The Window, the Seat, and the Wardrobes

Well, in the last post I lamented the fact that when company comes, or when I am in the mood to edit the decor in the rest of the house, all the stuff that's leftover gets stuffed into our master bedroom closet.
Our closet was not only a mess, but half of the items didn't belong in a clothes closet in the first place. Things like pictures, lamps, bamboo blinds, boxes, and etsy/eBay selling stuff.
So, I cleared out the closet, enlisted the help of our Korean son, Daniel, and my hubby when he unwittingly came home for lunch during the mêlée (confused tangle).

I at least knew that I wanted the window seat out (and investigated under)

and the shelving that was sitting on it, too.

What was encapsulated under this U-shaped coffin thingy has been a source of speculation

since we toured the house the first time.

Hurry up and get that lid off!!

I was jumping up and down excitedly!

And thar she blows...

Well, not QUITE what we expected.

Leftover insulation?

The front comes off.

This thing was held together so well, I think if the house were sucked up by a tornado,

this bench would have been found intact in the next state.

So glad I neatened the closet by moving everything in here!

When all the framing and insulation was removed and the floor was vacuumed,

this is what we found-- evidence that this closet USED to be the laundry room!

And instead of simply moving the venting to the laundry room outside wall,

a hole was made behind the dryer (the wall to the right in the picture below)

and extra tubing was vented out the original hole to the outside

(under the window). 

We were thinking that this is probably a fire hazard?

Lots of long tube for lint to get caught in?

This closet gained 14 square feet!!

Anyway, the same night that this area was unearthed, I bought two antique wardrobes from the same Craigslist seller.
We are ready to right size even more and contain our daily current seasonal clothes in these.
They were $25 each! (These are the Craigslist pictures.)
This is a Men's Lane Cedar Wardrobe from 1934. It will be my husband's.

One of my FaceBook gals told me something I never knew:

that the serial number is actually the date of manufacture.

Reverse the numbers and you get 022834

February 28, 1934.

Interesting, right?

I found this exact Lane's piece one on eBay HERE. (Ours has exterior mirrors while the one on eBay doesn't.)
This art deco wardrobe is going to be mine. It needs handles and a new platform base. But its details are quite lovely!

They need some cleaning, repair, and paint that's for sure, but my plan is to remove the rest of the shelving from the closet and have HIS and HERS wardrobes on either side wall.
This bench (iPhone picture, sorry!) will go under the window,  and maybe we'll have a plant on a plant stand in the corner.

Guess I know what I'll be doing the first part of the summer!

I love making over furniture and spaces by taking things that seem ready for the trash 

and making them useful and lovely again.

Why?

Because this is what Jesus' love has done for me.