Dear readers,
Please welcome guest blogger Rick Meade, Goodwill’s very own grant writer and carpenter extraordinaire. Rick highlighted a Goodwill donation he took on to “make new” again. Do you have before & after projects you would like to share? Please let us know!
Before & After
At Goodwill, we occasionally receive donated items that need a little TLC to get them back to usable condition. Here’s one: it’s a telephone table or “gossip bench” from the 1930’s. When we got it, all the joints were loose, the seat cover was faded and stained, and a curved panel was missing.
But it was so unique that we decided to try a bit of restoration.
So what did we do? All the joints were cleaned, reglued, and clamped overnight. The seat was recovered and the missing curved panel replaced. The original finish had a nice patina and wasn’t touched…just a little furniture wax.
For almost no money we now have an interesting piece from the past. All that’s missing is a period telephone to complete the look - and you never know when one might show up at your local Goodwill store.
The final piece!
Want to give it a try? Start with an item you like that would be an easy project like a brass pitcher that could use some polishing, or a picture frame that only needs a fresh coat of paint or stain. It’s recycling something that would otherwise go to the trash. Join the “green” movement with Goodwill!
Hah, that’s nice