Sanding into the Story

Day 7 of 365

As I cut the sand paper into quarters, it scuffs up my fingers. Roughing them, and priming them for the task ahead. Letting me know that the job will not be an easy one. The sandpaper is attached to the block of wood and the process begins. What was once a white, vibrant piece of "refinished" furniture, an antique, is now going to be my masterpiece. One that will fit well into our decor. The primitive look. The antique look. The place we call home.

Sanding away at the edges, creating a well roughed up look, I wonder to myself. Who would paint something so vibrant, so white, and cover up the history that was once behind it. The history that this piece holds. The stories that every scuff, scrape and blemish would be able to hold. The more paint that is taken off the more the piece once again looks like an antique. Something one would stumble upon sitting at the curb, or by a lone tree out in someones field, scattered with rubber tires and bent up metals. A piece once loved and cherished, only to be tossed aside and replaced by something new and vibrant. But this is what our family enjoys. Decor that tells stories. Not the new and vibrant. But the old and cherished.

I take out the hammer, and remove some aggression on the piece, making dents and scrapes, scratches and blemishes. It is now going to hold our family story. Never to be repainted and brought back to it's vibrant state it was just in. It is now distressed. The well thought out process that has been brought upon it, creating a aged look.

The piece is an antique commode. No, not the kind you sit on. But a commode that once sat in the hall or bedroom. Adorned with a wash tub, soap and a towel hanging from the spindle attached to the back of it. Can you imagine it sitting there? I can, in the historic farm house, by the bedside. The wash tub filled with freshly boiled water that was earlier pumped from the well. A wash rag and soap sitting beside it on the top. Mother washing her face after a long day of cooking and cleaning. Bread making. Cleaning up before she tucks herself in for the night.

The commode before. Notice how bright and shiny it is. How new it looks. Yeah, that doesn't really fit into our decor in our house - at all!

And the finished product. It makes me swoon!