A Bit Of Wabi-Sabi

Yesterday, I dragged out the old table I mentioned in my previous post........and, yes, it was in a pretty sorry state. It had spent a number of years outside as a kind of potting table I think, and all four feet had varying degrees of rot where it had stood on and in the soil. I cut the bottoms off all four legs to the same level to remove all traces of rot. The frame and top were in surprisingly good condition - turned blackwood legs and a deal pine top, which had all the signs of a hard life, but was not warped or split. The base had been painted a grey blue which was weathered and peeling. 
I bought four matching pine feet to glue and screw onto the bottoms of the legs to replace what I'd cut off (remarkably, it is solid on its feet - no rocking at all!) I also braced the corners under the top to reinforce and strengthen it.

I then set to with the sander to sand back the top and remove most of the paint from the legs. I didn't want to obliterate every trace of its former life, so I allowed some of the stains and dents to remain in the top and  I left some of the grey paint on the legs. I stained the pine extension feet to match the colour of the legs and I oiled the top (thirsty, it was!) I'm really happy with the result of a little bit of effort - this cost me nothing except time!

So here it is: my new/old wabi-sabi table  - a perfect addition to finish off my spare bedroom. (Wabi-sabi comes from the Japanese aesthetic - it celebrates and finds beauty in the imperfect, the broken, the repaired............it fits in perfectly with my designer-frugal style! In fact, I really have a wabi-sabi house!