You may approach the bench

Un-restored vintage work bench | H is for Home

In last Monday’s Get their Look post we featured a very nice relaxed kitchen which combined open shelving and contemporary fixtures & fittings with one-off vintage pieces. One such item was a lovely rustic work bench that took a prominent position in the space. As luck had it, we came across this old woodworking bench at auction the following day. With the potential that these items possess still firmly in our mind, we obviously couldn’t resist putting in a bid.

Vintage unrestored work bench showing the side attached vice

We already have a large work bench in our own kitchen, but you can never have too many! We’re confident that this one will look amazing after a bit of TLC. First off, it needs a good wash to remove the grime. Fortunately, there’s no horrible layers of grease, oil or tar – so that should be a very straightforward task with a bit of diluted wood wash. Then, we’ll let it dry thoroughly, make a couple of tiny repairs, then finally wax and polish. We can see that the wood has a lovely colour and grain beneath the dust and grime.

Vintage unrestored work bench showing the tool storage holes

The finished piece will be perfect for the kitchen or garden room. The holes along one edge are ideal for knives, wooden spoons or other kitchen utensils… trowels and dibbers if it ends up with a more horticultural re-purposing. There’s plenty of space underneath for boxes, baskets or sacks too. This one doesn’t have slats sitting atop the cross stretchers. We’ll probably leave as is, but they could easily be added if desired.

Here are some more examples of these old work benches given new leases of life!

Vintage workbench in a carpenter's studiocredit

Vintage wooden work bench upcycled as a sink islandcredit

Vintage wooden work bench upcycled into a kitchen islandcredit

Vintage wooden work bench repurposed into a dining tablecredit

Charity Vintage: Vintage suitcases

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collection of vintage suitcases being sold on eBay for Charity by Isabel Hospice

In yesterday’s Gimme Five! post, we featured a few things you can do with vintage suitcases. A quick browse on eBay for Charity came up with ten of them currently being sold by Isabel Hospice* alone!

We’ve done a little mosaic of just four of them to give you a taste. The lot are available at individual ‘buy it now’ prices of between £12.50 & £30 and all have 20-odd days left to the end of the auction.

*Isabel Hospice is a charity needing to raise nearly £4 million per annum to provide their free services to the people of eastern Hertfordshire. Their ethos is that they treat the whole person, not simply the illness. They offer a complete hospice service through their team of Community Nurse Specialists, a 16-bed, in-patient hospice, a day hospice, outreach day hospices, hospice at home and a family support and bereavement service.



Gimme Five! Upcycled suitcases

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selection of vintage, upcycled suitcases

We came across vintage trunks, vanity cases and travel bags all the time at auctions and flea markets. They’re often no longer practical for their original use. People now-a-days use lightweight rucksacks or those flight cases on wheels that, once upon a time, used to be the sole preserve of airline pilots & flight attendants.

Upcycled suitcases have found all manner of new uses – coffee tables, desks, shelving and even luxe pet beds. They can be picked up cheaply and, if you’re of a crafty bent, transformed into beautiful bits of furniture. Here are some we found online.

  1. Vintage repurposed red suitcase dog bed with hairpin legs: £34.22, Etsy
  2. Heisenberg retro suitcase speaker by Bass Trunkies: £390, Notonthehighstreet
  3. Occasional table suitcase leather hide low table: £60, eBay
  4. Wooden vintage trunk repurposed as a coffee table: £493.92, Etsy
  5. Pair of wall shelves made from a vintage metal tweed stripe upcycled suitcase: £91.66, Etsy