apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time


Plywood Mystery Item?
Good Questions

Q - I found 2 of these wood veneered, molded plywood pieces with these unusual, over-engineered, heavy hardware attached to the sides. They're 23" wide, 11" high and 17" deep, 3/4" 14 ply and well constructed. There are small nail holes on what look like the arms. The hardware appears to be to shift the piece back and forth slightly…

 
 


I have no idea what they could be, but the construction is so good, I couldn't bear to see them thrown away. I think I'll fashion them into 2 barstools or some sort of bench. Do you have any idea what they are?

Sent by MH

Editor - We're stumped. Anyone got a guess?

Got a good question you'd like answered? Send your queries and a photo or two illustrating your question, and we'll see if the Apartment Therapy LA team or our readers can help answer your question.

Comments (15)

I'm wondering if they are some kind of base for a modern style glider rocker?? just guessing

posted by fjorlief on September 16th 2009 at 9:04pm
view fjorlief's profile

Seats for some sort of rowboat?

posted by shockthebourgeois on September 16th 2009 at 9:22pm
view shockthebourgeois's profile

Seats for swings of some sort?

posted by catspajamas on September 16th 2009 at 9:30pm
view catspajamas's profile

AH!!! Found it!

It's the base for this glider:

http://www.nurseryinstyle.com/nurseryworks-goodnight-ottoman-canvas-p-1560.html

posted by shockthebourgeois on September 16th 2009 at 9:31pm
view shockthebourgeois's profile

Rather, ottoman.

It's part of a matching set, glider ottoman.

posted by shockthebourgeois on September 16th 2009 at 9:32pm
view shockthebourgeois's profile

Bravo shockthebourgeois! Great sleuthing!

posted by sillybee on September 16th 2009 at 11:11pm
view sillybee's profile

in one pic it looks like the shelf under the 'u' is supported from what is obviously the bottom. based on that, pcitures 4 and 5 seem to be the natural position for this thing. so i think these are the bottoms to some sort of lounge/rocking chair. the supports for the seat would connect to the hardware, i guess?

posted by jmlo on September 17th 2009 at 1:15am
view jmlo's profile

It's a seat from one of the preliminary rides in IKEALÄND, this particular one made you sit comfortably in a memory foam pad and rocked you, while you waited to get in the giant Swedish-meatball pit. They finally rejected the idea, thinking it'd attract hungry people and the meatballs were just made out of plastic.

posted by Djluckyonline on September 17th 2009 at 6:42am
view Djluckyonline's profile

Thank you shockthebourgeois! I love the AT community. I knew I could count on you to end my torment.

posted by MihoH on September 17th 2009 at 12:16pm
view MihoH's profile

For nearly $800? Wow! Get those to an upholsterer asap! Resale!

posted by barbidahll on September 17th 2009 at 4:52pm
view barbidahll's profile

Happy to help- I can't stand an unsolved mystery :)

I'd love to see how you decide to repurpose these... share when you're done!

posted by shockthebourgeois on September 17th 2009 at 6:58pm
view shockthebourgeois's profile

@shockthebourgeois
I'm mystified as to how you worked this out... please let us know the process of this magical searching power you have!

posted by soooz on September 18th 2009 at 1:52am
view soooz's profile

@soooz: It's a magical power called obsessive-compulsive google-searching. :)

I just looked carefully at the photos to analyze the pieces- I realized that I had been looking at it upside-down, and that it was a base instead of a seat. I did a few image searches using keywords like "modern," "molded plywood," and "glider," and found some similar items. I located the sites of vendors who were selling similar pieces and perused their inventories. I had also figured out that I was really looking for an ottoman (because of the size of the base and the lack of hardware for a seat back), so I searched for glider sets. I just scanned through the images until I found a match!

Anyway, nothing too tricky- I just love solving puzzles, and this one beats Sudoku any day!

posted by shockthebourgeois on September 18th 2009 at 4:01pm
view shockthebourgeois's profile

Shock, you must be very good at solving puzzles.

I'm going to fashion a gliding bench, using them side-by-side. I'll submit an update when I'm finished. Don't hold your breath, though. This will take me a while. I want to plan this out carefully so I don't ruin them.

I feel so blessed, like the Re-use Karma God smiled on me.

posted by MihoH on September 18th 2009 at 6:30pm
view MihoH's profile

they could be molds.

posted by otragsiel on September 26th 2009 at 2:38pm
view otragsiel's profile