Flea Market Armoire

This past May my mom and I attended the Springfield Antique Extravaganza where I came across this armoire with the most amazing painted paneled doors.  The armoire itself was made of what appeared to be a high-quality old wood and had square flat-head nails, hand-carved door stops, iron hinges and funky drawer pulls.  But what I liked the most were the hand-painted designs on the door panels.  I love the orange and green color of the flower motif and the way the wood grain interacts with the design.

Whenever I like something this much at an antique show I get nervous because I know I really want it but I may not be able to afford it.  So when I asked the vendor how much it was and he responded $200 I was surprised.  In my head I thought, "There has to be something wrong with it." 

Well, when I opened the doors I quickly discovered it did indeed have a major flaw - there was a huge hole where someone had cut out the back to accommodate a TV.  In my head I was thinking, "You remember the rule...no more purchases where I have to do something to the item when I get home.   This includes clothing that need to be hemmed or altered, items that need to be framed, and most certainly furniture that needs huge repairs."  The vendor could see I was struggling with this issue and he then dropped the price to $160.  Without hesitation I said, "I'll take it."  It was like the words came out of my mouth before my mind had time to realize what had happened.

So for the past month my husband and I have been slowly re-building the back of the armoire and adding shelves.  After several trips to the lumber store, running out of stain three times, bugging my neighbor Mark to help shave off a hair here and there (twice) and several cracked shelf supports, the project is finally done and I couldn't be happier. 

This armoire may not be a "fine" antique but to me it is priceless. Not only am I am crazy about all of it's wabi-sabi character but it is already chock full of memories.  I will always remember what a great time I had with my mom that day.  Plus my dad had to come help pick it up because, of course, I didn't drive my truck that day.  A huge thank you must also go out to the strong group (Frank, Tim, Dad, and George - and Amy for moral support) who risked bodily harm to carry this incredibly heavy hunk of wood up to my second floor.  I also want to thank my neighbors Mark and Mary for putting up with me bothering them with my wood-cutting needs.  I now no longer need a hammer to put the shelves in and the doors now close.  And of course a big thank you to my husband George for his forced-carpentry and patience with my crazy projects.  Oh, and John for his moral support and design consultation.  Wow, you would think I had won an Emmy or something!  In the end I have a kick-ass armoire plus a beautiful reminder of all the great people I have in my life.