You probably know that we love upcycling old things around here. This is another project that my husband, Brian, finished this fall. It’s a magazine rack that belonged to his grandparents. We’ve been the caretakers of this piece for a long time. It was a bit weathered, and I didn’t remember to get a before picture for you. Oops. What kind of blogger am I? Anyway, I’ll show you the parts I did photograph. First, he disassembled the little stand into pieces and sanded them like crazy. Brian really likes to make sure that as much of the prior stain is sanded away before adding more.
The he created this cool hanging rack in our garage so that when he stained the pieces he could hang them by these wire coat hangers to dry. He used the same stain that he used earlier this fall on the Padre Hotel chairs and the Lane coffee table. He also used the same finishing concoction that he used on the Lane coffee table.
Then he reassembled it. It sounds simple, but there were quite a few coats of stain and finish and lots of time drying in between. Here’s how the stand looks in our house. Have you ever seen a stand like this? What do you think those indentions on top are for? Drink holder? Ashtray? If you have any ideas, let me know in the comments. If it is supposed to have an ashtray, we’d love to find one at a flea market to complete this piece.
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At first glance I thought this was an umbrella stand, lol. But after looking at Brian’s parts pic, I see that it’s an indention not a hole. Yup, slap an ashtray in that bad boy. I’ve got an old clear octagonish one that would fit if you want to pay the postage. If you aren’t smokers look for a small doily and put in a beverage.
Thanks for the offer, Tee. We don’t smoke, but would like to keep the magazine rack original, if we can figure out what was supposed to be there. It looks like it would have been a round ashtray, so I’ll keep my eyes open for one that would fit in that space.
This looks great! It gives me and idea of how to refurb my grandfather’s old magazine rack. Have a great weekend.
Thanks, Audrey! I love giving new life to sentimental pieces! Best of luck to you.
If you could find an old hotel/motel ashtray, that would be cool. Almost everybody had one or two of those things in their home.
Thanks, Judy! That’s a great idea!
Oo, how lovely! At first I thought maybe the space above was for an umbrella, but if it’s only an indention and not a hole, I would assume ashtray, too.
Thanks, Rachel. It does look like it might be an umbrella rack at first glance.
That is gorgeous. It reminds me of something my grandpa would’ve made back before he retired from woodworking! Pinned to share.
Stopping by from Lil Luna
Thank you, Sarah! I hope you have a few of your Grandpa’s treasures.
[...] you remember the magazine rack that my husband, Brian, refinished recently? It belonged to his grandfather. We have never had the [...]