Handmade: Chevron Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table

Ever since I began adding colored accent pieces to my coffee tables people have been ordering them as fast as I can build them.  For quite some time I have wanted to make a chevron coffee table.  Recently I got to work on it and I am very pleased with the result.  I am sure it will be very popular.  This prototype as well as custom orders are available on Etsy.   For sale $345.

Handmade: Modern Slat Bench

One of my favorite mid century designs is George Nelson's slat bench.  Over the years many replicas have been made.  I decided to try my hand at making a replica of my own.  I documented each step of the process as a tutorial for anyone how would like to make one of their own.

 Here is an example of a genuine Nelson Slat Bench.  Photo 1stdibs

 Step 1:  Go to Home Depot and and buy 11 1'' x 3''s and Gorilla wood glue.

 Step 2:  cut 11 64'' long slats with 45 degree angles on each end and  cut out 30 2.5'' x 2.5''  spacers.

Step 3:  Drill matching 3/8'' holes in each of the slats and spacers.

Step 4: Stack the slats and spacers on the dowels adding wood glue between each piece.  

 Step 5: Clamp the frame at each dowel and let the glue dry for 24 hours.

Step 6: Paint or stain the frame.  I chose to paint it black.

These 12'' legs are from my vintage leg stash.  They can be hard to find if you don't already have them.
They can be ordered on Etsy if you need some.

Step 7: Add the legs to the frame then stand back and admire.

Handmade: Industrial Tripod Lamp

About a month or two ago I found great vintage telescope tripod. Ever since then I have been looking for the right industrial lamp fixture for it. After patiently waiting for weeks I finally found the right fixture. I rewired the fixture for a standard household light bulb and mounted it to the tripod. It came out just as I had hoped and it is now for sale at Hawthorne Vintage for $650.
Hawthorne Vintage is located at 4722 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland OR 97215

 

Refinished: Danish Sofa / Pull-out bed

My primary project this week was refinishing this Danish sofa.  This  was a piece that the previous owner began refinishing but gave up early in the process.  She had sanded all of the easy-to-reach areas.  It still needed to be completely disassembled, sanded, reassembled, and stained.  In addition, the webbing needed to be replaced and the back cushions needed new foam.  Fortunately the original fabric was beautiful so we kept it.  Also it has a pull out bed!  Now your visiting relatives can sleep in style.  I spent nearly all week getting it done but now it is finished and available at the Vintage Design Collective for $950.  If interested please reply to remnantpdx at gmail dot com.

Handmade: Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table

One of the ways that I have found to supplement our inventory is to build pieces of furniture myself.  Lately I have been building reclaimed wood coffee tables with hairpin legs.  Each of the others that I have built have had a random stain pattern.  For this one I decided to challenge myself by using a geometric design.

 This is a sketch that I used for brainstorming my design.  

I liked the idea of having a continuous triangle pattern with the wood running two different directions.

NExt I cut out all of my wood strips and laid them out.  As seen in this picture.

Finally I sanded, cut, and stained the final details.

I actually finished the top a week ago but could not find hairpin legs locally.  I looked on Etsy and found this set by seller NWfilm in Seattle.  He shipped them promptly and I received them two days later.  

I plan to order legs from him for my future projects.

 Here is the finished product.  It is for sale at the Vintage Design Collective for $300 and also on Etsy

Here is a sneak peek of our current offerings at the Vintage Design Collective.

7126 SE Milwaukie Ave, Portland, OR

Repurposed // Industrial Drillpress Wall Lamps

When I go out picking the first thing I look for is mid century furniture but it's not always easy to find.      When there is no furniture to be found I look for interesting looking items that can be used in creative ways.  Recently I found this pair of drill presses. When I saw them I knew that they would make great wall lamps.  Fortunately I was able to find all pieces that I needed to complete the project. They are now for sale at Hawthorne Vintage (4722 SE Hawthorne Blvd) for $495 each & on Etsy.

All of the gears on each drill still works making them interactive pieces of art.

The lamps can also be flipped up so that the light bulb is pointed up  

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Latest Creation // Industrial 2 Tier Coffee Table

This summer I bought two industrial carts at a barn sale. I had seen many such carts repurposed as a coffee table. I stripped one of them down, refinished the wood, and reassembled it. It looked great but the dimensions were not practical it was too low, too long, and and two wide. Since then I have been thinking about about a design for the second base that is more user friendly. After much brain storming I finally came up with a design that I really like. 

Dimensions 15'' tall x 30'' wide x 18'' deep. For Sale $300

If interested reply to remnantpdx at gmail dot com.

Here is a "before" picture of the industrial cart.

My new design brought the cart from long and low to shorter and taller.

Because the cart base is slanted I used carriage bolts as supports which made it easy to level the top.

Handmade: Reclaimed Wood Tables

For the past couple days Chris has been working on some reclaimed wood side tables.  All of the tables that he previously made have had a random stain pattern.  But this time, he carefully planned out the stain pattern. They are for sale for $200 each. If you are interested in them, email us  remnantpdx at gmail dot com.

Up-cycled // Modern Orla Kiely Cabinet

One of my favorite patterns is the iconic Orla Kiely leaf/stem pattern. When I discovered that Paper Source is now selling this beautiful pattern on paper, I knew I had to use it in a piece of furniture somehow. When I saw this piece, I knew it was the perfect piece for the job!

 

The wood was pretty beat up, and the plastic woven sliders had to go! But the little legs and shape of the cabinet would be perfect! After a little (or rather a lot) of paint, and some new fresh pattern, a new cabinet was born!

 

As you can imagine, it sold instantly (before I could even blog about!) I think I'm going to do this with a book case next. Any requests?

Handmade: Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table

Chris' latest creation is another reclaimed wood coffee table. Currently it's his favorite design! He used several different stains to accentuate the lath strip pattern. The hair pin legs are vintage and have been reused into this coffee table. These usually sell really quickly and that was the case this time! Chris finished the table on Tuesday afternoon, and someone came to look at a couch and fell in love with the table as well!

Restored: 12 Drawer Cabinet

Last week Chris found this amazing industrial 12 drawer cabinet.  It needed lots of work.  The top was covered with ugly linoleum and each drawer had peeling veneer. We weren't sure of how this project would turn out, but it was too good to let it go! 

The linoleum was tough to get off.  Chris had to use a chisel bit on his sawzall and scrape off all the glue with a wire brush.  The veneer came off of the drawers fairly easily.  Then he sanded it and stained it with Minwax Early American Stain, and oiled it with linseed oil. 

The more we looked at it, the more it needed hairpin legs, it made for a perfect side table or addition to an office. Behold the finished product!  We had a return customer buy it immediately. 

Handmade

Making new fresh furniture out of reclaimed materials is our passion. Here are some of the pieces that we've made from a mixture of reclaimed and vintage pieces. If you're interested in a commissioned piece, please email us at remnantpdx at gmail dot com. We will be happy to work with you to create a custom piece!

Custom Reclaimed Wood Coffee Tables - bases are made using reused vintage legs

Coffee Table Trunks - turn any trunk into a table! 

Handmade Ottoman with Cup Holder