One man's trash is another man's treasure!

According to Basic Rug Hooking by Alice Beaty & Mary Sargent: "The pioneers practiced the old New England proverb "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without" by hooking bits and pieces of wool into foundation fabrics to make bed and floor coverings. The lives of articles of clothing, sometimes more difficult to acquire than food and shelter, could be extended in this way."

I wanted to share my latest decorating project with you. I'm almost done redecorating in our parlor. I'm still working on our living room where the new couch went too.

I found this chair in the trash over a year ago. It's been sitting in the corner looking really sad. The seat of it had been recovered in denim, which really didnt go with the green wash on the wood or the mint green chairs already in there. So I decided to recover the seat so it would fit in better.


I went to my craft room and dug this skirt out that I bought last year at a garage sale for .25. When I bought it, I didn't know what I was going to do with it, I only knew I loved the material. The colors and pattern were so cool and refreshing to me. As soon as I seen it this morning I knew it would be perfect in the parlor.

When I removed the denim I found the batting was probably about 50+ years old and needed some help. So I went back to my craft room and dug out a twin size fluffy mattress pad cover. I had dug the cover out of the trash because I thought it was a full size for my sons bed. It has been sitting waiting paitently to have something done with it.

Twenty minutes later and my sad little chair was singing like a canary. I'm so happy with my .25 chair!

Here's a bigger view of the room. The majority of this room has came from the trash.

Trash finds: Both pictures on the wall and the sconce (they both have shades of green in them including the mint green that I love), the floor lamp between the "new" chair and fireplace, the little footstool in front of the chair, the white pillar thingy to the left of the chair (can't remember what they are called), the scarf under the birdhouse and clock are left over from the skirt, the antique turquoise ink well and medicine bottles, the white butterfly house, the shoe shine box on the hearth, the glass top antique table between both chairs and the throw rug under the two winged chairs.

My sister purchased the fireplace for my birthday from a thrift shop for $15.

I bought the two wing back chairs came from a garage sale for $15 a piece.

I bought the birdhouse from Hobby Lobby on discount for $4.99.

The clock was bought from a thrift store for $9 by my father. I stole it from him. lol

These are the last two chairs in the room. Both were found in the trash. It's really sad that the little rocker was made for someone, their name is engraved in the back, and they threw it away. I'll make a new cushion for it and maybe a cover for the other one that is so popular now a days and then the room will be done... no wait, I HAVE to get rid of that awful carpet. As soon as I can find carpet.... CHEAP, the room will be done. :)

Have any of you done any redecorating this spring or summer? I love to look at other's decorating photos and hear about their projects.