Repurposed Armoire Carvings

These actually aren’t just repurposed armoire carving tops, I’ve also used some brackets from a dressing table.

Firstly the armoire top. I’d been wondering in my local brocante when I saw this amongst the furniture in the less, ahem, showy items (yep, the junky section). It’s dirty and my first thought was ‘20€, what a joke’. Off home I went. Then literally in the night it popped in my head. In fact, it was more an image of it above our bifold doors.

I still think 20€ is a lot, but I’ve researched carvings like this to do the same job and they’re at least 130€. It doesn’t seem so bad in comparison does it?

So Monday morning I was there and home it came with me (with a light fitting for our soon to be kitchen, but I’ll tell you about that later). As I was driving home I remembered the arms to a mirror from a dressing table mirror that I’d kept. I was going to use it for a different project, but my plans have changed and I’d spotted them recently making me wonder what I’d now do with them.

I was thinking about the abrupt, dead end the carving would have when I removed the side struts. My initial thought was that I could match the three together. However when I put them in place it was evident this wouldn’t work as the straight sides where too big for ends of the carving.

Looking at them again I realised that if I joined them together they might make a nice heading to the other side of the bi fold doors.

I put the carving above the doors – too big; they hit the dado rail I’d put up in the room. My mind turned to the mirror struts, but then I remembered something else. When my family and I had moved here we bought an armoire for our rented property. Long story short (unlike this one) it broke. I kept lots of bits to use elsewhere, including the top. I sought it out in the garage and, with it’s intericate, traditional carvings, it was perfect for above the door in the dining room.

So this is how we’re looking now. A large armoire top which is going in the hallway, mirror scrolls to be joined together and put above the bifold doors between the sitting room and dining room and another armoire top above the other side of those doors in the dining room.

The dining rooms colours of teal green and blush pink are being used in the doors too. I’m not going to show you a full picture of this yet, as there’s more work to be done in the dining room and the lights not good today. The next thing I’m working on in there is a possible stencilled ceiling.

Id rather gotten bored of finishing this room off, I’ve been waiting for someone to make a patters for a dolly light switch before I showed the whole room, this has ré-energised me.