More from the cabin - Squirrel's Nest

I began collecting and refinishing furniture in highschool.  This desk is actually my very first piece of furniture that I purchased and refinished myself.  Now it is located in my little cabin and contains all my souveniers from my travels over the years as well as the dolls that my grandmothers made for me. I think I paid $300 for it which was probably a couple of years savings. This piece has a lot of memories and has been hauled around as I've moved from apartment to apartment and home to home. I think its kind of amazing that I still have it after all these years. We are such a disposable society. My family says I hang on to everything so I guess its not much of a surprise.

Vignettes from Squirrel's Nest

 I have a little "weekend" cabin where I get away called Squirrel's Nest. Over the years I've collected all kinds of "vintage" and antique items to complete the cabin feeling. The clock is hand made from found objects and was part of a fund-raising project. I bid on it and now it sits next to my stone fireplace. I found the bingo game at a junk market and love how the colors all go together next to the wine colored leather sofa I found second-hand.

This is my favorite resting spot in the loft. Its an old iron chaise lounge and the cushion is covered in this lovely rose-patterned fleece. There is a soft and somewhat tattered embroidered pillow of a little dutch girl with her geese. My friend made me a really nice lap blanket and my little angel sits on top of the suitcases I use as a side table which double as storage.

 

Till next time ....

Primitive cigar box drawers

 Aren't these amazing? I purchased these right out of an old barn that used to be the woodshop of an urban farmer. This guy was descended from one of the original settlors here in the Rockford, IL area. There were some very cool things out of this sale.

These were so dirty and full of dust that I spent a good two days brushing off the dirt and dust and "cleaning" them by rubbing them gently with a pad of fine steel wool.  I was amazed at how the steel wool made the graphics come back to life. Then I waxed them with paste wax both to clean off the remaining dirt and to give them a protective seal. 

 The insides still need some cleaning, but I thought I would leave that to the buyer of these amazing drawers.  Each one has a small wooden knob. Some have been labeled with their content, some have numbers and some have nothing at all.

I could not get the cubby hole unit that they came in -- it was literally built right on the barn wall and we were afraid that taking it down would diminish the integrity of the building (it was in pretty poor shape).

Aren't the graphics great?

I am thinking about building a couple of cubby hole cabinets since I have so many of these drawers.