Thank you all for your votes, and please check back; I'll have a full tutorial for my project up within the next few days. Woohoo!
I found this great steel box with a sliding lid out at Bring awhile back ($4) and have had it sitting in my carport on top of a set of lockers for a couple of months now.
Finally, right before Christmas, when we were expecting house guests and I was trying to get things just a smidgeon organized, I went out and cleaned it up and decided to finally hang it on the wall like I'd intended to do since finding it. Its purpose: to hold cleaning supplies and the kitchen fire extinguisher.
I don't know what purpose it served in its previous life, though it looks to be from the first half of the 20th century. I thought at first it might be a flammable liquids storage box, except the vent on the front (or top, depending on how it originally sat) wouldn't make much sense.
My sister-in-law suggested that it might have been a bread box, which would make sense. Maybe one that stored inside a drawer or something? The sliding lid could still have functioned that way.
At any rate, there were no holes or hangers on the back, and a note (written in marker on bright pink paper) attached to the side (with masking tape) read, "curtains to mend". Not that those two clues narrow it down much.
I admit it: I drilled holes in the back and tried hanging it with picture hangers, but that was just a temporary fix and was really unstable; it needed to be hung with drywall anchors, screws, and washers. I'd normally woman-up and do it myself, but I didn't want to brave the shed right now to find the drill. When the mister offered to take care of it for me, I let him.
I always like the character that beat-up old things add to the house. And it inspired me to put in a little more time priming the kitchen walls, so hey, double points for me!
So: what fun old stuff are you bringing into the house these days? Anyone getting any eye rolls? The mister is a master of hiding his, if he's rolling them at all. He's a good guy.
Thanks for reading!
Updated to add: Yup! Bread box for a cabinet drawer!
Linking up to:
Junkin Joe Vintage and Thrifty Finds
11 comments:
I LOVE your steel storage box! I've been keeping an eye out for a vintage First Aid kit, but a box like this would work perfectly, too! Great find :-)
If I happen across a vintage first aid box in my travels, I'll send you an e-mail, Sheila. By coincidence, I DID find another steel storage box, similar to the first one, THIS VERY AFTERNOON! Synchronicity? I think so.
What a great find. I would love to come to your house and just look around. You have such interesting things.
Great use of your steel box! I too wonder if it was a bread box?? Love it!
Great use of your steel box! It looks to me too as though it was originally a bread box. Sweet find!
Very cool find! I love the industrial style and I can think of so many uses for it! Love your blog -- now following. :)
This box belong to a Hoosier or Napanee style kitchen cupboard. I believe this was used to store potatoes or onions.
My mother, 95, recently passed away and we found a box just like this in a bottom kitchen drawer. Potatoes?
That is extremely cool!
Hi, saw you at Junkin Joes. Love this piece! Would love to find something similar.
Hugs,
Jann
Hi,
I have an old hoosier cupboard with the same steel box and you are correct, it fits into a drawer (mine is the bottom one) of the cabinet. It is for bread. It looks cute hanging on the wall, I love repurposing items!
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