A Recycled Bedside Table

When I moved back to Chapin from Charleston, I realized I didn't own much furniture. My bedside table in Charleston was a particle board cubicle that was damaged during the move. But after a month of living without a bedside table I realized how much I actually used it. It provides a spot for my alarm clock, water, lamp, book(nightly read) and remote. So I decided to build one. When I was cleaning out the shop (was a storage building but I'm cleaning it out to turn it into a fully functioning workshop!) I found an old school desk my mom had purchased from an antique store, Harper's, in Walhalla, SC. Given it's shape and style, I would date the desk from the 1950's to 1960's. The base is solid pine and it had a wooden top with a piece of plastic laminate for the writing surface. It's had mold all over it. So I wiped it down with diluted bleach to get all the mold off. Then I cut the top off and exposed the interior of the storage slot. It was covered in dust and cobwebs. More cleaning! I decided not to sand the base because the patina, nicks, scratches and writing gave it character. And all this is the voice for the desk and tells it's story. You can see in the pictures, the writing looks to be from a kid. Who knows? but it's so cool. I took some of my scrap strips from my wood pile and glued them up to make a top. The top consists of 9 different species of wood, all of which is recycled hardwood flooring. American Cherry, Brazilian Cherry, White Oak, Red Oak, Sapele, Santos Mahogany, Honduran Mahogany, Reclaimed Pine & Brazilian Red Wood. So this table is 100% recycled. More reason to think before you throw something away, asking yourself: "what else could I use this for?" On second thought......