APRIL TOOLS

When I was hired to work on a television show a few years ago I thought the producers were pulling an elaborate prank when they described the premise: newlywed couples move in together and merge their furniture...literally combine two pieces to make one...her treasured vanity, for example, gets the top ripped off and legs placed on the bottom of his favorite coffee table to create a new, lovely game table. I thought it sounded a little crazy but decided I would be a fool to pass up the opportunity, so dove right in. The first episode, shot during a torrential April shower, found me ripping apart the couples furniture to create new, unique pieces; an elaborate headboard was built by using the frame of her old bed and leather from his sofa, I made a bar from his headboard and her dining room table, designed a fire screen out of an old bakers rack and repurposed old curtains as pillow covers for his sofa. As the crew worked their tools tirelessly to bring my crazy designs to reality, I worried the house would look like a mess and me, the designer, a giant fool. Just when I thought the owner would slap me across the face, she delivered a high five as tears ran down her face. One major lesson I learned during that project was to take chances, stray from the traditional and don't be afraid to stand out. Joe assumed I'd gone nuts when I picked up a table at a garage sale for $5 and thought I was joking when I told him my plan; chop it in half, paint it and attach it to the wall of our entry as a console table.

HALFWAY THERE:

I've actually done this a few times..repurposed old pieces for little or no money, usually as the client mocks me, assuming I've gone bonkers. In a tight Manhattan apartment, for example, I disassembled a table and attached it to the wall to create a dining area without taking up too much space (it's much easier and requires far fewer tools if the table has a leaf..i.e. already split in the middle. Simply remove the extension mechanism, remove the other half of the table, sand, prime and paint. Attach a 2"x2" piece of plywood to the wall by nailing or screwing and screw the top of the table into the wood, covering the screw holes with wood filler.).

TIME TO COMPLETE TASK: Two hours

COST: $5 for old table, paint used from old project

STRESS LEVEL: Fooling my clients with a unique piece: LOW