An update on the 2nd Floor lounge. We’ve put the petal to the metal, and it pretty much rocks. But first a quote, “It takes 8,460 bolts to assemble an automobile, and one nut to scatter it all over the road.” ~Author Unknown.

It takes the work of one genius—Joel Hester of The Weld House—to reshape automobile metal into relevant home furnishings. He’s got a knack for seeing the future in old rusty car parts, which he translates into working furniture. Here, a ’65 Chevy stepside…

Before ~ Hood

that eventually became this…

65 Chevy-turned-coffee table

A few other views of the spectacular transformation. Upon the coffee table’s delivery, Gadora was revved up and couldn’t help but pet its surface. Hester reminds me, “It took more than 40 years for it to look like this.”

Table in transformation...

Set it place.

A close-up of one of the legs, with Hester’s metal signature.

Leg close-up...

Hester takes great care to preserve what he can from each vehicle. Here, the original VIN was removed and welded onto finished piece.

The deets...

Shall we switch gears? The bar console, constructed from a Ford truck to complement the coffee table, is a little less flashy but equally as stunning. Here were its humble beginnings…

Truck hood for console table.

And what it has become.

Console

Paired with Navy-chair-inspired classic aluminum bar stools, the console will no doubt be a favorite spot to congregate. The Sport Custom vanity panel provides a little covering on the back-end for folks’ moving and shaking.

Sport Custom

Joel welds proprietary feet that help stabilize each leg underneath the base.

Lots of feet.

Once had a friend whose father justified expensive shoes by offering, “Son, good shoes are like good tires. Can’t get anywhere without a great set.” Ours are heavy and completely functional…

Console foot. Close-up.

We love our fancy new tables. When probed about their durability and what NOT to do with them, Hester added, “They’re indestructible, have fun with them!” We will. Oh, we will.

• • •

Carmen Electrode ~ Furniture from old car parts? Yep.

Gadora Wilder ~ “Making furniture (and such) out of car parts…

Joe Welder ~ Yes. Metal fabrication culture…

The Weld House ~ Flickr page…