Card Catalogs – O.M.Goooodness.

January 5, 2012 in Building and Repurposing

I’m happy. No…

I’m really happy. No…

I’m excited. No…

I’m super excited. Noo….

I’m so friggin’ excited.  Yeah… that’s about right.

Seriously. I heart card catalogs. They’re quirky, chunky and oh so cute!

….and believe it or not….. I have 2 right now!  TWO! I don’t mean to brag. No one likes a bragger. I’m just THAT excited. I know what you’re thinking… how many card catalogs does one girl really need?  She should share the wealth. But I love them. I’m having separation anxiety just thinking about parting with one of them, let alone both! I think I’ll have to take the Miss Mustard Seed approach and only let myself keep them (or one) if I have the PERFECT place for it in my home.

Before I start tackling them (or maybe just dusting them off), I thought I’d share some photos so you could see the condition they arrived in.

Card Catalog #1

This little gem was found in Springfield, MO on Craigslist.  My Dad lives about 45 mins south so he bought it for me. SO NICE of him!  He got it back in October and held onto it until we saw each other at Christmas.  Merry Christmas to meeeee!

This one is the fix’er upper. At first I was debating sanding it down and fixing it up. BUT – after seeing it next to Card Catalog #2 I know that it has a facelift in its future.

Lots of mis-matched drawer pulls.  Three kinds to be exact.  And check out that drawer face on the bottom right corner. It’s a patch-repair. I think I can work with it though!

I’ll probably end up replacing the pulls on this one. I think it will make the whole thing look better. Lots of sanding, puttying and staining in my future.

Digging the flat-bottom drawers. Lots of card catalogs have the metal rods. I was happy to see that this one did not. In the photo above I pulled out the faux-drawer front and one of the original drawer fronts so you could see their repair job.

All in all – he has good bones and TONS of potential!

 

Card Catalog #2

This one might just be the deal of the year. …and yes, that’s a bold statement, seeing as it’s only January 5th… but I feel pretty strongly about this one.  I saw an ad for a card catalog:

FOR SALE: Library card catalog file cabinet. There are 15 drawers. Measures 33″ long. 17″ deep. 13″ high. This file cabinet sits on a custom made stand for a total height of 43″. It is made of solid wood stained in a light oak color. It has been used in a church library for catalog cards. The library has gone to a computer based catalog so this cabinet is no longer needed.

There weren’t any pictures with the ad -  just the promise of a solid wood card catalog.  That’s ALL I needed! I emailed the lady right away on Saturday… and again… and again. Ok… I stalked her. I’ll admit it. She finally got back to me on Monday and we agreed I would pick it up on Thursday.

Guess what today is…. THURSDAY! I was like a kid on Christmas morning. So excited. Let me tell you – it was LOVE at first site.

All in all – the hardware is in great shape. Some of the pulls are scratched and one is broken. I can deal with that though. Better than having to replace an entire cabinet’s worth!

The drawers have rods in them right now. I haven’t decide what I’ll do with this piece yet. I like the color and the finish is pretty good. If you look closely you’ll see some scratched and scuffed areas. I think I might try some Restore-A-Finish (I think that’s what it’s called?) first and see how that goes. I hate to sand it wall down when it really doesn’t need it. He’s pretty just the way he is!

So!  Any suggestions?  I was thinking of making a side table out of the smaller card catalog. The bigger one could make a cute coffee table or bench seat.  It’s also great just the way it is though. Decisions decisions!

Please be sure to stop by and visit some of the uh-mazing link parties where I love to hang out. They’re GREAT sources for inspiration, ideas and encouragement.

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