Fifteen years ago, when we moved to Chez Snail we had almost no furniture, having managed with very old items that I inherited from my nan. They had served us well in our little cottage, but the new house was bigger and some of the old stuff was completely beyond repair. We had some things that were good – our bed, a dresser, a coat cupboard and gate-legged table, plus lots of bookshelves. But furnishing a whole house is expensive and so we hired a van and made a trip to Ikea, where we bought pretty much everything we needed.
A well-used table
And I’m pleased to report that almost all of it is still going strong. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m currently re-covering the sofa in crochet, but the actual piece of furniture certainly doesn’t need replacing. The only things that have finally started to break apart are the triangular side tables that we bought for £5 each. Over the years the surfaces have got damaged, but now structural cracks are starting to appear and the end is in sight. And so, with my recycle and re-use hat on, I sought replacements, although the old ones will still get some use in the limery I think. I thought about buying a second-hand nest of tables, but I really wanted something a bit more modern… and so to Etsy I went….
Where I discovered JB Wood Designs, a company making furniture out of, amongst other things, reclaimed apple crates… and I couldn’t resist. So, we are now the proud owners of not only two new side tables, each with a built-in shelf, but also a coffee table/storage unit on castors that will be so useful.
So, no more mass-produced furniture for us – I’m loving being able to support a small manufacturer, plus I now have more space to store yarn!!
The Snail of Happiness 
nanacathy2
/ September 24, 2015Have you caught the programme Money for nothing? This is a typical recycling project.
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ September 24, 2015I’ll have to look out for it
LikeLike
Ann Laken
/ September 24, 2015We have an old laundry basket that hold scraps of leather with a lid made from old floorboards as our coffee table. 1 element 2 functions…. 🙂
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ September 24, 2015Nice!
LikeLike
Nanette
/ September 24, 2015Wonderful! The look great. We’ve had a shop open recently that makes and sells this kind of thing, or you can buy recycled timber and make your own. I plan to go look and see what I can find, I usually buy pre-loved rather than mass-produced so this is one more step in the re-use/recycle/upcycycle movement. Like a look?….here https://www.facebook.com/sortmurbah
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ September 25, 2015That looks great. Mr Snail has been collecting pallets and I bought him a pallet dismantling bar for his birthday, so I’m looking forward to the construction of a garden bench from the reclaimed wood. He’s also planning to use it to repair a broken table for the garden.
LikeLike
katythenightowl
/ September 25, 2015These are wonderful – and now I’m trying to work out if I can sneak some in here at Chez Night Owl! Lol
My daughter made the base of her bed out of good old palettes – it’s great to see so much used wood re-purposed, isn’t it? 🙂
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ September 25, 2015I really love them… the material, supporting a small business and the great designs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
katythenightowl
/ September 26, 2015All 4 ideas would be reason enough on their own, so it’s a definite a win-win situation, isn’t it? 🙂
[Need to chat, but have lost yr number – give me a bell? :)]
LikeLike
thecontentedcrafter
/ September 25, 2015That’s the way!! [Yarn Storage 🙂 ]
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ September 25, 2015Even with all the yarn used and sold, I seem never to have enough storage space!
LikeLiked by 1 person
katechiconi
/ September 25, 2015I like those coffee tables – I’ve seen people put a small shelf inside the centre hole and install a pot plant, which looks smashing too.
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ September 25, 2015Yes we’ve been considering what to do with the centre… if left it will probably end up filled with yarn!!!
LikeLike
katechiconi
/ September 25, 2015Which is also fine, of course! Unless Mr SoH has plans for it already…
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ September 25, 2015He would fill it with chocolate… or possibly a wine cooler!
LikeLike
katechiconi
/ September 25, 2015Can’t see a thing wrong with that….
LikeLike
arlingwoman
/ September 25, 2015Nice. I really like the end tables.
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ September 25, 2015I do too – especially the extra storage space and the fact that they are so sturdy
LikeLiked by 1 person
insearchofitall
/ September 25, 2015Very nice tables. Great use of recycled pallets.
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ September 25, 2015I love the simplicity – that James has managed to make lovely furniture without dismantling the crates, but by using them as building blocks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
narf77
/ September 25, 2015Lovely and hopefully, still apple scented :). When our friends moved out of Tassie they didn’t want to pay to store (or ship) a lot of their furniture so we got “new” furniture for free! I fear the postage costs on what we “inherited” would be prohibitive (the shipping costs certainly were!) and so where there is a niche to be filled, the universe invariably fills it. Etsy gave you a wonderful way to fill the empty niche in Chez Snail. The universe is pleased. 🙂
LikeLike
thegrangerange.wordpress.com
/ September 27, 2015Love the recycling, it works really well and as you say you will be able to store your yarn projects to keep them on hand. My daughters friend has used crates in her kitchen, hung on the wall as shelves, they look great.
LikeLike