Alastair Farquhar

Stereo Cupboard

‘My work as a builder in Sydney’s inner western suburbs presents me with a unique opportunity. Time after time I am asked to ‘rip out’ the most beautiful NZ kauri and Australian red cedar detail timbers, to be replaced by MDF, melamine and the like. It causes me immense heartache to the extent where I simply store all these timbers until I can take them on to a new life. This stereo cabinet was made for Victorian terrace house from an old shipping crate, old pantry shelving, salvaged Regency mould ‘dunny door’ and floorboards.’

Foot stool
ironbark flooring

‘A few years ago I relayed the lower floor in my terrace house using old ironbark floorboards that I had recovered from an 1840s Sydney house being demolished. I then needed a footstool to sit in front of the sofa, large enough for two people to use at the same time, or that it could serve as a coffee table.
The obvious choice was to use the floorboards as it would blend with the existing floor. The choice of legs was also fairly obvious. Years ago I had found some old cast iron bathtub legs. They had been lying in the dirt for decades and were badly rusted, but were so unique that I had spent the time resurrecting them.’