That's the one we salvaged when we needed a couch for this place during its "construction phase", two years ago. We lived in/on/around it for about a year, thoroughly beat the tar out of it, and then, when it had finally given up all pretense of function, we laid it down in the basement. Presumably to die.
But that's the thing about metal. It just won't always up and decompose like you'd hope it would. And so, as you can see, the frame stayed. It gathered dust. It held my old lariat. It created a jarring visual. Particularly after the Great Basement Clean of '08 (which continued this last week, once I could again breathe and stand upright - but more on that later). I wanted to toss it. Zorak wanted to keep it. (Did you see all that metal? Metal is always useful. Honestly.) We went back and forth. Considering this photo was taken less than two weeks ago, I think it's obvious how I fared on those discussions. Fast forward to December 23rd. Decision-making time. There was only one way to handle this:
This basement's just not big enough... well, it's big enough, but I just don't want to look at this thing, anymore. Are you going to do something with it, or is this part of your overall plan to make me criminally insane?Well, I guess I'd just never taken the blunt approach before. And the basement is all purtied up and ready to use. And, well, what the heck. Let's do it.
And so, what began as a Crusade to rid the basement of More Crap turned into the Plan to Make It All Come Together. Here's what we came up with:
You know, that was actually kind of fun! It fits two adults and one toddler quite comfortably. Or one adult, one bag of peanut butter cups, a coffee cup, and a good book. (Ask me where I spent the day after Christmas!) Plus, since we saved the hardware from the edges, it folds flat to make a splendid cushiony seating thing for, well, I can't think of a reason. But it'd be a great place to nap if you're small enough! It won't be pretty for a while, but now it's functional. And the view across the basement is improved already! And did ya see the joy on that little guy's face? Oh, he had so much fun helping to build it with us! That, alone, was worth all the waiting in the world.
Kiss those babies!
~Dy
13 comments:
Ha! Cool. The slideshow worked. However, it seems to go a bit fast - anybody know how to slow it down? I tried changing the settings in Picasa, but that didn't seem to affect the embedded form. Hmpf. That's okay - use the pause button if you need to. :-)
Dy, learnin' something new every day. :-)
Hey there!
Okay, first of all that is very cool! I want you on my team!
Secondly, OMG, you have a band saw! I always wanted one of those...and a drill press. Oh, what I could do with a drill press.
"I could'a been a contender!"
Thirdly, I wonder when you are going to get your bed? ;-)
I like the slide show. No probs using the pause button.
mere
Mere, :-) We've had so. much. fun. with our tools. It's shameful, really. Zorak had most of it before we met, but we've added a few do-dads. The Sawzall is a handy addition, if you're looking for ideas. ;-)
Oh, hey, he called me last week and said, "Wanna talk me down?" Um... you're at Home Depot. Probably not. :-) They had a biscuit joiner. I've wanted a biscuit joiner for 12 years! I told him I'm his enabler, not his conscience (you'd think he'd know this by now, right?) BUY IT!!
So he did. And he's been joining all kinds of things in the basement the last week! LOL! It's wonderful! My new foyer coat rack will be ready soon. Claudia's new toy bins will be done this weekend. The boys learned how to use it this afternoon, too. Oh, the projects I have in mind, now! LOL!
The bed's going to have to wait for a welder, though. But he's looking, and waiting. One day he'll be at the pipe yard, or somewhere on travel, and I'll get another call... "Hey, wanna talk me down?" Then, I'll get my bed!
Dy
I love the slide show! I have to learn to do that!
What a great project. Smidge looks so proud, and it looks like you guys don't get all stressed and cranky when you are working on projects (as in, "Don't touch that -- you'll lose the screws!" "Don't touch that -- you'll cut your fingers!")
I want a coat rack. I would let Ed buy any tool if he would build me a coat rack.
Gah. Y'all amaze me. That would have so been on our curb, which would have been for the best because if WE had tried to make that chair, you'd see it collapsing and eating the cute toddler. :}
Melora, the slideshow is part of the whole Picasa/Google thing. Do you use Picasa? If so, I can walk you through getting the slideshows. :-)
Nah, we don't get cranky. At least, not with the littles. (Should've heard James' advice to his younger siblings about approaching us while we ran wires, thought! LOL!) You have no idea how many screws Zorak and I have lost... how many pieces we've ruined by not cutting properly... how many serious injuries we've narrowly avoided by the Grace of God. So, we just take it in stride, and hope to teach them well enough that although they'll probably always lose things and make mistakes, hopefully they won't make mistakes that cost them limbs or life, kwim?
KathyJo, you undersell yourself so much, lady! What we need is to live close enough that we can barter furniture and manual labor for food!! If it hadn't been for the wonderful folks down at the Pig, we'd have eaten nothing but cucumbers this summer! ;-)
Dy
I'm so impressed! Nice work!
Seriously! Is there anything you two can't do? And I want one of those gorgeous bows you have hanging in your basement (are you stockpiling?).
Wow! I wish I had an old futon. Guess I'd better stick to filing my stacks and stacks of papers:o(
What kind of bed are you planning to make? I want a very wild, twiggy log bed--nothing like I see in the stores. The tool I most covet is, well, I can't remember the name now. It's like a pencil sharpener for logs. They come in different sizes for different size logs and are used to make loggy, twiggy furniture and such.
BTW, what did you use to stick the two halves of the futon together? What is the white stuff? Did you just use some metal plates to span the two pieces?
Wow! The slideshow was fun! I was struggling to picture this when you were 'splaining it on the phone, but now it makes perfect sense!
Way to go, guys.
LB
Jenni, we re-used the original hardware on the futon. The tube portion of the frame is held together with smaller diameter sleeves, through which you put screws to keep it all together. The square tubing is held on with bent plates that were also part of the original (they have the little middle leg on each one, front and back). Those just bolt into place. That's the part you see Smidge doing in the slideshow. :-) The white stuff is just masking tape we used for measuring and cutting (it's hard to make visible marks on the black metal, but the tape is easy to spot, and then just as easy to remove!)
We know what you're talking about w/ the tool. I don't know the name of it, but Zorak explained that it's basically something that makes a quick mortise and tenon joint - is that what you were thinking? Sounds like a Very Cool Tool, imho, and the bed sounds funky and fun! The bed I want is metal, and since Zorak can do amazing things with metal and heat, he said he could do it for me. It took me a couple of years, but I can safely say, "Man, everybody needs a welder." That's probably about the point he decided he'd keep me.
LB, I'm glad you can "see" it now. It's easier to show than to tell!
Melkhi, thanks. :-) I'm just glad it's done, now. Plus, we've all spent more time on that thing in the last week than we have on any other piece of furniture in the house, combined. It turned out to be a fantastic addition!
Erin, der, of course we're stockpiling! Silly. What kind of post apocalyptic fantasy would we have without weapons and ammo, right? No, seriously, that's a conglomeration of bows we've made and ones we've bought. We had 'em in MD, too, but they were stuffed into every closet and cranny we could find in the townhouse. LOL! It's funny, Zorak would rather stab shards of glass under his toenails than have any chatchki (read: "decoration") in the house, but he has a weakness for old recurves. It's just hard to pass one up!
Dy
O.K., That is just cool. I mean it. Way cool. Listen, I've got a bunch of old crap laying around our shed outside, do you think that y'all could come and visit and build me something useful out of it? Maybe....I dunno...a chicken coop? A.....new chest of drawers for the bedroom? a....tractor? I dunno, I'm not picky. You just come take look and build whatever. I'm good for steaks and beer.
That is fabulous! I don't have an old futon, but it makes me wish I did so we could be cool like you guys (and the A-Team)!
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