From Trash to Treasure: Ladder Back Chairs

AFTER:

Remember these I found & rescued from the curb?

I removed their seats & set about repairing the banged-up wood with Elmer's stainable wood-filler.

Next it was time to sand, which I did by hand because of the size of this project.

Next came priming & painting. I spray painted them with Rust-Oleum's Heirloom White.

Next I decided to take the seat covers off & replace them entirely, 

rather than just cover them. After seeing the condition of the batting, 

I was SO glad that I did! Then I cut new batting the shape of the seat.

 

I secured the batting with finishing nails & used the old vinyl as a pattern to cut the fabric.

The awesome thing about this fabric was that it was like $48 a yard, but I bought a remnant at Jo-Ann's so it was only a few dollars! I had just enough to cover the seats & some leftover to cover the stool for my vanity & Mod Podge some to the vanity itself.

I used a staple gun to secure the new fabric. They turned out GORGEOUS!

 Finally, I reassembled the chairs & here they are! 

"It was more than discovering something that I loved to do - 

It was discovering someone I had always been." 

 ~ Natalie ;-*

From Trash to Treasure: Vintage Ethan Allen & MORE!

THIS POST IS A LESSON TO EVERYONE! 

BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO THROW SOMETHING AWAY, DO SOME RESEARCH TO SEE IF IT IS WORTH SOMETHING! SELLING OR EVEN DONATING SOMETHING IS A MUCH BETTER SOLUTION THAN FILLING LANDFILLS WITH 

HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS!!!!

I really don't pick up stuff from the curb that often. I'm more into thrifting, refinishing my own stuff, or stuff that has been given to me; but when I was on my way home from dropping my son at pre-school at our church, I saw a group of chairs on the side of the road. To my good fortune, this person had not told the garbage man ahead of time that they were throwing out larger items, so he didn't take them (THANK GOD!). 

This first chair is what caught my eye because I was planning on getting some 

adirondack chairs for our back yard. I stopped & loaded all of them up 

because they were all so chic, mid-century modern. 

When I got home, I almost set about painting this chair to go with my spray paint until I saw the intricate burn marking that said, 'Furniture by Baumritter.' 

Before I went about refinishing it, I googled the phrase & found out that Baumritter turned into Ethan Allen in 1962 & that these chairs go for $400-$800! 

I wasn't about to touch this thing until I learned more & could refinish it properly! 

It's amazing that someone threw this out without researching it first, 

especially because it is in such great condition (not the cushions, but the chair itself)!

Then there were these beauties right along side the Baumritter chair:

I can't wait to rip the seats off, reupholster them, & paint the frames!

THEN, next to those were these three vintage vinyl tulip chairs. I need to learn a 

little more about their manufacturer & where they may have come from 

before I repurpose them myself.

I don't have ANY experience with these, 

but what better way to learn than on a set of free ones?

4/16/12

UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!

I will NOT... be TOUCHING... these CHAIRS!

These are THONET chairs!
Vintage... Mid-century Modern... Eames Era Thonet... 
Tulip Chairs!


That is a big, BIG deal!

...apparently...

Ok, ok, ok... you caught me... so I didn't know anything about these chairs until tonight, haha. What a fun journey it was learning, though! I'll scan in the tag & explain more soon, but let's just say these puppies ain't cheap! 
Like over-$800-not-cheap; so 
HOORAY for trash day! HOORAY for trash day!

(I'm not gonna end up on A&E... I'm not gonna end up on A&E... I'm not gonna end up on A&E...)

Hahahaha... 

"It was more than discovering something that I loved to do - 

It was discovering someone I had always been." 

 ~ Natalie ;-*

From Trash to Treasure: Half Moon Table with Mirror

BEFORE:

This table has been in my entryway since my first 'grown-up' apartment, then our first house, then our second. It was getting a bit rickety & scratched, & I decided to makeover 

the front rooms in our house (the entryway, living, & dining rooms). 

I picked a color scheme  of creams & rich dark wood for the big pieces of furniture with the usual outdoorsy fall accents of 

dark brown, sage green, burgundy, yellow, & just a teensy splash of sky blue.

First, I took it apart, of course. Then I painted the legs Krylon's 'Heirloom White.'

Then, I changed my mind & painted them Krylon's 'Ivory Silk.'

Next I had to use my finishing sander to sand the beat-up top & 

tape off what I wanted to stay the original wood stain.

Then I spray painted the top & lower half moons the same Krylon color, 'Ivory Silk.'

I had to set them inside to dry so they didn't get dusty in the garage.

After a couple of coats of that & letting it dry overnight, I carefully pulled off the tape. I knew because the woodworking was so intricate that there would be some bleeding (& of course dust!)... 

So I dry-wiped the dust off so I could start my finishing treatment.

Thank God for wood stain pens!

Here was my finishing care kit:

Ta-da!

The lower half moon needed some help, too.

So, I fixed it!

Then came reassembly.

And then it was back in it's place! (But this time, not all covered up!)

You can see the little details around the edge of the lower half moon & at the tops & bottoms of each leg that made me think about distressing it next; but we'll let it hang out like this for awhile & see how I feel about it in a few weeks.

Also, the mirror... what to do with the mirror...

Well, I'm not sure if I'm just going to leave it like it is or if I'm going to go in & do some tiny detail work by hand. Again, I'll give it a few weeks & see how I feel. 

Oh! And that hutch in the reflection of the mirror, it is SO getting attacked this year, too!

And then I realized in all the excitement, that I needed to take it back downstairs for a couple spray coats of polyurethane. I have a two-year-old boy & a dog, duh!

"It was more than discovering something that I loved to do - 

It was discovering someone I had always been." 

 ~ Natalie ;-*