Last year, mom and I attended our first Fall RoundTop Antiques Fair just to “check it out”, but we were overwhelmed by the options – way too many great finds! After much restraint, we ended up only buying what would fit in the car (err, or on it)… And that’s how we drove home with a “chicken coop” tied to the top of the Jeep. We sure did get crazy looks from passing drivers!
Come to find out, what I was calling a “chicken coop”, is actually a “nesting box”, according to my friend Tony (who has chickens). Tomato, tom-ahto, either way- it’s super cool. I originally wanted it for the store – to display cute grab-and-go-gifts – but we never seemed to have the wall space, so it just collected dust in the back. This January, we did a major clean-out at the store, and I finally decided to bring it home. I wanted to hang it on my back porch, but upon closer examination, my granddad thought it was too heavy, so moved on to Plan B.
My granddad is a Jack of all Trades. He’s an 82 year old cotton farmer, mechanic, electrician, plumber, inventor, and overall “fixer”. I love his resourcefulness (he’s a little like MacGyver), and I appreciate his… precision. Let’s just say anything he’s ever fixed or made is going to last awhile. Probably forever. He’s very thorough, and he likes things to be sturdy – like the swing set he made when we were kids with tractor plow bases (buried 6 feet in the ground). That sucker’s not going anywhere!
Once we decided that the nesting box was too heavy to hang, I sketched out a plan for my granddad to build a”stand” for it. He welded iron for the frame, and I couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out. I made a quick trip to his barn to pick out what material I wanted for the shelf (wood or metal), and he finished it up for me. It’s PERFECT!
This past weekend we secured the box by anchoring it to the brick wall (just in case), and then I completed the look by potting some trailing plants and colorful flowers to place in the openings and on the bottom shelf.
This project was more of an “accidental” re-purpose, since my original vision for the nesting box changed from displaying store products to becoming a planter… but the finished product is even better than I imagined! It’s an unusual display and perfect for my patio! Ta-da… the nesting box has been re-purposed, and I can’t wait to enjoy it!
What have you re-purposed lately?
