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Apartment, aviation, Bar stool, Business, cars, diy, Furniture, home, Home and Garden, New York, Seat, shopping, transportation
In an age of mass consumption and the yearning for new and now, is there still anyone out there who reuse and repurpose stuff? I was taking out the trash at my apartment complex and saw all of these dilapidated sad looking furniture at the dumpster. I thought to my self, I can try my hand at freshening these pieces. Luckily my uncle was a master antique refurbisher (at least that was his title at a prominent antique store when he lived in New York). Out of a need for furniture blossomed an appreciation to renovate and reuse.
Pictures taken 6/27/2004.
My first stab, was at these bar stools. Neither had a seat. There was a piece of 6” x 2” lumber laying around in my uncle’s garbage that he was ready to part with. I took a peanut can and outlined the seats. Then, took a jig saw and cut out the formation. After thorough sanding, we carefully applied a stain, a sealer, and then sprayed varnish. I still have these stools.
One day I was driving by this old furniture store somewhere in Little Saigon Area and stumbled over this sofa.
Picture taken 6/14/2005
Not bad looking right? Well, at least it has a nice shape. So, I stripped it down to the frame.
Picture taken 6/14/2005
Using strips of burlap bought from JoAn Fabrics I formed a web. Then added 6” thick foam on the bottom, 4” on the back, and 2” on the arms. Using two different colors of velvet from JoAn Fabrics, I recovered the whole thing.
Picture taken 6/29/2005
I parted with this piece after a colleague would not stop bugging me to sell it.
A table that a neighbor was throwing out.
Picture taken 9/10/2004
During the I-4 Hurricane season of 2004, the images of twin swirling hurricanes on CNN was the inspiration to do this pattern.
Pictures taken 7/31/2004
A quick sand, seal, and spray varnish cleaned up this old bookcase nicely.
Pictures taken 8/24/2004
I’ve dabbled with refurbishing wooden tables, chairs, and cabinets. Some pieces I still have, others found caring homes. It is very gratifying to see a sad looking piece brighten up. It is with this rekindling of the forgotten that Acacia Synergy was created.