Skip to content

Peony Lane Designs

Re-love, Re-imagine, Restore, Reuse, Relax

Menu
  • Home
  • blog
    • Business
    • Etsy Selling Tips
    • Painting
    • DIY
    • Recipes
  • YouTube
  • Shop
    • My Etsy Shop
  • About
    • As Seen In
  • Resources
  • Disclosures
    • Privacy Policy
  • Reseller Resources
  • Advertise
Menu
Teaching the Next Generation

Teaching the Next Generation

Posted on February 28, 2019July 9, 2020 by Stacy Verdick Case

Can I share with you where I think we all went wrong? When income and furniture became disposable. That’s when people stopped buying quality pieces of furniture with classic lines that would last them a lifetime, in favor of the latest fashion that was cobbled together from pressed plywood and laminate. Easily shipped in a flat pack and assembled with an Allen wrench.

Teaching the Next Generation Is it trash or Can It Be Saved
Pin This!

Older pieces of furniture were no longer treated with the respect the deserved. Instead, they were deemed old, ugly, and outdated. All of that may be true but any piece of quality furniture can be given a facelift.

My daughter hides her face in embarrassment when I pull over to the side of the road to pick up a chair or a table that someone has out next to their trash. She cringes at the thought of someone seeing her mom pull furniture out of a dumpster or ask people who get new furniture what they’re planning to do with their old pieces.

In spite of her embarrassment, I hope I’m teaching her that furniture doesn’t need to be thrown away because it shows signs of a little wear. There is still life in these pieces.

After all, I learned this from the OG (or Old Guy as my Dad prefers to be known). I remember going to the dump and pulling an old rocking chair that was in pieces out of the trash. He re-glued, repaired, and re-stained that piece and it became a showpiece. People offered to buy our little dump rescued rocker.

I remember our school selling old furniture and one of the pieces was an upright piano from the 1800’s that had been painted different colors for each school play over the years (no lie you could see about 50 layers in the chips on this piano) the selling price was $25. Dad took the whole piano apart, stripped all the paint from it and re-stained it. When the piano tuner showed up he offered my parents $700 for the piano. A fortune back then, but they said no because my sister wanted to take piano lessons.

My part of that piano was to clean all the detailed pieces while Dad was at work. With a wire brush, I scrubbed the layers of paint from the intricate carvings that were no longer visible through the glut of paint the school had liberally applied.

What I learned from him then I still use today. I hope that my daughter will come around and understand that just because something was sitting in the garbage doesn’t make it trash. With a little care, a lot of work, and a lot of love most pieces of furniture can be restored or at least re-purposed into something new and beautiful.

Related

2 thoughts on “Teaching the Next Generation”

  1. Kelly McDevitt says:
    March 7, 2019 at 4:45 pm

    Do you give info on how you got started, what it takes $, space, etc?

    1. Stacy Verdick Case says:
      March 12, 2019 at 12:51 pm

      Hi Kelly – My plan is to do a video about that on the YouTube Channel. Shoot my an email and we can talk if you’re looking to start soon and we will get you on track. Sorry for my delay in response. I’m getting geared up for a big event (Junk Bonanza) and I fell behind on my replies! Many Blessings to You!

Comments are closed.

A photo of stacy Verdick Case Owner of PeonyLaneDesigns.com

Get Your Happy Junkin’ T-Shirts!

Official Merch

Shop My Etsy Vintage Store!

Recent Posts

  • DIY Mirrored Glass Art Using a Thrifted Clock Frame
  • 🏷️ The Ultimate Guide to Hosting a Successful Garage Sale
  • Estate Sale Nightstand Gets a Bold Blue Makeover with Decoupage
  • Best Fabric Paint for Upholstery: A Review of Jacquard Lumiere
  • Don’t Toss It—Stock It! My Zero-Waste Vegetable Broth from Kitchen Scraps
Affiliate Disclosure
© 2025 Peony Lane Designs | Powered by Superbs Personal Blog theme
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
SettingsAccept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo
Sign up for my email newsletter

Be the first to know about new DIYs!

Name
Enter your email address

No thank you.

 

Loading Comments...