Vintage medical table.
A while ago on a Saturday morning, Paul and I were at an estate sale…Ā In the basement was this vintage medical table.
I posted a photo on Facebook asking you to talk me out of it. (Which I knew you wouldn’t.) Half of you saidāhave you lost your mind?Ā You do NOT need a portable toilet.
But at least half of you thought I DID need the table. Ā And at $10, it was the sort of thing that if I didnāt get it, Iād have not-buyerās remorse.
So I said to Paul ā I guess weād better get that. Ā And as he was carrying it upstairs he said ā why do you always want to get the crappiest thing in the place?
I looked around, confusedā¦ Because, hello? IĀ guaranteeĀ you I could find something crappier.
Paul added ā if I wanted to bring home ANYTHING from this basementā¦ There is no way you would let me.
Which is true… only one of us can be the arbiter of what disgusting things may enter our home.
I also got dishes. Because I am a dish hoarder.
Similar to the way Paul is a clamp hoarder.
He claims that you can never have enough clamps. However? I assure you that we have MORE than enough clamps.
If at some point there is a clamp-shortage in the world? We will make a fortune speculating on other people’s clampāmisfortune.
When we got home, Paul got to work on the table immediately.
I would have just added it to my growing mountain of crap in the garage. But Paul is starting to worry that he will be crushed under the impending avalanche.
Rather than use paint stripper, Paul took the grinder to it.
This was WAY, WAY, WAY faster.
And less likely to give us cancer.
It wouldnāt work for a large surface or for something you were concerned about keeping pristine, but for this, it was great.
We did a coat of primer, and then sprayed it with a white gloss.
At some point the glass shelves were replaced with mirrors andĀ I still have to get replacement glass cut.
I’ve been waiting to do a post until I actually got the shelvesā¦ But I’ve recently remembered that any time the last 10% of a project is left to me, historically, it remains unfinished.
In the interest of full disclosure, itās not staying in the bathroom. It doesnāt actually fit there.
I only put it there for photos because it LOOKS nice, and since this is a blog, I am contractually obligated to make you feel like my living space is nicer than yours.
See all my favorite Craigslist finds.
November 6, 2013 @ 6:53 pm
It is fabulous…but you knew it would be, you clever girl.
Best…Victoria
November 6, 2013 @ 7:22 pm
I am a hoarder of vintage dishes: 40’s franciscan ware, Bavarian, Limoges & Clarice Cliff; Pottery: Hyalin kitchen canisters or McCoy fan vases; and depression glass: Hocking Cameo Ballerina or Wexford.
Your medical table looks lovely, better used for a plant stand.
November 6, 2013 @ 7:54 pm
ugh…unfinished projects. In the 70’s, I had little money but splurged and purchased pendleton wool to accompany me to the tailoring course I signed up for. I never finished the project and there is NO WAY I could ever fit in the suit now, but I just can’t bear to give away the half finished cut out material! Beautiful camel colored pendleton wool…I loved you.
November 6, 2013 @ 7:56 pm
I love you Victoria! You never fail to give me a laugh. And what a comfort to know I am not alone in my penchant for picking up “treasures-to-be” to squirrel away in my basement for SOMEDAY. Paul is right about the clamps. Same goes for bungee cords and those long adjustable strap thingies which, if my husband were home, he could tell you the name of. My can’t have enough of item is vintage jewelry, the glitzier the better! And cashmere sweaters. And cats. Which I must always have at least 2 of at any given time. 3 if one is getting old.
November 6, 2013 @ 8:29 pm
Okay, I have decided I am slow-witted. I saw the post where you originally bought the table, and the only thing I saw in that picture was the portable toilet and, I too, had the thought of, “You do NOT need a portable toilet”. Then I saw this blog, and scrolled back and forth, back and forth, trying to figure out how you got the end result from the portable toilet. Before I FINALLY figured out that you DIDN’T get the portable toilet, you got the table sitting next to it.
As I said, definitely slow-witted. Or just continually blinded by your goddess-like decoration endeavors! (Yeah, yeah, that’s what it was. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.)
November 6, 2013 @ 8:45 pm
I hear you on the clamp hoarding — my husband feels the same way as yours about clamps (and pretty much any tool.) Guess it’s the guy equivalent of our shoes: they all perform the same function but more is better.
November 6, 2013 @ 9:11 pm
Love your honesty. Keep telling it the way it is.
My husband is harder to train than yours but I did get him to buy me a huge antique mahogany cabinet w. sliding glass doors that make a cool noise when they roll. I think it was from a haberdashery. It looks nice with all my dishes.
Well done!
November 6, 2013 @ 11:13 pm
Victoria, you should be a stand up comic. I don’t care what you write about it, I just love to read it!
November 6, 2013 @ 11:30 pm
Hey, Danita Bay… I LIVE in Western Washington state and NEED your list of amazingly unplundered treasure troves. While I may have cornered the market on inkwells, there’s still space in our basement. And and our tiny one car garage. Right now it’s just being wasted storing my car. Obviously I’m not using it for a higher purpose (like mountains of potential treasures). I must make amends.
November 6, 2013 @ 11:41 pm
All I can think is that that little table just seems so much happier now! Pulled out of that dark basement and made to be adorable.
November 7, 2013 @ 12:37 am
Hello? You have white tiles on your bathroom walls and amazing marble tiles on your floor? Your bathroom is definitely nicer than mine, still in its “previous owner state”, meaning a lot of orange, some yellow and a dash of green!
November 7, 2013 @ 1:25 am
We are planning to move out to ‘the country’ aka, rural Australia, aka, the outback. Hubs wants to hire a skip bin aka, dumpster for ‘all of the stuff we are going to need to throw out.’ … Stunned silence. Head cocked to one side and eyes scrunched. I think he is smoking crack.
November 7, 2013 @ 10:11 am
And we as your loyal followers are contractually obligated to make cute and clever comments on your cute and clever projects, right?
No, no, that’s not snark!!
I’m so glad to find a blogger who sees behind the house-blog curtain!
November 7, 2013 @ 2:31 pm
I really should know better than to read your blog and drink coffee! Coffee coming out of nose is, a) not attractive and b) hurts like a bugger! I ADORE that cart, I NEED that cart, I am OBSESSED with that cart! It’s perfect even with the mirrors… although, I might antique those mirrors for a little “edge”. Sitting here wishing we were best friends, oh to go treasure hunting with you!
November 7, 2013 @ 6:19 pm
I want to marry that cart. I once stared at a Dental Cabinet on Kijiji for so long trying to convince myself that we didn’t need to eat food at all for the entire month if I could get it in my home.
November 7, 2013 @ 9:25 pm
Love the medical table. It looked so great after Paul got done with the the grinder…I would have left the metal finish. Just sayin’. I do agree that the shelves should be replaced with clear glass.
Love your blog.
November 8, 2013 @ 1:46 am
Very pretty! I think it looks great with the mirrors!
November 8, 2013 @ 1:47 pm
“Not buyers remorse” has been called “savers remorse” in our household forever.
November 8, 2013 @ 2:38 pm
I love this table and I’m so glad you scored it! I knew it would be amazing once it was cleaned up and I think it even looks great with the mirrored shelves. I can’t go on Pinterest without seeing a bar cart and this is a way cooler version of that.
PS. Don’t tell Paul, but Tyson says I cannot bring home or start another project until I finish my never ending list of half done ones. I should be painting right now…
November 9, 2013 @ 10:58 am
Loved this idea! Really love the way you think and post about it. You crack me up to no end! And love that your home is lovelier than mine. Hahaha!
You are the treasure. Thanks for posting a blog.