In April, my husband and I went away to Wisconsin to celebrate our anniversary at bed and breakfast. On our way back home we stopped off at a few estate sales. We found this old house that had amazing character. When we walked into the garage / storage area I knew I hit a gold mine.
The house where the estate sale was being held was built in the late 1800's and they were selling parts of the original exterior structure. We snapped a picture of the Robinson House sign.
So I rummaged through all the old wood like a kid in a candy store. I found some great pieces and then I saw it, on the floor under a table...one corbel. One? Really just one. What could I possible do with one. I thought to myself "I need two corbels," but it was so pretty I just had to have it. I would figure out what to do with it later. Above is a picture of all our wonderful finds from the David Robinson House.
The corbel (singular) was pretty beat up and dirty so I cleaned it with Murphy's Oil Soap. Once I got the dirt and grim cleaned off of the wood, the beautiful aged look of this corbel was perfect. To seal the wood I coated it with varnish.
The top of the wood was badly rotted so my husband sanded it down and gave the corbel a wooden top from a scrap piece of walnut he had left over from a previous project.
I hung the corbel in my newly remodeled bedroom. I had just the perfect spot for it on the wall.
Once I hung it on the wall, I place a cute little plant that I placed in a clay pot right on top of the corbel shelf. It gave my bedroom just the right amount of greenery I was looking for.
It looks so lovely in my little reading area.
I also took these architectural exterior pieces from the Robinson Home and made wall candle holders and sold them at market.
Check out some places online for style inspiration, like Havenly or even Pinterest for some style and project ideas. You never know what will end up turning into the perfect piece of home decor!
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