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 Tutorial: Mid-Century Modern End Table

Here's a mid-century end table I picked up at a thrift store. I don't know why, but I really like these old retro tables. They're all over the place at thrift stores, too. Since this was my first one, I got a cheap, laminate model for practice.

The shiny laminate was THICK, so I had to really get in there with the sander. 

Since the wood wasn't that high of a quality, I decided to paint rather than stain it; 

so out came the primer!

It took more coats than a normal piece because of the laminate, 

but I went with some retro-green tones that would restore it's retro design.

If you're in the Pittsburgh area & interested in purchasing this end table, please contact me at this blog or email TheVintageMagi@gmail.com. 

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

It was discovering someone I had always been." 

 ~ Natalie ;-*