Friday 20 September 2013

Waste not want not (or before and after!)

Staying at our son and his fiancée's house, whilst they were away, we took the opportunity to go to Ikea. I know a lot of people dislike their stuff but we love the practicality of it. Not so much that we have a houseful, just enough of useful odds and sods.

Anyway on this visit, we were after a unit for the conservatory, to replace the old cane chairs we had in there (they took up too much room, no-one wanted them so they were chopped up and other elements of them kept for future use).

We bought an industrial style TV unit, with a shelf and sliding doors, in a lovely light turquoise.
We are storing newspapers and pine cones in it for lighting the fire, plus a small amount of kindling. Anyway, as we are getting older, we find trying to remain upright whilst putting on and taking off our shoes is becoming a little more difficult.

DB scampered up into the loft to retrieve a piece of chipboard, either left over from a previous project or earmarked for a train/tram set that won't get built now due to his eyesight. It was cut to size and had its corners rounded and smoothed.
A few years ago, we used to have a picnic bench in the garden and had bought 2 long bench cushions, to make the seat part more comfortable. They long ago disappeared but we did keep the padding for future use. One piece was the right size for the board - how amazing - it was obviously meant to be!
On a recent visit to Dunelm, I looked at the PVC tablecloths to try and find something that might work as a covering. For £4.99, cheaper than American oilcloth, the cheapest shape was a medium oblong.
Only half was needed. It was gingerly ironed using lots of brown paper to protect it!! Most of the creases did come out after a long while. It was fixed over everything using a staple gun. The staples were then hammered in to get them as flat as possible. Duct tape was put over the staples and the edges to stop them from scratching the top of the unit.

So, for half the price of a tablecloth and utilizing everything else from our storage area in the loft, a new top was born. Not only can it be sat on (hence the board for reinforcement), we can put our damp shoes on it to take them off, then wipe it clean. Nifty methinks!  Thanks to DB's help and both our ingenuity, here is the top, for the grand price of £2.50 (rounded up!).



20 comments:

  1. Brilliant. Love the covering latter.

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    1. Nice and practical to boot - excuse the pun!

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  2. I love it, especially the farm animal washable fabric cut from a table cover. :)

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    1. Don't know how long the cover will as it gets up to 50C in there during summer. However, as we only used half, the other half will be available.

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  3. I love it, I adore that fabric.

    I too like the functionality of IKEA furniture but we live a bit too far to go often thankfully :)

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    1. All Ikea's are at least 2 hours drive away from us so we too don't get to one very often.

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  4. A very handy bit of furniture. It was your DB scampering up to the loft that made me smile! Can't remember when I last scampered anywhere!!

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    1. I don't think he really scampers anywhere as well but he is more nifty on the attic steps than me.

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  5. It looks great! I love the animals on the covering.

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    1. Me too, it was also the best artwork on all the tablecloths in there.

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  6. Just make sure he comes down more slowly than he goes up!! I love the fabric - great job there!! I share your despair at the distance from Norfolk to IKEA - my sis in law often asks me to get bits for her. But then Norwich has a Clas Ohlsen, which is another Swedish delight. You can't have it all!!

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    1. Clas Ohlsen is not too bad a shop at all, we just prefer Ikea.

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  7. What a brilliantly frugal make-over!! Well done to you and hubby!!!

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    1. We enjoyed it and it was finished within the hour.

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    1. Thank you. DB is hoping to fit a discreet block behind it and the wall to stop it slipping backwards when in use.

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  9. Brilliant, I love the way it turned out :)

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  10. Fab, dc, and i agree, there's a lot to be said for Ikea. You've made a lovely job of it. Brownie points all round!

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  11. I agree with you about IKEA; not sure why so many people hate it; big box store I guess. They have so many good solutions; I always read IKEA Hacker to see how folk have customized their buys.
    I would never buy sofas or beds there and I think some of the kitchenware is a bit shoddy but the fabric is to die for and about a third of the price of marimeeko. My favorite buys this year are some great black and white sofa pillows. My MIL loved them but then turned up her nose when I said they were from IKEA.

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