From Maps to Plants, Repurposing and Reviving an Old Map Stand

I work in a small, shared office at a university.  We recently reorganized and re-envisioned our office space that including paring back and purging what we didn't need.  It was a great and invigorating spring clean!

Ever since I've started working there, an old metal map stand has stood in the corner but didn't serve a purpose in our office, so I brought it home, gave it a good cleaning, and came up with the idea to turn it into a plant stand.  The slats for rolled up maps were perfect supports for shelves.

Dusty and drab!

It was very dusty and tarnished, so the first step was just cleaning it!

Then, I used this technique over at one of my favorite blogs, Centsational Girl.  I scrubbed the stand with lemon juice and salt.  This polished off some of the tarnish but not too much.  I'm not sure if it is brass or bronze, but I am loving the warm golden glow that shows through.

Using wood I had left over in my basement, I cut out the two shelves. I wanted them to look like aged, reclaimed wood.  I pounded the edges and corners of the shelves with a hammer, dragged the hammer over the flat surface of the wood, and banged some other metal tools into the wood, leaving dents and gouges.  I even scraped the wood against our rough concrete driveway.  I sanded the shelves until smooth, then wiped it free of dust.

Loving the bands and knots in the wood.

Dented edges (sounds like an '80s rock band).

Continuing with the reclaimed look, I decided to oil the wood with black walnut tinted Danish oil, and finish it with an orange beeswax.  This combo gives the wood a nice patina that doesn't look too "finished."  I love the different bands of colors and the knots. 

I am always surprised at how much the dents and nicks show once a stain or oil is applied.  My advice is to be a bit conservative in the amount you do and scrub the stain or oil into those imperfections to bring them out.

Voila!

I love the wood and metal combo!

I love the end result and the shape of the metal stand.  I am now able to display some of the white stones we brought back from the Greek islands a few years back.  Wrapped with copper wire, they are an interesting way to display photos and postcards. 

Loving how the white stones pop against my dark "reclaimed" shelf!

I was having a lot of fun with the stones and wire and made this little sculpture of a stack of small stones as well! 

Oh, and the postcard there, of the Fog City Diner in San Francisco?  It is of a painting by my mom.  Check out her amazing pastel paintings here!

The total cost of this project was $0, yup $0!  And it gave new life to an interesting, but not functional, antique.