Wednesday, January 30, 2008

The Old Marble Sink


Reconstructing the past....

I love old things..... I love the feel of old things...... I love finding new life for old things.... And they are usually made of solid long lasting materials. They are real.....
We decided to take this collection of things and turn them into something beautiful..... Everything that makes up this old sink is salvaged and was no longer in any productive use.....
We found the marble sink portion in a salvage shop in Halifax, NS. .......


The legs....2 old newel posts, that are used upside-down, with the top 10" cut off, saved and used for another project, we bought at an auction in Springfield, NB with several other mismatched posts, several years earlier..... Then sometime in the intervening years we salvaged old baseboards from a half-tumbled down house from nearby Hillsdale, NB.

The sink had a minor stain on it but I thought it just added to its character, besides it never affected its function whatsoever. It even had a tall 9" back splash. The original porcelain sink was still partially attached to it with old corroded brass bolts. We felt so lucky to have come across it. We scrubbed it and since we didn't know how to drill holes in marble we had 2 holes drilled at a machine shop in Sussex, for the new fixtures. We figure most of the pieces used in putting this sink back into useful life are from the mid-1800's. ( note: We always ask permission before salvaging and pay what is asked.)


For the underskirt, we used the  reverse side of the baseboard, which was in beautiful condition... drew the scalloped designs along the edge... drilled holes for the circles ... cut the shapes out with a jigsaw. Then painted it all a creamy white. I love this pattern..... we used it to repeat the pattern that we made for our homes outside window trim and several other areas of the house for cohesiveness and flow.

Every morning when I wake up and splash water on my face, I appreciate the beauty of the past...... and feel very lucky.

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