RHS Juniors Fight Furniture Poverty with Rescue and Restoration Work
Most garages in Rye are filled with bikes and gardening equipment. Some even have cars. Most are generally quiet. But there are always exceptions.
Two garages in Rye have been buzzing with activity since November. That is when Rye High School juniors Luke Latkany and Harry Waters began their great furniture restoration adventure. The two have been rescuing unwanted and unloved furniture from across Westchester, the Bronx and Rockland, finding free and low cost items that just need some TLC.
The dynamic duo have been rescuing, restoring and donating 15 – 20 pieces of furniture a month to Furniture Sharehouse (see Giving Rye: Meet Furniture Sharehouse), a local nonprofit who gives each piece a second life by distributing it for free to economically disadvantaged families and individuals in Westchester County. Clients include those moving out of homeless shelters, escaping domestic violence, dealing with mental or physical disabilities, struggling with extreme poverty, aging out of foster care, recovering from personal or natural disasters, and refugees.
“As you drive around Rye you see furniture outside of houses [on the curb] as people go to a new house or they found something new,” said furniture restorer and RHS junior Harry Waters. “All these people buying a dresser using it for a couple years and it’s completely fine but they want something new and they’re just throwing it out. And I felt like that didn’t really make sense because it could just be given to someone else who could use it.”
The two are rescuing smaller furniture items including tables, chairs, side tables and nightstands. These are the pieces most in demand by Furniture Sharehouse as the group is most often outfitting smaller apartments. Many of the pieces are sourced from Facebook marketplace.
“It feels great, because we get to tell these families [that donate the furniture] about what we’re doing,” said furniture restorer and RHS junior Luke Latkany. And it makes them feel like they’re giving their furniture a second life. And by doing that, we have families call us back for more furniture to donate.”
The two work weekends and after school, typically spending two hours to restore a piece. The work involves sanding, varnishing, painting and small repairs. Latkany was the first to learn the restoration work after working with his father to restore pieces used in the family’s second house.
They recently bought a saw and a sanding machine. Latkany said they had been sanding by hand and that approach was “way too slow”. As for the garage takeovers, Latkany reports “my Mom’s not too happy” and Waters said his folks “are not thrilled that we have lost a garage” but everyone is happy with the skills they are developing and the purpose associated with the work.
“This is a thing I actually really enjoy to do,” said Waters “It’s soothing and calming to just see how you can completely change what a piece [of furniture] looks like [and] bring it back to life.”
“They are rescuing individual pieces of furniture that would otherwise go into the solid waste stream,” said Furniture Sharehouse Executive Director Kate Bialo. “They give furniture in need of a little TLC a new life, bringing happiness to a family in need. Their efforts personify the ideal of re-use vs. discarding.”
Do you have a piece of furniture to donate that needs some TLC before it is reused? Check these Furniture Sharehouse guidelines. If the piece of furniture needs restoration before a donation, contact Luke Latkany or Harry Waters.
