Making the Old New

I love those shows on HGTV that find an old piece of something and turn it into something totally brand new with a little bit of money and a lot of effort.  It is so exciting to see what they come up with and how the old can become new.

One of my favorite ways to obtain decor for my home or art to sell is by finding something that someone else has written off as trash and making it something new and wonderful.  Often when I find these poor thrown out items this way, on the side of the road or near a dumpster (I haven't even actually gone in a dumpster), they are free to me to do what I please with them.

I also like going to yard sales or "last chance" sections of stores to find these gems who are waiting for someone like me to rescue them and make them something that no one else can envision they would become.  Often these items are purchased at a small fraction of the original cost!

Two of my favorite and most recent acquisitions are situated in my master bedroom.  They are now a source of great refreshing and relaxation for me.  I wish I remembered to take a before picture of one of the items, but I got too excited to change it and forgot.  Here are the items together, and then I will show you the before and after shots of one of them.

The loveseat is actually a brown wicker loveseat with cushions on the seat and the back.  Originally I wanted to paint the wicker part, especially because the stain was peeling off of it, and sew cushion covers.  However, one day I realized that I might be able to use my slipcover that was on our old couch and fit it to this loveseat.  That covered the peely wicker and the old cushions.  Then I added some throw pillows that I already had made and added the white throw to cover up the imperfections and add some contrast.

The painting was a find I was thrilled over!  I found it near the dumpster, and it had a southwestern styled painting painted on it.  The paint was chipped in one spot, which might be why it was thrown away.  Well, I just painted over it.  You might know that I love sheep, so I thought that the perfect scene for me to notice first thing in the morning when I wake up is this painting of sheep grazing and/or lying down in the pasture while their loving shepherd looks on with great care.  Here are the before and after shots:

Before



After

You can kind of see the remnants of the cactus and the rocks in the original painting, and I hope the artist would not be offended that I painted over her work, but all in all I am very pleased at the outcome and the character the new painting has a result of what it once was.

There are other examples of this in my home.  In fact, almost every room has a least one piece that has been redone in some way and made something completely new.  This is not only really fun to me, but it also saves money and prevents waste.  Check your dumpsters because some people throw out some really great stuff!

When I am working on a project like these, I cannot help but think of how I have been made new.  There is One who saw me for more than I was and made me into someone far better than I ever could have been if left the way I was.  Not only that, but He sees who I am now and knows that there is even more improving ahead.  He rescued me from the dumpster where my sin had left me.  He excitedly picked me up and thought of His plan for me.  He worked carefully and with great care to make me something new.  And now He has set me as a display of His splendor for His glory and renown (see Isaiah 61:1-3).  Pretty amazing!

This is what the LORD did when I said, "Jesus, be my Lord and Savior.  Save me from my sins, and help me live for You.  I believe that You died to pay the penalty of my sins and rose again from the dead to defeat death and make a way for me to be connected again with the God who made me."

And then I was new.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I love making the old new, and it turns out that I am in good company.