I have a lot of chairs.
Not this many chairs ...
This is a good book if you like chairs.
What would you do with this chair? I bought it for Child One when she was three ... I think it's cedar. I don't want to throw it out.
And then this chair?
Keep it? Throw it?
I'm tempted to take them to Anna Spiro ... to get something like the below done to them. Both chairs are really not my style, but if they were rejuvenated and upholstered properly, they'd be nice for the girls.
These are some of the chairs she's upholstered ... she's very bold with her colour choices ... and certainly not of the Mid-Century bent.
I do like the bowl fabric below. A bit large-scale for chairs.
And then there are these two chairs ... They were part of a dining room setting that my parents had in the 60s.
They really just need a sand-down and some new black paint ... but I couldn't be stuffed doing that myself.
What would you do with them?
I love this chair! It's a share chair.
I see Horsey is putting in some quality time on this problem, so should we.
ReplyDeleteI like chairs as well. One furniture item of which one never has too many.
I love the first one. Those bright coloured pansies look terrific. Not so much the flower as the striking colours. The cedar needs to be awakened a bit.
The bent wood has good bones which need to be enlivened with new basket weave and bright colour on wood after a good sand-papering.
The teak pair need the black replaced again with bright gloss along the lines of your pic of contrasting colours of the dining setting.
I'd be tempted to paint the teak as well. It really hurts to say that - covering lovely teak, but they do look very tired, don't they?
You'll always find a corner to take a chair.
Good investment.
Can always be sold down the line if they don't come up to scratch - except the first one. It's a keeper.
Hello Horsey! I say become friends with sandpaper and start sanding, then painting. I'm sure you could find some scandi fabric to re-upholster child 1's chair. Perhaps she could choose what she likes? It'd be an investment but a special keepsake, which I like the idea of.
ReplyDeletePS - you can learn to basket weave on youtube. Basket weave is so impractical for sitting on. I'd not be able to throw it. Look for an alternative? Maybe a timber seat...stained to match??
ReplyDeleteThese chairs are to die for!! This blogger is an expert in redoing chairs if you are up for some elbow grease http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteTo make it mid-century yet funky, maybe gold velvet fabric or pea green velvet? The painted look is in - so choose black, white, green, gold, or brown? The shape of these are incredible. Definate keepers, I think horsey would agree. XOL
Why not give them to Sonia to revamp she is an excellent revamper! If you have some fabric that you own and love it makes reupholstery by and upholstery chap much cheaper There is a place at Bardon called And woven cane that could
ReplyDeleteRedo the seat in the bentwood or you could put a seat insert over the top, They would all come up well though and I do agree Anna spiro is very good at bright colour revamps. There is a product called restorers finish that would probably work a treat on those bottom chairs and you would not have to sand. Just rub on with fine ooo steel wool and buff off. I am rambling arnt I ? Sorry xx katherine
I love the chairs, and yes get the first one reupholstered in bright funky fabric! I would be tempted to just give those two dining chairs a good clean and polish maybe?
ReplyDeleteI do like that bowl fabric!
I love your parent's old chairs.... and the share chair.
ReplyDeleteI think you should leave them all exactly as they are (at least, that's probably exactly what I would do with them). When you're old(er) and grey(er) and have less washing to fold, you might wake up one sunny sunday morning, read the paper from cover-to-cover (undisturbed) while you have a cup of tea from each one of your teapots, and you will then know that the time is right to become a furniture restorer. At that point, you will know exactly what to do with them, you will do it with aplomb and then you won't fancy giving them to the children at all, which will prompt them to ask 'can I have that chair when you die mum?', to which you can reply, caustically, in an old-lady-mother kind of way, 'sort it out yourselves when I'm gone'.
You can then rest easy in the knowledge that they'll all love and want those chairs...and that each time whichever one of the little blighters ends up with 'em, sits on one, they'll think only of their mumsie :)
Hubby can cane your bentwood for you. He has what I like to call a chair fetish. I told him if he brings one more chair home that's it. He's a crack upholsterer too. Shall I send him to you???
ReplyDeleteoh, chairs, what a great invention, i have none in my working-home, and my muscles are sore from sitting like buddha on the ground. after dancing...
ReplyDeletethose projects, would be amazing if realized. i always seek the boarder, not to collect things i want to change but never manage to.
they are all really charming, and you can fit many guests in your house like this!
paris???? :)
DMC,
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I can paint teak either. A bit of a purist in that area ... though maybe I should just to be crazy!
Sonia,
you are a master restorer. I really think I'd cock the whole shebang up if I tried doing this myself. I think I may see what I can achieve with the last two chairs and give the first two to A.S. to see what she can do.
HHMUK, yes some paint is needed, and I am seeinga lot of painted chairs now ... I looked at your suggested site ... she's quite a master restorer too!
OBH,
I found your ramblings very helpful. I'm going to get some restorers finish and 000 steel wool. I trust you.
Peamm, you old hippy.
Deb, send him over ... you'd better come to chaperone! You don't want him returning with antique convict chairs, or something.
Sara,
maybe I thought you lived in Paris because you're a dancer and you're so elegant like a Parisian ... let's just say no one thinks I live in Paris! I'd send you a chair if I could!
Oh gosh! I have a chair fetish too! Chairs are the most common item in hard rubbish (along with home gym systems/exercise bikes) and I have brought home SO many. It's a bit of a running joke. I just can't no. I have just accepted two bentwoods like the Spiro (she is very talented, but not my cup o' tea eiher) colourfully painted ones from a friend who has moved overseas. Yes - the irony is not lost on me...
ReplyDeleteAnd I like Sonia's idea of reupholstering the first in a cheerful Scando fabric. Don't mess with teak!
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about the teak and black ones.
ReplyDeleteI'd leave the teak polished,but think you could repaint the black with a dark plum gloss enamel.
Then, say , a lilac on the sanded bentwood.bentwood.
They would look terrific in the same room , with replaced basket weave or fitted wood painted in the same plum gloss enamel.
Here's my suggestion....
ReplyDelete1)Take the chairs to the curb for some other blogger to blog about. Think what great material it would be..."curbside find redo..."
2)Walk back into the house and pour yourself a generous glass of wine.
3)Unstack those Arne Jacobsens and plant your arse in one.
I love this post, and I love chairs. Maybe because we never seem to have enough. Or too many that looks like your 'bent wood' chair; destroyed. That's a very sweet chair.
ReplyDeleteI believe you could do something with the cedar tree chair yourself, temporarily. My favourite is actually the most damaged one - what a coincident :) Sorry for not being much help.
I love the share chair too! I would use some colorful & fun Scandinavian fabrics for those chairs. The 2 dining chairs from the '60's are great! I like your new banner Carmel. :)
ReplyDeleteThe lock out is over. Phew! I say paint the teak and upholster in some bright vintage Marimekko fabric or the like. It would be like Anna Spiro does MCM. Confusing combination of eras, but I say take a risk. (I just realised that kind of sounds like an adult movie but I'm feeling cheeky today so I'm leaving it there.)
ReplyDeleteThis is what I think I'll do ... I'm taking all the comments on board!
ReplyDeleteThe first chair I may take to Deka Furniture to see if they can cover it in Marimekko. If they can't, I'll take it to Ms Spiro. The second chair I'll give to Sonia. I have too many chairs and she can weave her restoration magic on it. The last chairs, I'll do myself ... with some sanding, restorer's finish and new black paint.
Thanks for all your suggestions they really helped!
I have a serious chair fetish. Alas, I have no room for it. I too have two chairs from my parents dining room setting that are black and teak but a different style. If you have the energy to redo them with some restorer's finish and new black paint, that'd be the trick. Marimekko on the first one...you can't go wrong there. If only we had more space!
ReplyDelete