Upcycled / Repurposed Pay Phone + Phone Charger + Bank + Accent Light

The biggest question is, "What is it not!?" I was lucky enough to run across a pay phone at a garage sale and then a few weeks later, I found the used metal casing/shell. The shell was pretty beat up but still had a lot of character.
The encasing that the shell provides drove me right to where I wanted to go with this piece. I wanted to bring old technology together with new technology. Although the enclosed strip outlet will charge most anything, I figured most would charge their phones, Kindles, or other small devices in the bottom basket area.
I custom cut and fitted the wooden structure to securely hold the strip outlet in place. The top panel opens up and allows you to plug into up to 5 devices. Vintage typewriter keys allow each person to see which charge cord is there's when the plugs are full.
The hardwired lighting in the top "Phone" compartment was shot. So I took it all apart and installed a new fixture with a nice LED bulb (to last a long, long time and to not get too hot) and drilled a hole in the acrylic panel so that a switch chain could drop down. This will now allow the new owner to turn on and off the light as they choose.
Next up is I had to find something to occupy the empty hole where the coin holder went. I still wanted to use the coin slot as a means to collect money so I looked around and found this old maple syrup tin that fit just right. I put a vintage handle on it and now it's fun to put the money into the coin slot and save it for a rainy day!
The whole inside and outside of the phone casing was a bright red/orange. I wanted to liven it up some on the outside. I laid down two different colors of chalk paint and distressed them to show through each other. Then, I taped off section to paint on some metallic silver. Then after some more distressing, I added in some dark wax. I was chasing the distressed style of a phone that had been in place many years and with many paint layers that had chipped away and worn away with the seasons. I think I didn pretty good!
The custom cut piece of wood on the back is what hold everything together. I painted and distressed the edges and front with some chalk paint and dark wax. On the back, I torched the wood to bring out the grain. I cut out a large hole so that any future modifications could be made to the telephone wiring.
Measurements: 30" tall; 15" wide; 10.5" deep. Three-prong outlet cord. Phone cord included.
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  • Kate Kate on Aug 08, 2016
    Does the phone actually work as a landline?
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