There are thrifty thrift store finds.
There are thrifty side of the road and dumpster dive finds.
There are thrifty freebies …
A challenge set forth by a friend. She’s a mom I met through my daughter’s school …
… and let me digress and clarify that she is not one of those crazy rule-making – and crazy rule-enforcing – PTA moms. You know them. We all know them. And I apologize if you’re one of them. And if you are one of them? Please stop being one of them. Life’s too short for that madness.
My non-PTA-card-holding-friend’s challenge was issued in jest. Or, as I’ve come to think of it, desperation.
You see, it all started when she was surprised that I had never heard of a piece of furniture called a telephone table …
She’s been storing one for years. Well, more like decades. And she’s been trying to give it away for years. But it’s the boomerang telephone table. It keeps finding it’s way back into her life …
… and her storage room.
And when I heard that I said, “Challenge Accepted!”
Which has turned into “Challenge Postponed” as I try to figure out how to fix the seat so someone could sit on it and chat on the phone without falling through …
Call me if you have any bright ideas …
P.S. Have you heard about our May 29 Mission Possible multi-blog link party? This time we’re taking it outside. Click here or on the button below for more …
P.P.S. If you’re perplexed by this post’s headline, sing it like you’re a 14-year-old-voice-cracking-boy. Get it? Yes! No? Still perplexed? It’s a line from The Telephone Hour from Bye Bye Birdie …
Sharing …
I’m with thistlewood farm. The screw holes make it look like a board used to be there. Just cut a piece of plywood to fit, and cover it like you would any other chair seat with foam and cute fabric, using your trusty staple gun! I can’t wait to see the finished product!
I have to show this to my daughter. She recently interviewed my mom about “life in the olden days,” and my mom actually talked about those telephone tables.
I totally remember these. I found one in my old basement a couple of years ago, but it was just a straight table, no chair. I ripped the top part off and just made a little bench for the end of my daughter’s bed. Good luck!
I concur – plywood, screws, foam covered in batting covered in fabric and you can chat the hours away sitting comfortably on that baby.
Kelly
Ply wood and screws will work perfectly.
You can take the seat off a old chair and trace it if you want a nice curve and don’t want to guestimate the shape. We re-upholstered some old dinning room chairs and replaced the foam for the seats at the same time. We bought 3 inch foam from a fabric store and did a thin layer of sheet batting, then just cut the fabric too big and trim off the excess after. The foam, batting and fabric for our four chairs was about $50, and we used some scrap wood. It’s be even cheaper if you use scrap fabric/batting or thinner foam (the stuff almost doubles in price as you get thicker, but thin foam isn’t as nice.)
What a great find! A fresh coat of paint, and a nice new seat and that thing will be awesome. Totally retro, and SO easy! I love it!
i can’t wait to see it after! and i am a pta member so i can stay in touch only…. i go to no meetings and i know exactly who you are referring to…. NOT me.
and i was in a production of bye bye birdie when i was 14. so much fun- the title was awesome.
Eat more pie.
We did the board + stuffing thing on our chinese chippendales and they are a perfect picture of professional, flawless upholstering. (BAHAHAHA.) But it did work. 🙂 http://www.viewalongtheway.com/2010/08/my-chinese-chippendales-got-fancied-up/
I’m excited to see what you do with this table.
My mom had one. I spent many many hours sitting on it. The seat was wood, and hard, so whatever you do with it, make it a cushy spot for a tushy.
~Bliss~
To Thistle: Bye Bye Birdie is a MUSICAL fercryin’ outloud, and Ann-Margret was in the movie version. So the fact that she sang it in ‘Mad Men’–pop culture reference. If you need to know any more useless crap, please let me know. I am a walking encyclopedia of useless crap. And my grandma Hazel had a telephone table and I used to sit on the seat (which was hard, Bliss is right) and pretend to talk to people. Because I had no friends, apparently. Or I was four. Whichever.
What a great find!! It will look great when you’re finished sprucing it up:)
What a fun find. I’m in the ‘no idea about bye bye birdie’ club, but love the piece and concur with the suggestions. It might even turn out that ‘it’s a cinch’. 🙂
Dropping by to wish you a FABULOUS and WONDERFUL Mother’s Day!!! hugs…
Sweet memories …. just love this bench + telephone shelf!
Growing up, our parents had something very similar …. was kept in our long hallway. Have no idea whatever happened to it.
Nice to see one again. {{sigh}}
Marcee/ILLINOIS
Ha! That bench is too funny. I’m assuming she doesn’t have really little, little people, because I’m pretty sure my four year old would kill for a “desk” like that one.
Happy Mother’s Day! Here’s hoping your day is better than mine- apparently a day that is clearly not about my kids makes them immediately freak out and declare war on my sanity:)
Jessica
stayathomeista.com
He descubierto tu blog y me ha encantado su contenido. Desde hoy lo sigo, si lo deseas te invito a conocer mi blog y si es de tu agrado, me gustaría tenerte como seguidora en mi blog para seguir en contacto. Un saludo muy cordial.
Manoli.
I’ve recovered these before. Yep, you have to cut a board and screw it in from the bottom.
I remember those, how neat it is and looks like it is in great condition! I can’t wait to see what you do with it:)