Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Being Creative

A few years ago I decided it was time to buy a new headboard for my bed. I wanted something very special and was fortunate enough to find the perfect piece. The day it was delivered I was not at home so I had my brother in law handle the delivery. When I arrived home later I discovered that two of the four wood "posters" where dented. I called the company and they delivered two new ones the next day. Fortunately for me they left me with the two original ones. So what could I do with these pieces? They were too nice to throw away so I took some time to think about it and this is what I came up with.

Each post unscrewed into three pieces. A finial on the top, the long fluted section in the middle and a decorative carved piece on the bottom. I decided that I would make a two tables with the long pieces and two lamps with the bottom
Here is the table completed. I purchased two pine rounds at Home Depot (under $10.00) and the bottom piece I found at the craft store. I used a painting technique referred to as marbling. It's suppose to really look like marble when all done. This involves painting the wood solid black and adding shades of blue -green. After it dries you take a feather, drink 10 cups of coffee and make little, fine irregular lines. The coffee really helps here! A clear, glossy coat to finish it up.


I had enough to make two tables which now sit in front of two separate windows in the bedroom.
Next were the lamps. I have a friend who does some handyman work and he helped me drill a very, very long hole through the wood. I needed this hole so the wiring could come from the bottom all the way to the top.
I added harps and shades and placed them on either side of my bed (not pictured here). It takes some time to think these things up, but the end results were gratifying and functional. Oh, and did I mention "thrifty". 01 02 03
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6 comments:

  1. Very creative ideas for those extra things hanging around! I can't throw out things like that either.

    Rhoda

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  2. My word, you made some fantastic things! The table looks like real marble, I thought it was, until I continued reading. The lamps rock. The carving is really pretty.

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  3. My word, you made some fantastic things! The table looks like real marble, I thought it was, until I continued reading. The lamps rock. The carving is really pretty.

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  4. Christy, You are so creative! You did a teriffic job and the final result is lovely. The table top does look like real marble.
    Thanks for stopping by my blog and for your nice comments too!

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  5. Thanks so much. Love your blog and all your ideas.

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  6. I'm just cracking up at the "drink 10 cups of coffee!"

    When I saw the first picture, I was thinking "wow, those must be really heavy with a marble top and bottom." The table looks great!

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