This is the spool that started it all.

Last summer, when I discovered it near a construction site not far from my house in New Orleans, it was covered in a heavy gray clay mud. One of the vertical slats was badly splintered. And, the metal spindles were covered in rust.

I had a few ideas about what I might do with this spool, but—as a project—it really took shape organically as I toyed around with it in my back yard over the course of a weekend. It took quite a bit of sanding to get past the layers of mud and, then, past the orange spray-painted logo, but 60 Grit sandpaper and a few determined hours can work wonders.

Soon enough its natural colors were apparent, and the rough edges had been smoothed down. I burnished the spindle nuts and washers with the Dremel before I stained it with Summer Oak and brushed on a single coat of clear shellac.

The size of this spool (it's 23 inches wide and it stands just 19 inches in height) suggested it would make a perfect side table. 

Because I wanted it to also serve as a reading lamp, I added the black malleable iron fixtures you see and then wired it up with a heavy brass lamp fixture and a rocker switch that would hang out of sight.

The final step, then, was to cut the bottom off of a Jameson bottle to serve as the shade.

The 80- watt Edison bulb inside gives off enough warm light to read by each night.

The flowers you see were planted inside another (smaller) Jameson bottle, which then fit perfectly into the spool's drum-hole.