A while back I saw a blog about refurbishing an old Telephone bench. I liked the idea a lot as I enjoy old things, and I remember my grandparents having one. Today the idea of having a desk and chair devoted to your telephone seems very strange. I don't even have a home phone... just my cell.
So I was looking for something about the same style as my grandparents had and finally found one on craigslist... but it was in Corvallis. I had a friend of mine buy it, and used it as a good excuse to go visit.
Initially I sanded it and tried to stain it a bit darker. Because it was made of two different kinds of wood this looked very uneven. So I ended up painting it black and recovered the seat. Add in an old rotary phone and this is how it looks now