August 2007 — VOLUME 5 ISSUE 8
Redesigning in style
Breathing new life into old furniture is becoming more than just a hobby for Meg Durvin.
The Thompson Rivers University graduate who now resides at Sun Peaks is intending to see her functional and funky furniture, reminiscent of shabby chic style, in boutique stores before too long.
And it won’t be any too soon for her parents, who have been storing her pieces for the past four years—their daughter it seems, can’t stop transforming downgraded stools and chairs into upscale furniture fit for any trendy home.
Durvin began dressing up other people’s cast-offs while searching for a new creative project, something she could get her teeth into she says, explaining she spotted a stool in a thrift store, and proceeded to give it the ultimate makeover. From there, she recalls, her obsession with collecting used fabric, stools, chairs and tables took off.
Part of Durvin’s creative process is the thrill of the hunt—finding novel pieces and complementary fabrics with which to give new life to items many people wouldn’t glance twice at—old tables and stools that to the untrained eye are worn, battered, dated, and have fittingly wound up as junk store inventory. But Durvin has other ideas. She sees the potential in discarded furniture—the chance to produce a piece of home décor that’s a keeper—and you can tell she enjoys every minute.
“I love it,” says the bubbly full-time events organizer for the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce. “I’ve picked up a stool with legs that are circles. I’ve found a banana-shaped stool, and I have one that’s a circle with super cute little triangle legs.”
They’re all a little different Durvin notes, pointing out she prefers unique pieces to work on. In her caring hands they are lovingly restored—reupholstered with striking modern textiles, hand-stitched details and in some cases painted.
“I want to create something that’s completely different to what’s out there and I really haven’t seen anything like the stuff I do out there,” she emphasizes.
Apart from adding fabric, the furniture more or less remains in its original state—chips or cracks in the wood are either left or painted over.
“I don’t repair them—I keep them the way they are because it adds character and it makes it that much more unique, showing a story,” explains Durvin, who uses every scrap of material she has left over to make cushion covers, pillow shams and crazy quilts.
“There are some gems for fabrics out there if you look and they’re usually in really good condition.”
Her work can on some level be considered a form of recycling, an aspect she admits she hasn’t given much thought to. To Durvin it’s all about her creative vision—something that has no boundaries when it comes to producing contemporary pieces out of second-hand furniture.
Now that she’s started selling them—to her parents’ relief—she hopes the chairs, tables and stools will go to loving homes and be justifiably treasured.
“They’re a feature and can go into any room, a piece of art,” she muses. “They’re made to be cherished.”
Site designed and maintained by: PeaksMedia.com