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Aug 16 2015

the sniff test

Posted by hayley
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We live on one military income. I contribute a few bucks here and there with freelance artwork/graphic design, but our budget is based solely on Handsome’s provision. We are comfortable, but not extravagant. I shop clothing sales, thrift stores, Walmart groceries and tackle a lot of DIY to stretch our dollars as best I can. Craigslist has been kind to me: providing several home & child accoutrements at a fraction of the cost. Most of the time I’m even able to re-sell outgrown items for nearly (if not exactly) what I paid for them.

95% of my Craigslist purchases have been awesome. Nice people, fair price, smooth transaction, no creepers. I did have one nightmare experience where I drove 6 hours round-trip alone with both kids to end up NOT buy something that was clearly broken and totally misrepresented. That was a major bummer, but I henceforth set a travel limit of an hour — no matter how much me likey.

And then along came this console table.

console table makeover  greyhouseharbor.com

I only drove 15 minutes to buy this antique beauty and I got it for a song. Solid wood, gorgeous detailing, perfect shape and size.

console table makeover  greyhouseharbor.com

Problem was… the lady I bought it from had it sitting on her covered patio. I only saw it on her patio, purchased it from her patio, and never once stepped foot inside her house. It needed some work, but I saw it’s potential and wasn’t afraid to put in a little elbow grease.

console table makeover  greyhouseharbor.com

As I drove my new treasure home, the car began to smell. After sitting in my house overnight, the entire living room reeked of cigarettes. Turns out, the table smelled to high heaven. It was as if the poor thing had been sitting in the corner of a nasty dive bar for 50 years. Just look at the thickness of this horrible waxy buildup…

console table makeover  greyhouseharbor.com

After dry scraping a majority of the table, it still stunk. So I tried chemical paint stripper. The vile sludge that came off that thing was downright vomitous. This was not going to be a quick fix.

console table makeover  greyhouseharbor.com

It took me 3 afternoons and a few minor chemical burns to get it down to bare wood. Then I repainted, restained, and applied 3 coats of polyurethane.

console table makeover  greyhouseharbor.com

Looking sharp, right? That’s what I thought too. Until I put it in our bedroom. Woke up with a headache and my room smelling like the aforementioned dive bar.

console table makeover  greyhouseharbor.com

I couldn’t believe that after all that work the table still had the aromatic potency to clear a room. But I also couldn’t bring myself to sell it (and lie about it’s stench) or trash it (I’d put in so much sweat equity)!

console table makeover  greyhouseharbor.com

So I put it on my covered patio. For 3 months. Hoping and praying that all it needed was some fresh air.

console table makeover  greyhouseharbor.com

Turns out, I was right. The little blue console could finally come inside without offending anyone and now lives happily in our master bedroom. If you smoosh your nostrils reeeeeal close, there is a dainty hint of this beauty’s past life of neglect, but she not longer defiles the room.

Moral of the Story: from now on any and all Craigslist purchases (wood furniture included) will be subjected to and have to pass a stringent sniff test.

Tags: furniture, our home, trash to treasure

Comments (5)

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  1. Gram
    August 17, 2015

    Amazing story, it is beautiful, most people would have just given up and tossed it, not you!!! It really is lovely

    Reply
  2. Leah
    August 17, 2015

    Its sooooo beautiful! That blue is downright dreamy. We got our dining set off Craigslist and didn’t realize until after the fact that the prior owners were cat owners. Kyle is super duper allergic so we did what we could to clean it and then, no question, reupholstered each chair. Well, I did : )

    Bravo, to you! So glad it can live indoors now.

    Reply
  3. Marley
    August 18, 2015

    That is a story to remember when bargain hunting. The table turned out beautiful and I’m so glad it’s little breath of fresh air gave it new life. Good Job

    Reply
  4. RC
    August 25, 2017

    Yes, beautiful job! I’m really surprised, that the cigarette smoke permeated the wood so much, especially, after stripping it the way you died. I guess the smoke really got deep down into the wood fibers…amazing!

    Reply
    • hayley
      August 26, 2017

      Thanks RC! It’s now one of my favorite pieces in the house.

      Reply

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I'm Hayley. Wife and mother by day, DIY enthusiast by night. Fueled by sweet tea and jelly beans, I own power tools and know how to use them. Consider yourself warned.

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