Table of pine, from mine to thine

Pine table. 

What image does that phrase conjure up in your mind? 

Something outdoorsy like a picnic table in a forest clearing? 

Maybe something rough-hewn with a highly visible grain?

Wait wait, was it this?

Behold: Table, pine

No?  Not quite what you had in mind?

Oh well, too bad.

This is what you get when you walk through the trash area when someone is moving out in the middle of the month.  I've been around long enough to recognize that this table was from the flatpack scandi-superstore, and the interwebs tell me it retails for $69.00 new.  Despite the small gouge on the front right edge and the sticker residue on the top left this table was in good condition -- all parts present and accounted for.  One quick text message and I had a friend claim it before it made it to my apartment.  His plan was to do a little work, some sort of staining, sealing, or painting

and make it into something lovely for a covered patio area. 
But in the end it turned out to be something even simpler.

Ta da!

Wave hello to your new desk!

I
t's a very small space - the table juuuuuust fit into this little nook between the brick wall on the left and the bookshelf on the right.

 

And in case you were wondering, yes, that desk chair is also a freestyle find. 

A pretty good loading dock loot haul, in two parts, and now this guy has a comfortable spot to write papers and maybe even fill out some grad school applications..... get those personal essays ready.
 
As 2015 draws to a close I wish you all a 2016 full of deliberate living. 
Whatever form your deliberate choices take, whether it is buying less stuff, repairing and then donating what you don't need to those who do, spending more time with those you love, or volunteering your skills for causes you care about, make your day something to be proud of.

Happy freestyling in the new year!

A dark and damaged desk gets a second chance

Desks are nice, especially when they are free!

This one showed up a little damaged back in March, the left leg had detached but was sitting next to the rest of the desk when I found it.  Thank you mystery furniture disposer for keeping all the parts together!

Looking at the back of the desk, there should be a U-shaped leg at the top.

The clean lines and nice drawer feature made me think that the obvious repair would be worth the effort.  All I had to do was re-attach the L-shaped part of the leg to complete the total U-shape of the design. Easy, right?

 The leg was probably snapped off when attempting the move the desk. The top is rather heavy, especially with the drawer in place. The damage to the left leg connector is visible in the photo below.

 For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to superglue a piece of paper onto the exposed particle board, so it would stop shedding.  It worked, but wasn't required.

My plan was to add external pieces to join the piece that had snapped off back onto the rest of the desk, and the diagonal attachment points.  I purchased synthetic shims and 1-inch wood screws (maybe $6 total), thinking it would go quickly with my little drill.

Synthetic shims join the L-shaped piece back to the rest of the desk at two points.

 Turns out synthetic shims are harder to drill through than I thought. It was possible, but it took waaaaay longer than expected.  Maybe a stronger or faster drill would have helped. Superglue was used liberally throughout this project, it worked way faster than drilling those shims!

Luckily the repairs are on the side of the desk, not the front.  

In the photo below you can see the light brown shim attached at the top left side of the desk. Most people don't notice it until I point it out, and so far the desk seems stable.

 From the front, sleek and shiny!  

Ready and waiting to support all your deskly needs.

(ignore the craft supplies stacked on the sides)

 

Happy freestyling, and may the force of power tools be on your side.