If you are a fan of old furniture, or should I say, furniture parts, especially those that have been salvaged and reincarnated, there’s an artist in London I’d like to tell you about.

Rupert Blanchard is a craftsman in pursuit of old drawers to repurpose into cabinets.  But that’s not quite the whole story because not just any drawer will do. Scouting through estate, market and garage sales, he’s on the lookout for a very special type of drawer.

“I’ve been collecting odd drawers for the past four years.  My drawers are lost & found, saved & given and sometimes purchased…I ask about the history of the drawer as I have made it my rule to never use a drawer that already has a use in an existing piece of furniture. I never discard a carcass to get the drawers. This is one of the reasons why making a new piece of furniture can take me such a long time.”

“Finding the right combination takes time…hence I have accumulated a huge collection of odd drawers that I stare at daily to try to find new works in…Every drawer has a history; I could go on for ages just telling you about my history with the drawers.”

Take a look at where Mr. Blanchard discovered the drawers used in the piece above.

3 Victorian mahogany chest drawers from Wimbledon, London
6 Haberdashery Shop drawers, oak and glass from Battersea, London
3 Singer sewing machine table drawers from a factory in Shoreditch, London
2 oak fitted wardrobe drawers from Margate
1 very small drawer made from scrap wood by my friend Martin Bates
1 teak fronted 50s office desk drawer from Clapham, London
2 Art Deco dressing table drawers from Clapham, London
1 oak sideboard fitted cutlery drawer from Margate
1 Victorian mahogany office cabinet drawer from Margate
1 foxed mirror from a hall stand from Wimbledon edged with teak from a science lab table from Northampton and a handle found in Brick Lane.

To see more of his creations, visit his blog, Styling and Salvage.  And a special thank you to Mr. Blanchard for allowing me to use his photos and quotes for this article.