That bit about missing when fresh was the norm hits home. I've found suggesting a mix of real and fake can sometimes bridge that gap for clients who want the look but worry about waste.

Grabbed a decommissioned R730 last year for my friend's auto shop. Honestly just stuck it in their storage room and dialed down the fan curve in the iDRAC settings, now you barely hear it. Tbh the performance for their camera system and invoices is overkill in a good way. Saved them a ton versus new server hardware and it's been solid for ten months now.

Tea dyeing looks natural, but it can stain unevenly if you're not careful. @miller.susan, did you pre-treat the fabric before starting? Most folks skip that step and end up with blotchy results.