Last June, as I walked into a thrift store, I passed a large drop-off area brimming with items waiting to be sorted by the staff. Among the clutter, a gentleman’s valet stand immediately caught my attention. It was quite dirty, its brass finish worn and scuffed, and it was quite crooked. I paused, took a closer look, and thought, This would make such a fun towel rack. I picked it up, carried it into the shop, and asked if it was for sale, even though it hadn’t been priced yet. The store owner thought for a minute then said, “Sure, how about $10?” “Sold,” I said.

I brought my treasure home, grabbed a bottle of Brasso, and gave it a thorough cleaning. If the brass didn’t polish up nicely, I knew it wouldn’t be worth investing any more effort into the piece. I was optimistic it would clean up well—and while I hoped for the best, I was genuinely delighted when it exceeded my expectations.

The only downside was that, once cleaned, the small dents that had been hidden before became much more noticeable. Oh well, I thought. That just adds character. After all, how old is this piece, anyway?

I rely upon Google Lens to answer those types of questions for me.

This piece appears to be a late 20th-century Victorian Brass and Wood Valet Stand, and I found them selling on the Internet (in good condition) anywhere between $275 to $880.

Finds like this always make me wonder…. how did this piece end up in its current condition…. dirty, dented, crooked, standing unwanted in a thrift store in-take area? What is its story?

With the brass now polished and shiny, I removed the coin holder and jacket holder only to find that they were held in place by a very thick bolt that was bent. Getting this top piece straight was not going to be the easy task I thought it was going to be. I tried to bend the bolt with pliers, then with a wrench. I even heated it with a heat gun and gave it another shot. When that didn’t work, I enlisted my husband and son to try their hand at it, but none of us could make it budge.

Feeling a bit defeated, I decided to set the project aside while I mulled over other ways to straighten the bolt. I thought about it on and off… until today.

Today was The. Day.

Today this was going to be my One Thing.

• I wanted to replace the old coat holder with another straight dowel, so cut 2 new dowels to match, stained, then waxed them.
• Giving up on trying to straighten the bent bolt, I used a hack-saw to cut 3/4’s of it off.
• Next I drilled a hole in one of the dowels and screwed it onto the bolt.
• I replaced the small brass bolt covering that had been underneath the coin holder, then screwed the coin holder back on.
• I had already completed a comprehensive search for some sort of end cap for the top dowel that might match or at least coordinate with this piece, but couldn’t find anything satisfactory so decided to leave the ends of the dowel bare.
• I straightened the bottom the bottom clothes holder.

This piece will go in our guest bathroom and serve as an extra towel rack.

It was fun to work with, although it did take me a while to figure out what to do about that stubborn bent bolt.

Two other good things:

1. I accomplished Just One Thing today.
2. I was able to snap a picture before my towel decoration fell apart. (Towel decorating is not my thing. 🙂