In the early 1830s, Vienna-based cabinetmaker Michael Thonet figured out how to curve layers of flat wood into elaborate chairs and tables that he could mass produce. The sinuous creations caused quite a stir, first in Austria and then around the world. By 1904, his firm, Thonet Brothers, was making more than a million "Bentwoods" a year, from desk chairs to dining tables, footstools to flower stands. That's not counting the knockoffs from Thonet's many imitators, who swooped in once his patent was lifted in 1869. Bentwood production is still prolific today.

As a result, it's difficult to visit a salvage store or an antiques market without bumping into a few Bentwoods. While nineteenth-century originals in mint condition are veritable museum pieces, many of the more common designs are worse for wear, with rickety frames and ripped cane seating. But one man's trash is another man's treasure, as it is for Fritz Karch, collecting editorial director at Martha Stewart Living. "They're the neglected beauties at any flea market," he says.

Taken by Bentwoods' understated elegance, not to mention their bargain prices, Karch decided to treat the castoffs as building blocks for innovative new creations. The projects that follow are the results of that inspiration. They range in scale and skill level, from refinishing a single chair to crafting a daybed from reclaimed parts. Choose the one that's right for you, or adapt the concept to your needs. Karch will applaud your ingenuity, and Thonet undoubtedly would as well.