Friday, October 7, 2011

What I want now- Industrial and rusted

One of my favorite things to search on craigslist is work benches. Though I could probably use one of these for my furniture refurb work (and a workshop to put it in for that matter), I love the look of vintage work benches as kitchen islands, or even dining tables. There is a lot to be said for the allure of many years worth of grit and grim, what I call "earned patina". I like when vintage and antique pieces show their age, and have a little character. Placed carefully among more typical cottage decor- industrial found pieces can be room-makers. Here are some of my favorite looks.
fabulous rusty wheel from etsy


A wonderful series on industrial islands and stools from one of my favorite blogs, Willow Decor

A great use of a vintage work bench as a table here

Imagine this table in an entry. So beautiful.


And here's a spectacular one for sale on 1st Dibs

The neat thing about the industrial items is that when you stumble upon them 'in the wild', they're usually pretty cheap. Once they're in a retail setting though- holy cow those prices are high!
I found a great vintage work bench about a month ago on craigslist. It was being kept next to a shed. I thought it was magnificent. The owner, and my husband, thought I was crazy. It became my project to prove it could be an awesome kitchen island. After scrubbing it from top to bottom, many coats of fresh white paint, and a fair bit of sanding, staining, and sealing (to make the top kitchen worthy), as well as adding a new lower shelf made of antique barn board, it was complete. It's getting picked up on Sunday by a college friend who will be using it as an island. Pretty chic no? She obviously has excellent taste.

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