10 years ago I lived in Melbourne and I had one of the BEST op shops I have ever come across just a few minutes down the road. I was on a very strict budget back then (not unlike my current situation!), so I only bought a small percentage of the amazing things I came across there. One of those things was a 1960’s telephone table.

I don’t have any photographs of it in its original state, but it had black metal legs, orange and green vinyl seat and a pale-ish wooden table top and drawer. Sadly it was damaged in places, the wood had been stained with what I think was biro ink and the vinyl was split and dirty.

So back then I painted it black and turquoise and covered the seat with a turquoise Chinese brocade of dragonflies. I loved it and it lived in my sitting room with the telephone on it.

I no longer have a landline telephone, so I can’t use it for its original purpose. However, it resides in my entrance hall and is used as a repository for my keys when I come in, my handbag or post, I even keep lipstick in the drawer to pop on as I leave the house.

Unfortunately the cats love it too. Not just to sleep on, but as a scratching post!

It’s looking pretty daggy – time for a revamp!

I went through my fabric stash and decided on this pretty green and pink zig zag fabric, with a green colour for the table top/drawer.

First thing to do was unscrew the legs and top from the base, then remove the shredded brocade fabric!

Here’s a picture showing the vinyl underneath:

Meanwhile, I got started spray painting the top green:

And giving the metal legs a bit of a touch up:

Then I covered the seat/base with fabric and screwed it all back together! Done!