Accidentally Trendy

I've always liked working on the floor and that's where I'd do all my drilling, but after setting up a work station at Pilchuck Glass School last summer I really liked a hip high bench top for this job and decided I needed a small work table. My old Home Workshop books show how to build one - if you are very dedicated!

The diagrams are works of art themselves. I even looked at workbenches online, then realised I should just adapt a little old chest of drawers and then I could even keep my drill bits and tools in the drawers. How radical - to tidy things out of sight!

I'd looked at a few recently at 2nd hand shops then popped into my local British Heart Foundation furniture charity shop, liked this more than the others, got it for £30 and wheeled him home on a big old market trolley thing - great, no delivery costs. Inside the drawer was a brand name........

.....which I googled, only to find that Uniflex is quite collectable 1960's furniture. This chest has had it's legs changed, you can see screw holes where original legs went. When this mid century stuff became popular (you know those sideboards) I was sceptical as I usually am of fashion, also it's not my style as it's smooth looking, I need stuff that's a bit more rough and ready and will survive spilling your tea on. 

However I love the handles on this, you hook your fingers inside the circle and they work nicely, apparently a signature feature of Uniflex - I learned in this article, but they've been painted over and are blue underneath. Isn't it interesting how pieces of furniture are like buildings, they get adapted over the decades.

I am a bit shocked by how sleek it looks in the studio, when I planned my new workbench I hadn't set out to be so trendy.