It’s a small world. And even smaller when you realize a piece of furniture you just purchased belonged to a good friend of yours two owners ago. If you purchase refinished furniture locally, this probably happens more often than you think; but you’d never know if you didn’t stop and have a friendly converstion.
My friendship with Wendy started from a simple friend request on Facebook. We both had common friends in town.
When you follow someone’s posts on facebook, you get to know them a little – their likes, what they do for fun, or the work they do around town. Wendy got familliar with my refinished furniture and when she was ready to pass along this vanity that her own daughter outgrew, she contacted me hoping I could add a fresh coat of paint and find it’s next home.
Wendy operates her own home daycare business. Knowing this, I offered her one of the refinished kids’ tables I had in stock in exchange for the vanity. I had three of them at the time so I was happy to if she could use the table. In addition, Wendy had actually purchased some Ikea kids’ chairs a few weeks before and had been on the lookout for the perfect table to go with them. It was a win-win for both of us.
When I visited Wendy to exchange the tables, we started to talk. Well, actually I was admiring her beautiful home and the conversation grew from there. She had this amazing wood planked wall in her living room. We went room to room looking at the cabinets and tables she had painted herself. I love seeing other people’s work and am always intriqued by the colors and paints they choose.
As I was about to leave with the vanity, Wendy mentioned its prior owner. My high school friend, someone I had stayed friendly with for almost 30 years, and was now working with at a local job, was the original owner of this vanity years ago. When my friend’s girls outgrew the vanity, she passed it along to her friend Wendy.
Yes, it’s a small world and one that was revealed through a simple conversation.
So the next time you have the opportunity to have a conversation, remember to forget the text messages and email and learn more about the person in front of you. They may just surprise you.
Here are the products I used to refinish this girl’s vanity:
- Valspar Cabinet Enamel white paint slightly tinted to a winter white
- Purdy trim brush
- White fabric
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links to products I use myself.
What a great story and thank you for sharing it! I love stuff like that! I love furniture with history and having connections to other people through a piece is even cooler. The vanity is a great looking piece!
Thank you Kathleen. I love the stories behind the refinsihed pieces.
I loved this story. I am always curious about the furniture’s history. You actually know about this piece.
Yes, my customers always ask me where my furniture came from so I figured my readers would love to hear the back-stories too.