Skip to main content

New Use For An Old Rocking Chair

I love turning discarded trash into useful items.  Take, for example, this decorative wheelbarrow.  The metal base was given to me by an older lady when I helped her clean up her backyard (it was hidden behind an old shed).  The wooden part is from a broken rocking chair. 



This is what the wheelbarrow looked like just a few days ago.  It had some worn out exterior grade plywood nailed onto the frame.  U.G.L.Y.



After I took off all of the old wood (except the handles), this is what  had left.



I figured I would just grab some wood from the barn and cut it down to size to replace the old plywood.  But then. . . my son (whom I've trained very well) came home with this.



Can you tell it came from someone's roadside resource pile?


It even came with teeth marks and some kind of weird, shiny spots.  After I was done using my (I mean Hub's) tools, it looked like this:



I salvaged the seat, back, and arms.  I attached the seat, smaller side up, to the vertical frame and the chair back onto the horizontal frame.  Everything is nailed into place, but I know Hubs will want to use screws to make it sturdier.  That shows the difference in how we think - I like it to quickly look cute and he likes for it to be sturdy first and cute second. 


I'm working on a way to use the arms of the chair as decorative trim, but I think I need Hub's expert advice before I mess with it.  Maybe he'll help me out this weekend.


Oops, I forgot to tell you that I painted the rocking chair (after cutting it up) and all of the wooden parts of the wheelbarrow with interior/exterior Krylon Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint.  I left the metal parts alone with all of their glorious rustiness.


I like this little welcoming arrangement that sits in the island in the middle of our gravel driveway.  I wonder if my guests will recognize where the parts came from?


Comments

  1. Only YOU would come up with something so brilliant. LOVE IT.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I'd love to know what you're thinking. Please feel free to leave ideas and comments.

Popular posts from this blog

How To Make Your Own Exercise Bike For Next To Nothing

Remember back in April when I had a kidney transplant?  Well, the kidney is doing great (thanks, Cathy , for taking such good care of it when you owned it).  There was one little glitch, however.  During surgery, the retractors they used caused some nerve damage in my right leg.  When I woke up from surgery, I couldn't move or feel my leg.  The docs felt like the feeling would come back but the paralysis had them stumped.  A visit to a neurologist ruled out a stroke and a CT scan showed some fluid which was pressing on L4 and L5 (medical talk which means I couldn't feel or move part of my leg).  The prognosis is good and I'm recovering pretty quickly.  In fact, I've left my cane behind and I'm walking freestyle without falling.  My next goal is to be able to drive. I've been itching to get back to exercising (physical therapy doesn't count) because my medication causes me to gain weight and I need to burn some calories.  Running? - n...

A Designer's Secret For A Taller Bed

  Several years ago Hubs and I spent almost a year looking for a bedroom set that we both loved.  He wanted clean lines and dark wood.  I wanted curves and a "tall" bed.  Of course, there was no perfect bedroom set but we were able to compromise on a set that we both liked.  My main wish was for a bed that I could "climb up into".  The problem with that wish was that most of the "tall" beds were four poster beds and Hubs was not in the mood for that.  We found a Thomasville bed on display at a local furniture store and it fit the clean lines that Hubs wanted and it was "tall"  enough to suit me.  The problem was that once we received the bed we ordered in our home, it wasn't as tall as I had remembered it being.  My heart sunk!  I went back to the furniture store to look at the display.  Their bed was much taller than our bed.  Hmmm. . . what was different? I got nosey and lifted up the comforter on the ...

Plans For A DIY Exercise Bike Stand

  Thank you to so many of you who emailed me about plans for the DIY Exercise Bike Stand .  I apologize that it has taken me so long to get the measurements to you, but they are finally here!   The wood was purchased at Home Depot and the bike pegs were purchased at Walmart in the bike section.    The bike we used for this project is a 24" 12 speed bike (I'm a shorty).  I used the hardest gear while riding, but this set-up does not allow you to really get much resistance (for building muscle).  It was great for getting my legs moving after some nerve damage.  I also wanted to burn calories and get my heart rate up and this did the trick.    If you have any questions, just shoot me an email.