A Tale of a Table

This table has been a part of my whole life.  I believe Dad even had it in his little house before they were married.  It always sat near Mum’s chair and was the perfect size to play a game of patience, or do some crafting, or write something down, or have a cup of tea.  My brother also remembers that the curved base was perfect for running his matchbox cars up and down.  

Therefore, when Mum moved into a retirement unit for a short while and subsequently into the aged care facility, her table went with her.

Sadly, after so much use, it has seen better days.  The veneer edging was chipped and Dad added an edging strip to it back in the 1970s.  In more recent times that too became damaged, so was removed a few years ago, once again revealing the chipped edge.

The veneer top is also showing its age, particularly as it was Mum’s main side table in her room for nearly eight years.  Lots of spills have taken place over that time.  We were surprised to see, once we turned the table upside down, that the veneer is attached to Masonite.  I don’t know what I expected, but I presume I thought it would be ply or something similar.

Once we removed the table from Mum’s room, we were in a bit of a quandary with what to do with it.  Neither my brother or I had anywhere that it would fit.  Because of its condition I don’t think anyone else would want it either.  It would be such a shame to throw it out.

Then Mick had a brainwave…….

We currently had a mid century modern metal based magazine rack as a side table between our chairs in our sitting room.  It wasn’t really practical.  What if a new top could be put on the base of Mum’s table and we put that between our chairs?  The base is in fairly good condition.  There are a few scratches, but we can live with them, they wouldn’t be seen much and they add character - a part of the table’s story.

After a measure up, we thought it could work.  A quick trip to Bunnings to buy a laminated timber piece, cut it down to size, then another trip to Bunnings to get some stain wax to seal it and the job was done.  It is the same length as previously, but much narrower.  We are so very pleased with how it turned out.

It works so well.  The next job is for me to have my chair reupholstered.  Joey made a terrible mess of it.  My chair was my grandmother’s and Mick’s chair was Mum’s.   Mum never did figure out how to work the electric reclining function.  I can assure you that Mick is making good use of it.  It’s rather nice that Mum’s table is back beside her chair.

I’m so pleased we could reimagine the table and it can continue to be part of my life.  Sentimental, aren’t I.