For The Record...

I have lucked out with today's post.  Why?  Well, because when I sat down to write I was bombarded with a ton of distractions.  Phone ringing.  Somebody dropped by unexpectedly.  Triple H came home early.  It started snowing.  (Yes, snow can distract me when it's supposed to be SPRING!!)  Then I had to hop in the Durango and rescue a Waterfall dresser by the side of the road.  All of these added up to me not being able to focus enough to write.  I.  Don't.  Work.  Well.  Under.  Pressure.  Actually, I work very well under pressure.  I just can't write well under pressure.  THANKFULLY, I'm not writing today's blog post.  I'm turning it over to Benjamin from Upcycling By Benjamin.  His furniture flippin' submission doesn't need any added rhetoric from me.  Take it away Benjamin...

Benjamin writes, "I love shopping at flea markets.  Simple cash transactions with real people remind me of a more simple time. I was at my favorite local flea market late on a Sunday - my favorite time to go.  Many people like to get there early on Saturday to find the best items.  I like to buy large items on Sundays when the dealers are about to have to load them up and transport them back and forth the next weekend.  At 2:00 on a Sunday afternoon some dealers will practically give away old furniture - especially if it's significantly damaged."

"I had been through almost the entire flea market without anything catching my eye.  Bummer.  At the very last booth I saw this old record player cabinet.  It was pretty scratched up but it looked complete.  I spoke with the dealer about it and he said that the record player kinda worked but needed a "tune up".  Terms like this scare me, but he ending up selling it for such a good price I took it anyway."

"I got the cabinet home and removed the record player.  It was then I noticed that a simple RCA cable connected the record player to the speakers and other electrical.  I decided to ditch the record player and convert the output to 1/8 inch so you could play music from a mp3 player, smart device etc.  It was as easy as going to Best Buy and getting an adapter. The power switch was another problem.  It was connected to the record player and would have to be rewired.  Trip to Radio Shack and I had a nice, red, push-button, power switch."

Benjamin continues, "Now to the fun part - Refinishing the exterior. I recovered all the speaker panels with upholstery fabric.  I applied the same fabric to a board which was used to cover the hole where the record player once sat. I removed the front grill and the bottom support.  I wanted to give the piece more of a modern look since I changed out the record player for mp3.  I bought a 2 inch dowel and cut it into sections to make new legs.

The outside was sanded down using 80, 120, 220, and 320 grit paper. Three coats of shellac was added. The first two coats of shellac were sanded using 320 grit after drying."

Now, let's check out all of the hard work Benjamin did to this formerly outdated piece...

That looks very up-to-date and modern!  Love it!

Upcycling By Benjamin is located in Mcdonough, Georgia.  Most of the work Benjamin does is commissioned pieces.  Head over to his Upcycling By Benjamin Facebook page to see more of his work.  Let him know you saw him on Furniture Flippin'.

Thanks so much for Benjamin for sharing your wonderful furniture flip.  

We are over halfway through the week furniture flippers.  Two more flips to go.  Have you submitted yours yet?  Send your before/after pictures and plenty of details to me at furnitureflippin@yahoo.com .  

See you tomorrow!

~ Stephanie