Reinventing through Marriage

In the antiques business we often refer to furniture that has been pieced together from parts of other furniture as a marriage.  Of course married pieces don't have the same value as original and intact antique furniture, but they often have a charm all of their own. 

This is the story of a marriage.  The back splash that was eventually wed to this turn of the century chest of drawers was a find at an auction, an orphan, if you will.  It was probably off of a large English dry sink or wash stand, as the English used marble this way.  The dresser is one that I found, and purchased at the end of the day, at my own flea market.  The other dealer didn't want to drag it home, and hardwood furniture, this one is mahogany, is a lot to drag.  When I gave into the reverse haggling, I got a great deal and a project!

This is the completed piece of furniture.  It sold this week at Treasures Antiques for $179.99 and has a new home.  A happy ending for an unwanted chest and its orphan companion, wouldn't you say?

In this picture you can see the lines of the chest and the splash.  They both have curvy lines, but are void of other decoration.  Besides the fact that the size was right, this is the main reason I put them together.  The orphan splash waited at least five years for the right base to come along.

This is the chest of drawers as I purchased it.  My husband had to cut a new top because the veneer had issues.  The fact that it was painted didn't matter, since married pieces need to be united, usually, by paint.   

Here is a close up of the splash in its original condition.

I love being able to salvage items that are essentially useless in their current condition.  I like to use oil base paint on the reinventions, because it has a harder look, like old paint you see on vintage furniture.  Oil base paint IS messy, and I have learned to just throw out my brushes after using them (which is OK because the little natural bristle brushes I like best are cheap) but the resulting finish is so much more durable.