07/08/2026
So my friend Riemer has a Victorian mansion. You know, like you do.😉
He's given me a ton of stuff from his super creepy expansive attic over the last 30 years—kind of a clown car succession of vintage furniture hand-me-downs, really—the magician pulling endless scarves out of a top hat.
How do I know I've finally drained the Riemers' haunted attic? This piece. He found it in the alley.
Now we're in the alley.
Now, you may not know much about south city St. Louis, but I assure you, once something ends up in a back alley in Soulard, (unless it is a feral cat that I will adopt) all bets are off, and you kinda don't even wanna know.
But this table had 2 things going for it: 1. Look at those legs! and, 2. a typical late 20s poplar core peeking from underneath the splintering veneer. I live for a rainbow poplar revival. The grain on this table is everything.
Anyway, here's the before and after, as well as some AI imaginings on where it could live. I bug-tented it, TSP cleaned it, bleached it, left it in the sun for a day, chiseled off the top veneer, resurfaced the top, chemically stripped the legs, sanded the legs, finished off with a 120-180 grit series all over and then used straight clear shellac. Boom.
It's stunning—raw, natural, solid. Beautiful craftsmanship that is as sound today as it was 100 years ago.
