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Repurposed Philco Radio

Jennifer Baker
Sep 1, 2018
2 min read

Have you ever stumbled across a piece of furniture and you weren't 100% sure what to do with it, but it was totally speaking to you and you felt like you had to take a chance and grab it?

I just finished a piece that fell straight into that category.

When I first stumbled across this piece, it was in a barn and there was an industrial fan inside. I wasn't interested in the fan so much as the cover itself. It had a fabulous retro vibe and I absolutely loved the grate. The seller helped me remove the fan (after a bit of a struggle) and it sat in my basement workshop for a few months because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it.

The brand that was on the top read "Philco" (short for Philadelphia Storage Battery Company). The company was founded in 1892 and they made battery chargers, radios and televisions among other items. (Source: Wikipedia.)

As I did some research on the company, I think I found the model that looks the closest to my piece. It's the Philco 38-7.

Source

Now this example has a top where the radio body went, but imagine removing that part and placing a piece of wood on top. Couldn't that look like mine?

So what I suspect happened is that a very clever person removed all of the radio guts and put a fan inside. How cool is that?

I painted the body of my Philco 38-7 in my latest gray blend - equal parts Trophy, Typewriter and Schloss by Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint.

I painted the interior with General Finishes Chocolate Brown Milk Paint and gave the grate a good scrubbing. Isn't it so fun to have a repurposed piece of the past?

This piece is currently available for $175. It would make a fun industrial entranceway piece if you put a mirror above it. Or, pop it into your powder room and place a vessel sink on top for your own custom vanity. I think you can be just a creative with this piece as its previous owner was!