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So, after 2 years of using a free Craigslist loveseat in our living room, I decided it was peeling too much to stay anymore. As is traditional in my house, I dismantled it. I saved the pleather and foam for future sewing projects, stuck the frame in my garage with the intention of using it to make a shelf, and then turned my attention to what to put in its place.
Thus was born The Coffee Seat: a bench made out of a coffee table. Now, I am under no delusion that I invented the concept myself, nor that it's novel in any way. What made the Coffee Seat special in my personal history of craft projects is that I thought of it, bought the coffee table at the ReStore, and in two hours had a completed bench. I invested $15 in the coffee table; the rest of the supplies I had on hand!
In the end, the Coffee Seat spent about a week in our house. The neighbors put their old loveseat on the curb and we were immediately smitten (mainly because Bower had made it perfectly clearly he's a loveseat-or-bust kinda dog.) Thankfully, my sibling came by for a visit and immediately declared that the Coffee Seat would make a perfect bench at the end of their bed. So, it moved a few blocks away to my parents' home, we adopted our trash couch to fill the void, and I satisfied my curiosity of what it would take to turn a coffee table into a seat! Trash Couch Photoshoot: "Quality from the Curb"
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We love seeing things our customers have refinished! Here are a couple of projects folks have sent in for us to show-off. There's a lot of drab-to-fab opportunities at the ReStore; you just have to put in some elbow grease and creativity!
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 Sometimes we get strangely mundane donations at the ReStore. A while ago, we received a bunch of solid-core doors from the Franciscan Sisters. When I say a bunch, I mean a BUNCH. We're talking 50+ doors, all of them weighing at least 40lbs. While we have sold a fair number of them, we have yet to clear them out. There's only so many people in this town with heavy-door needs. Now, an obvious use for a thick door like this is a workbench top. I didn't really need a workbench, though. What I really needed was a garden bed. I have a ton of plants, but I rarely get to enjoy the literal fruits of my labor; the rabbits are happy to do that for me. I've known for years I wanted a really tall garden bed to keep my produce safe, and these doors helped me do just that. It turned out so well, my parents asked me to make a pair for them as well!  All you need to do this yourself is: 2 solid-core doors 4 36" 4x4s A box of 3" deck screws Weatherproof paint Drill/driver Circular saw For my garden bed, I knew I wanted it big and deep so I could throw all my yard waste from the winter inside before I topped it off with dirt. My parents' beds, though, I made half the height so we didn't have to use as much fill. To create the two beds, I used four doors in total, ripping all of them in half the long way, and then halving two of those pieces to make the ends of each bed. Really, you could make yours any dimensions your heart desires! Essentially the doors are just thick pieces of plywood. Before putting everything together, I painted the pieces with exterior paint. I don't have a real idea of how long it will hold up, but so far so good. It's been in my yard for about a year at the time of writing this, and so far the only change is that it's dirtier than it used to be and there are a few spots where the veneer is peeling up. A fresh coat of paint should fix that. To assemble things, I used 4x4s at each of the interior corners. I laid them out on the ground, then rested the long sides of the bed on top of them and screwed them together. When determining how far in to set the 4x4s from the edge, I measured the thickness of the door and used that as my guide. That way, when I screwed the short sides of the bed to the 4x4s, the edges all ended up flush.  Standing the bed up in my yard was tricky because I did it by myself, but with some careful maneuvering I propped up the long sides with the 4x4s attached and the unattached end caps between them. I eyeballed squaring things up, then screwed on the ends. Once everything was together, I touched up the paint and waited for it to dry. Then the real work of filling it began. I took all my yard waste and shoved it inside, added dirt, waited for it to settle, added more dirt, waited for it to settle, added more dirt, waited for it to settle, and then topped it off with some mulch. A few sweet potato slips later, and I have a beautiful raised garden bed!
 If you've been shopping at the ReStore in the past year, you've likely seen these wardrobes. This excellent donation from a local business has been a staple on our salesfloor for a while. Now a few of them are playing a role behind-the-scenes! We needed some aesthetically pleasing storage space in our meeting room, and I knew the wardrobes would do the trick. The first thing I did was take the clothing rod out. Then, I had some short pieces of lumber on hand that served perfectly as cleats to hold the shelves. For a more detailed step-by-step on how to install simple closet shelves, here's a nice blog on the subject: https://www.ana-white.com/blog/2014/06/easiest-pantry-or-closet-shelving From there, it was as easy as cutting plywood to size, hauling the wardrobe to its destination, and filling it up!
The room they were going in was not quite big enough for three wardrobes, but by stealing the doors off one, cutting them to size, and attaching them between the other two wardrobes, I solved that conundrum! A plank of plywood topped everything off and gave us some more vertical space.
If you've been looking for some quick, easy storage solutions, these wardrobes are an awesome, sturdy solution. I've also been eyeing them up for potential garden tool storage. I think they might be just the right size to hold dormant rakes, spades, and post-hole-diggers during these cold winter months.
You could probably hang clothes in them too, I suppose. -Kali |
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY - LA CROSSE AREA
Providing Families with a Place to Call Home
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit founded on the conviction that every family should have a decent, safe, and affordable place to live. We partner with homeowners and the community to build decent, safe, and affordable housing.
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit founded on the conviction that every family should have a decent, safe, and affordable place to live. We partner with homeowners and the community to build decent, safe, and affordable housing.
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Phone: 608-785-2373
Fax: 888-823-9830 Email: info@habitatlacrosse.org Mailing Address: 3181 Berlin Drive La Crosse, WI 54601 |
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3181 Berlin Drive La Crosse, WI 54601 Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm |
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