My sister lives in Oakville, and she let me know that a lot of good things get thrown out on large garbage pickup. So we picked a day, and off we went! It was CRAZY! There were people with trucks grabbing things left and right. It’s a good thing we started early, or we wouldn’t have gotten anything at all.

It amazed me how much perfectly good stuff I saw on the curb. A recliner couch in great condition, tons of lawn chairs for outside, televisions, kids toys, furniture of all kinds, tables, chairs, mattresses still wrapped in plastic, and so much more!

I found two great items, and ended up fixing them up once I got them home. Both were from the Bombay – one was a bench, and the other was a beautiful bevelled mirror. I got them from two different houses, but it’s as if they were a matching set!

Once I got them home, I restored them so I could use them! Here is the story of their reincarnation, in pictures [click to open photos in gallery, hit ESC to exit the gallery]

The bench: a little worn, a little loose, and super hideous fabric.
The bench was too long. I removed two legs, cut the side supports shorter, removed the upholstery from the top, and cut the top board.
Here is the frame for the shortened bench! Good as new!
This is the bench after re-upholstering it. I added new foam (from a defunct dog bed) and new fabric to match the curtains.
New vs old! Not bad!
This mirror was just dirty – it needed a good cleaning. I touched up a few nicks and scratches with a furniture marker after cleaning it.
It looks brand new!
Old vs new! Someone paid a lot for this, and it ended up in the garbage, and then my home – for FREE!