The Cultured Gnome
Boxes, small pieces of furniture, and other wooden items reclaimed, repurposed and handpainted *
* Some items retain reminders of their former lives.
Boxes, small pieces of furniture, and other wooden items reclaimed, repurposed and handpainted *
* Some items retain reminders of their former lives.
Whether it is an antique cheese board or a lovingly-adorned bureau, all of the pieces offered for sale on this site have been meticulously restored and refurbished. The process involves the use of water-based acrylic paint only and every piece has at least 2 to 3 layers of a protective polyurethane coat that will ensure its beauty will be enjoyed for decades without fading. Furthermore, we guarantee that every piece of art is recycled and re-purposed, cutting down on the seemingly endless supply of discarded junk in this disposable culture in which we all now live. Small articles of furniture can be delivered free of charge to locations within 50 miles of our workshop in Monroe Connecticut as well as New York City.
Just to provide a modest example of the attention and accolades Debbie York has been fortunate enough to receive, the following excerpt from an article which first appeared in the Sunday New York Times, on November 10, 1996, titled "Objects Reclaimed From Roadside and Seaside."
"Debbie York of Norwalk, CT, who teaches decorative and faux-painting, calls her creations art for a new world. Her repainted Hoosier cabinet, a mail order
kitchen cabinet very popular in the early 1900's, is completed with handles of driftwood found on the beach." A friend was moving and didn't have room for
it." she said of her inspired inheritance. A wooden breadbox is repainted and renamed. Children's chairs are treated to whimsical illustrations and tender sayings from The Gnome Book; they surround a drop-leaf table (found in 19 separate pieces originally) reassembled like a puzzle and refinished. "It would have been just firewood," Ms York said. "So I gave it a new life."
kitchen cabinet very popular in the early 1900's, is completed with handles of driftwood found on the beach." A friend was moving and didn't have room for
it." she said of her inspired inheritance. A wooden breadbox is repainted and renamed. Children's chairs are treated to whimsical illustrations and tender sayings from The Gnome Book; they surround a drop-leaf table (found in 19 separate pieces originally) reassembled like a puzzle and refinished. "It would have been just firewood," Ms York said. "So I gave it a new life."