all the time it is hard to stick to a style or pick a style that feels just right in your own home. The upside of this of course is that you can muck around, pick and choose and change your style easily and cheaply. I have spoken before of my love of mid century and how my lounge is slowly going RETRO.

This week I decided to change up my coffee table. I must have had heaps of the original, Noguchi designed, ones but for whatever reason it was this reproduction that I have decided to keep for now. The proportions of this one is slightly larger than the originals and better suited for a family. I desperately need a new rug now.

There are still few older items in this room like my faithful trunk,

one of our many clocks, this one is still keeping good time, even though it would probably be around 150 years old

convex glass framed pic, one of a pair.

And my cedar map drawers which I LOVE, but they just don't suit big teles. I want to get a sideboard for here but am yet to get one that I like enough to keep. I don't want it to be too big. I also know that when I find a replacement I have no where in my house to fit these drawers and they will have to go which I will be sad about. So until I find replacement items the other items will stay in this room and add to the shimozzle that is my decorating style.

To Market, to Market....The Best Jam Stall in Brissie

Below is Nan, dressed to impress, a few years ago now at The St Paul's Anglican Church Market Day. That year it was a Heritage theme. Each Year Nan is the convener of "The Jam Stall". A role Nan takes very seriously and this year she has been rounding up her crew of Jam, Pickle, Marmalade and Chutney cooks and busily sourcing fruit from anyone with a lemon, orange or any fruit for that matter, tree in their backyards.

NAN

MIRIAM, NORMA, JOHN, NANCY and SANDRA

And here are her faithful mates at the craft stall, no pun intended ha. This band of ladies and gents work so hard to raise funds and the Market Day at St. Paul's with it's old fashioned fun and stalls and new fangled trendy coffee van has become a "must do" on the Wynnum / Manly calender.

So for those of you who are partial to baked goods,hand made crafts, white elephant and book stands, not to mention looking at amazing floral displays and getting lucky with a raffle or two mark this day on your Calender, Saturday the 30 th July.

St Paul's is in Ernest St Manly right next to the Manly State School. Be sure to look out for Nan on the Jam Stall and try some of her speciality, Chilli Jam. 

Before and after Cupboard ~ Chipped Tooth and all

I purchased this cupboard recently and to be honest it turned out to not be as good as I first thought when I saw it at 5 am in the half light under an old house at a recent garage sale. I left  Kristen to pull it out with the old guy who owned the house so I could race on to the next sale as we had purchased quite a bit of stuff. Not only was the cupboard in a poor state but when Kristen moved it, the old fellow said "Watch your head" and then pushed the cupboard jerkly forward and up at the same time so it hit Kristen in the mouth, giving him a fat lip, chipping his tooth and jolting his head so that he hit his head anyway...Hmmm I was not Ms Popular. But Kristen being Kristen thought the sad old cupboard still had a bit of life left in it and he was also keen to get his revenge and recoup some Dentist costs ha.

This is the story of the transformation of this cupboard from crappy to happy and chic! The photo above is of one side which had lots of holes and wear.

You can also see that the top had to be taken off and put back as one side had been cut off to fit into a space and had no overhang like the other side.

You can see it looks much more even.

We used these old feet to give some height and also so the doors could be opened more easily.

And here is the completed cupboard outside the WAC. Given a fresh white makeover with new, old feet that look like they have always been there. If I do say so myself. I gave the edges the shabby treatment and it is now a really functional piece perfect for so many spots.

 Of course the saga of this not quite over, as Kristen has not yet been to the dentist.