My friend Karen and I were sitting in my apartment drinking coffee when she turned to me and said, "Have you ever been to the ReStore"?
I looked at her and said, "What's a ReStore"?
She looked at me like I was nuts!
It's the Habitat For Humanity store. You can look through recycled items like old doors, light fixtures, tiles, etc.
My eyes glazed over as my mind started to imagine such a place,....SHE HAD ME AT OLD DOORS!
I stood up, grabbed my purse and said, "What are you waiting for, LET'S GO"!
The Collingwood store wasn't very large, I was a little disappointed until they showed me to the rear of the building. They had about six large cabins full of stuff to look through.
I lost all track of time, I was just like a kid in a candy store. What a great place!
Poor Karen, she was probably full of regret at this point for telling me about it. Ha ha! Sorry Karen.
The list of items I bought from the Restore that day are:
*Seven sheets of tumbled marble mosaic tiles (1 FOOT SQUARE)
* I colonial style cabinet door (33 1/2" LONG X 18 3/4" WIDE)
* almond coloured tile grout
* tile adhesive
Everything I purchased was under $10.
I had just found my NEW FAVORITE PLACE to shop!
It doesn't hurt either that you are donating to charity every time you buy something.
A few days later I saw an old table sitting in the hallway, I figured it couldn't hurt to take a look.
The top was nothing special, but the base is what I wanted. It had a classical, curvy look to it that I found quite appealing.
It turns out that my neighbor was going to throw it out and informed me that I could have it.
FREE! FREE! FREE!
You can't beat that price!
(Unfortunately, I do not have a photo of the table with the old top.)
I now have all the components I need to set to work.
1) I remove all of the 2" tiles from their mesh background, now they are all loose.
2) I dry fit the tiles onto the inset part of the cabinet door. I decided on 7 across and 14 down (sounds like a crossword puzzle). The grout lines will be thinner across than they will be lengthwise, but it still looks good.
3) I now glue all of my tiles into place, and let dry overnight.
4) Mix up your grout according to the package directions and apply, pushing into all the crevices on an angle.
5) Let the grout set for allotted time.
6) Then using a sponge and some water, clean off excess grout.
7) You will then have to remove the filmy coating from the faces of the tiles by buffing them with a soft cloth.
8) Under-mount the cabinet door to the table frame.
9) Give 2 coats of stain or a varnish, to the table base and the cabinet door frame. (letting each coat dry in between).
Here are some photos of the finished project.
Naturally there has been some wear, this table was completed seven years ago and these photos where taken today!
It has remained with me all this time because I truly like it.
The moral of this story is:
If you act like a kid in a candy store and you're a little warped.....you're probably an artist. Ha ha ha ha! That's the great thing about artists, people expect us to be eccentric!
I hope this post encourages you to check out your local ReStore, and gives you some ideas to create pieces that will remain with you for years to come.
You CAN do it!
Until next time, happy crafting.
