So I have a really cool dad! Although throughout my childhood I was often times embarrassed of the things that he wore (stained holed shirts), that he drove (sometime beat up "vintage" cars), that he brought home (junk)... my dad was just ahead of the "green" or "earth friendly" or my term "upcycled" times ... and now its or I'm catching up with his logic. (I feel for my son as I review what embarrassed me as a kid)
I am sure the term "packrat" or "horder" has been thrown his direction a few times due to the fact that as long as I can remember he has been saving things. Anything that anyone needed to get rid of or didn't have a use for they'd always call Craig because sooner or later he would have a use for it. He has always told me that "Free is a very good price" and I guess I have to finally agree
At the age of 16 I didn't really understand why he would waste his time going over to people's houses and pick up their trash (little did I know that a decade later I'd be doing the same thing).
On that note: A neighbor of my parents dropped off a beautiful french oak barrel on the doorstep of the Roost Barn. He thought for sure that I would do something with the thing. Although the earthy smell, the patina of the wood and the zinc metal straps on the barrel called to me I was smack dab in the middle of my summer season of shows. So I pushed it to the side of barn and put it out of my mind. Every so often for the last month my dad mentions "Hey you got any ideas for that barrel?" usually in a rush I answer "nope kinda been busy" Then he'd quitely say "you know you should cut that thing in half and make a planter" I thought about it for 4 seconds and would answer "that sounds like a plan" and leave it sitting there.
Time goes by and I have a lazy day at the barn and my dad says to me "come on I got something to show you!" Whenever he says this sentence I get a little excited and a little nervous. I know it's either going to be something REALLY awesome that no one will ever find again or REALLY not useful in which I have to REALLY think hard to figure out how to make something cool out of it so I can get it out of my barn (no offense dad cause I know you read my blog) Anyway he takes me out to the barn and I find this:
The french oak barrel that he had cut into an arm chair!
This is an inside picture of the barrel with the supports
Here is an exterior picture of the barrel and the beautiful patina of the oak.
So he asks me do you think that you can help me finish it up? So I say your going to need a seat. And of course he already had one cut to fit out of an old counter top that he found in the wood pile. So I say your going to need some foam I can pick you up some today... and he of course had already found some foam in his treasure stash and cut it to fit. So I ask well what do you need my help for? and he says "now I need some Roost Reimagined style" We decided as it was staying with the rustic and recycled theme that we would use an old burlap sack for the cushion cover. Fortunitly I had some burlap sacks out in the Roost Barn. So here's how the rest of the project turned out...
We stapled the burlap bag over the foam to the bottom of the seat.
Here's how that turned out
Then we grabbed a feed sack recycled pillow out of the Roost Barn too.
I love the crest on the bag. Sooo rusticlly cool!
Here's the finished arm chair
And here's the backside of the chair
Thanks for checking out my Father & Daughter
Roost Reimagined Upcycled Project.
SaraH
