A crafty Reddit user shared a before and after post of a wooden table in the subreddit r/Frugal, showcasing how he refinished the formerly shabby table instead of throwing it away. Fellow Reddit users are going wild over the transformation.
In this viral photo, we see an old table restored to its gorgeous "former glory." On the left is a scratched and beat-up old table, and on the right is a shiny piece of furniture that looks brand new. It's pretty impressive.
🗣️ If you buy refurbished products, what's your primary motivation?
🔘 Saving money 💰
🔘 Salvaging old stuff 🗑️
🔘 Helping the planet 🌎
🔘 I don't buy refurbished products 🚫
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
"Ex wife was gonna throw this out so I refinished it," the user writes. "Happy with the results."
In addition to being a fun home project, restoring furniture can save you money and is generally considered better for the environment. Fixing furniture that you already own uses fewer resources than producing new furniture.
Manufacturing new products takes a lot of energy and materials, and oftentimes if furniture is mass-produced, the quality suffers. Because new "fast furniture" is often cheap and flimsy, it is quickly discarded, clogging up landfills. Production of new furniture also contributes to planet-warming air pollution, while fixing a piece you already own is nearly carbon neutral.
Fixing your existing furniture is also less expensive than buying new pieces, which can save you money and reduce the financial burden of redecorating. Plus, sprucing up something you already own ensures that your home will be full of unique, sentimental furniture, rather than mass-produced items.
Reddit users were in awe of the table restoration, with one commenter writing, "your table has a classic and timeless beauty. Wonderful!"
Another seems to question their own choices, commenting, "very very nicely done! I've been giving away stuff I don't want and now I'm curious how the flipper did fixing up my castaways."
A user even comments with their own furniture makeover story, saying, "one does NOT throw away old solid wood furniture! I have a similar table of my grandmother's and did the same. It was well worth the work."
A solid wood table with sentimental value at a bargain (free!) price? We'll take it.
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