Musical Chairs

I think I have delusions of grandeur.

My delusions deal with furniture restoration.

In the past, I've been able to deny my urge to rescue distraught furniture from dumpsters and street curbs and thrift stores.

It started with the big gold monster chair my dad snagged for me when I was a freshman in college. I don't really remember its providence (thrift store? back alley? port of authority? immigration holding cell??); I just remember that it rocked my world so much harder than any standard issue desk chair. Sometime mid-year, something--that might or might not have involved alcohol-fueled clumsiness (someone else's, I assure you!)--happened to it , and it became incredibly wobbly and would topple over at random times. You gotta understand that this chair was huge and heavy and swiveled on a pedestal base, and quite reminiscent of Martin Crane's chair in Frasier (you know, the big ugly arm chair that offended the minimalist sensibilities of the titular character):

I tried my best to resurrect the beast, but by the end of the year when it was time to move out of the dorm room and put my stuff in summer storage, I felt it was time to let go of the behemoth. It's probably sitting comfortably in the summer 1998 layer of the Canyon County landfill, being much loved by vermin.

When I moved down the California, my mom gave me a chic striped Asparagus Green and Amber velvet upholstered tub chair with a wooden frame and rattan inserts that was once my great aunt Clara's. It's a striking piece of furniture, and I love love love it. I've meant to re-upholster it for the last 8 years, and it's still on the to-do list (and keeps getting shifted further and further down).

My reupholstering delusions of grandeur are firmly rooted in how freaking easy Trading Spaces makes it look. If Hilde can do it, I reason, so can I!

But like I said, I've managed to keep my dark urges to rescue distraught chairs from the clutches of obscurity very very well.

Until we bought the house and started frequenting ReStore.

Meet our new friends at the house:

One of the six side chairs that came with our new-to-us dining room table. They're kind of ugly, but they're kind of growing on me. I think I can successfully spray paint the metal and change the fabric on the seat pretty easily, and they'll look infinitely better.

One of the two arm chairs that came with the dining room table. Albert likes the fabric on the seats--especially for scratching.Horray for ReStore! I got these next two beauties for $20 for both. I love their mid-century looks. The arm chair's latest home is up in our bedroom.The side chair I use as my computer chair. I used Restore-A-Finish on the side chair last night, and took the vinyl off the seat. I'll post pictures as soon as I have the new fabric in place. A few weeks ago at ReStore, we found these next two chairs sitting out front. They didn't have any seats/backs and looked shabby at first glance, but my heart was a-flutter because I loved their lines. A closer look at them, and I realized that they very likely came from a carpenter's workshop. They're solidly built, and will look magnificent once they're finished.

This is a detail shot of the chair's arm. You can see pencil marks on it, from where the craftsman had intended to carve out an art deco-esque pattern. I found some lovely Liz Clairborne upholstery fabric at Joann's that I think will look STUNNING on these chairs. I'm VERY excited!
This chair is just beautiful. It's vaguely neo-classical, and I just love it. I think I'll strip it, restain it a darker colour, and then use the same fabric I'm using for the chair above.

A detail of the carved legs.

Now that I'm done with my special Christmas project for all my family members, I can move onto my refurbishing dreams. Stay tuned!