An Amazing Find that I Couldn't Get

I came upon this Armoire / Medical Chest / I don't know what the hell it was meant for this morning:








It was on the curb on Bloomingdale Ave - which is off on Connaught Ave - which is on my way to work - in the south end of Halifax. The shelf that's sittingon the top has a glass front.

It is totally really old - it was way too heavy for me to drag to the car on my own and I think it was too big to fit in my car anyway.

I saw it there on my way to work and it was still there on my way home from work.



I was totally upset that I couldn't get it because it is absolutely gorgeous. The things I could do with this piece of furniture. It could be fixed up to be absolutely beautiful. It is a complete shame that it's going in the garbage don't you think? I am crying wooden tears for this piece of history...

Something to stick in the ground

The 2 little wooden horses I found in a wooden box on Allen Street one night - my parents put out these kinds of ornaments on their lawn at their cottage - this is but a small selection that I put out for the photo's purposes - but those 2 on the right are ones I found while on a garbage walk. I don't know if my parents know that the 2 flamingo's that they've had on their lawn for years are ones that I knicked from someone's lawn while I was in university..... Oops!

Before picture of the lounger

I was just on the computer doing something else with my pictures and came upon the "before" picture of the lounger when I brought it home from curbside - this is how it looked in it's original form - it only had one completely visible rotten piece that made the original owner throw it out.

I ended up replacing about 5 pieces of the top - but that's no big whup when you've got a father who has every tool known to man - right Dad? And then slap some paint on it and you've got a brand new to you piece of furniture!

The above bowl that I'm mixing the dog food in is absolutely huge - it's aluminum and I got it out of some peope's garbage on Pepperell Street. There was nothing wrong with it - perfectly serviceable for at least 20 more years or so. At least for making dog food!

This teak lamp I got out of the garbage where I work - it is actually teak too. I LOVE teak. It's a nice long lamp - that's not the original shade it came with. It's gone through a few shades - that I've mostly bought at Value Village - and most of them have been red. I like red lamp shades for some reason. Lamp shades are another great thing to get out of people's garbage. I've gotten a few good ones over the years.

I got this cutting board on Lawrence Street - I don't know if maybe it was the top of someone's dishwasher because it's got a lip on the front of it like it was part of a built-in something or other - but it looked like it was about the right width for my kitchen counter so I brought it home and lo-and-behold it was a perfect fit - so Bob's-your-uncle I have a perfect butcher block for nothing! Fuck you Martha Stewart!




This book shelf was on Pepperell Street on a Wednesday afternoon when I was driving home from work - it turned out there were these 2 Serbian women cleaning out their garage right at that moment and they were like "we've got all this other stuff back here if you want to check it out!" - and I was like - well actually just this book shelf is perfect for me if that's okay with you - they DID have a lot of good stuff, but it was just so overwhelming to actually be able to go through stuff for free. A lot of people would've gone crazy and taken everything but I just couldn't get my head around it. That and I had to get home to the dogs. But this is a pretty nice book case, eh? I didn't even have to paint it or anything - and it's not bowed in the middle - it was in perfect condition. Already painted black.

See that shoe shine box on the shelf? I paid $1.50 for that at Frenchy's. That always reminds me of my brother because he's got one and he's very into having his shoes shined nice - and he's always had a shoe shine box just like that - so when I saw that box for $1.50 I had to buy it.

I got that wooden box below the Rubbermaid box on Robie Street. For some reason I have a weakness for old antique shipping type boxes - I think it's the patina - especially when they've spent time outside. This one needs new hinges because the old ones are all rusted and have separated from each other - but the wood is still in excellent condition. I have a serious weakness for boxes.


I LOVE this lounger - I also found it on Robie Street - completely separate from the above box but very close geographically. All that was wrong with it was a couple rotten planks which I replaced and then painted so that you can't tell which ones are different. But I love this lounger because now I lay out on the deck with the dogs in the night time. I love to lay out there and listen to the wind. Unfortunately I can also hear the neighbours verbally abuse their 2 young children though, which sucks. But the wind going through the trees on my back 40 is awesome while having Buttercup laying on my chest - and now Teddy laying on my legs. DEFINITELY worth twice the price I paid for this! haha!

I got this lamp from Connaught Ave - some more teak. That lamp is neat too - it's got a globe on it - but I bought it at Value Village for like $3 so it doesn't qualify as garbage chic.



This is a closet rod that I haven't put up yet - I'm going to hang quilt fronts that I have yet to put together on it in the rat's room. I got it on Duncan Street. All that was wrong with it was the paint was white and cracking like crazy and the rod was loose so I hammered a nail into each end and now it's as tight as everyone I talk to is when I ask them if they want to buy one of my quilts!


This is a foot-stool/seat that my feet are currently resting on! They were in the garbage area of my old apartment building. I actually have 2 of these. They had plastic covers on them which I replaced with nice fabric that I had and now they look beautiful.


This shelving unit was put out in the garbage in the apartment building I used to live in, so it was dragged back inside by moi to live out the rest of it's useful days by me. It now holds a small portion of my fabric stash.

This book case I found on my way home from work one day on Cedar Street - I find a lot of stuff on my way home from work NOT on garbage day - but just when people are tossing stuff to the curb and I happen to be passing by! It is solid maple but it was painted the pukiest colour lavender that a lot of wood seems to be painted and it's my belief that wood should either be the colour God intended it to be or it should be painted brown.

I started scraping it, but that was taking too long - so I went with plan B and painted it brown. And this is the finished result - which is now in my bedroom and holding my Buddhist paraphenalia.

This shelf and the shelf below aren't really garbage finds - but they are "found object" furniture. They are pieces of wood I brought home from the beach that I've used as shelving for the living room. I think they look super!



I love the patina of them - they're nice and grey and worn looking. Beautiful.

This metal shelf was another thing being thrown away at work. It was puke grey and I painted it blue and now I've got a moveable desk!



Now what a find this was! This is a plumber's old tool box that I found on Shirley Street years ago. And I almost left it behind too. I was out walking the dogs and I saw it, and I said to myself - where will I put it? It must be garbage if someone's put it out in the garbage! And then I shook my head to clear it and said to myself - "what am I thinking! I LOVE boxes! I cannot walk away from that box! Am I crazy?" So I walked the dogs home, got the car, and went and picked up this box. And I have loved this box every day since then. I knew it was a plumber's tool box because of the stuff that was still inside it - like the soldering paste and the couple of tools that were there. I've kept lots of different stuff in it - right now it's got empty picture frames waiting to have photos put in them. I LOVE this box.


This shelf is also another piece of wood that I picked out of someone's garbage because I liked the colour of it. See that picture below it? The one of the schooner? It's a hand painted photo - I bought it for $1 at a yard sale - and I bet it's probably worth at least $100. And that picture beside it is great too - I bought it because of the title - it's called "Peasant girl gathering faggots". I think that's hilarious. It's a painting from a museum in New Brunswick - I bought it at Value Village - both of those pictures are not in the frames I bought them in.