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FROM OLD TO NEW
Photography by CAROL BUSTAMANTE
By VENUS SALANGSANG
'RING out the old, ring in the new’ is a cheerful admonition each time the New Year comes around. Easier said than done, as everyone wakes up the next day pretty much her old self. Well, it’s just the year that has changed, actually, and one doesn’t have to chuck out the other ‘old’ things for things new, especially not nowadays when green sense requires recycling, renewing, and reusing.
There are great reasons for reinventing old things into new pieces. First, one’s creativity gets exercised and work created becomes a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. It usually becomes a conversation piece proudly shown off. Next, it saves you money. And finally, you get relive the memories attached to them.
Where to begin
A good place would be one’s intent or design philosophy. Would you want major recycling and reusing, or just touches of these? Would you want to buy an old house and reinvent it? For major plans, you would need professional help. There are many architects who are into reinvention and recreation. But if you want to keep things manageable by yourself and at your own pace, start with what you have and what you can do with them.
small time
The best place to start looking is in your ancestral home. Your parents’ or grandparents’ houses most definitely have too many things which they don’t have much use for, and which they would only be too glad to give away.
Here are some ideas on how you can turn some of your old things into decorative and useful items:
• An ordinary locker, the kind used in schools, may be painted with a bright metallic red and turned into a broom closet in a small condominium unit
• A ‘40s baby crib made of metal may be changed into a nostalgic and practical comfortable sofa by taking out one of the side bars and reupholstered with padding.
• Huge ‘St. Peter’s’ keys may be arranged and framed in glass and become wall décor.
• Antique tiles may be reset as tabletops.
• Old unmatched silver spoons and forks may be arranged as rays around a plain wall clock. They also make good garden mobiles, too.
• Antique doorknobs, especially the glass ones or the enamel ones with flowers painted on them, may be put on a board and turned into coat hangers.
Where to look
If you’re a beginner in recycling and reusing furniture or hesitant to tear apart heirloom pieces, you might want to start scouring secondhand antique shops where you can find novelty or antique items for your customization needs.
• Baguio is a good place to find antique furniture and small pieces that may be recycled or renewed. On the 5th floor of the Maharlika building is where all the antique stores are. Mt. Province artifacts of wooden dishes, ladders, chairs, carvings, troughs, baskets, and hand-woven cloth may be turned into lamp bases, towel hangers, tables, chairs and benches, drapes, and many more. You could see pieces like the two wooden ladders that were joined at the top to form a triangle and decorated to look like a Christmas tree at one contest. These ladders make good towel hangers or plant hangers. Antique woven cloth may hang from railings on a second floor. As accent pieces, small antique baskets strung one after the other on a rod may decorate windows and valances.
• Evangelista Street in Bangkal, Makati, and the stretch of Kamuning road are famous for their secondhand shops brimming with novelty and antique finds. Some shops can also recreate your old useless junk into functional pieces a la shabby chic. (Check out the step-by-step guide on the next page.)
• For antique furniture materials for your building needs.check out the Ancestral Building Materials website. Be on the lookout as well when visiting relatives in the provinces. What they discard as useless can be challenging. It helps, too, to let people know you don’t mind being given discards or old stuff. Fair warning: this art of finding and recycling old things into good useful new pieces can be habit-forming.
Furniture Remix
Old Banister Legs for New Console Table
TURN old things new. Check out how old stair banisters can be turned into a new console table for your area.
You’ll need:
banisters from old stairwell
pcs. of old wood
hammer and nails
saw
power drill
glue
buffer
floor wax, for polishing
chisel
pencil and measuring tape
T square
Safety Alert! Always use safety goggles when working with wood, saws, and drills.
1. Strip wood of old finish. Restoration usually requires removing the damaged finish by stripping the piece down to the bare wood. Make sure the edges of the tabletop panels and the frame stock are smooth by going over them with sandpaper.
2. Assemble the drawer body. Apply wood glue along the edges of the wood you want to join together and then spread it into an even coat. Let it dry for a few minutes . Secure legs with nails after glue has dried.
Tip: Use an old credit card or a popsicle stick to evenly spread glue.
3. Secure legs and sides of the table with nails.
4. Use an electric drill to join the legs and the drawer body.
5. Measure the distance between the two grooves for easy insertion of glide drawer.
6. To check if table legs are even, use a level stick. Saw off extra ends to adjust height of the table.
7. Add sparkle to dull brass handles with an electric buffer. Drill a hole at the center of the drawer and fit brass handle.
8. Smoothen wood by spreading a coat of wax.
Special thanks to NENENG BARCELON. Shot on location at Buy and Sell shop, 1577 P. Santos Bangkal, Makati City. Call 8444392, 3872775, or 09162642386.
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