Kodawood

A few more photos of the new chair. I have now rubbed the wood down with Danish oil in walnut color, and it really did the trick. In a couple of the photos you can see the veneer on the corners of the chair is quite worn, either from a animal or bumping into a wall. Since our family is quite hard on furniture, at this point I'm not going to attempt to fix it. The Danish oil tinted the wood in these spots enough to camouflage them.

I was going to attempt to redo this in leather, and I actually wanted to do hair-on cowhide on the back and leather on the seat.

I went into Tandy leather to find the most cost effective way to get the job done, and dealt with a very rude sales associate, and was discouraged about the use of leather. I was told that leather isn't cost effective, and since I have children, the leather would eventually be destroyed. The sales person then continued to talk down to me, questioning the type of sewing machine, and my knowledge of leather. This went on for quite sometime, until I decided to leave empty handed and never go back.

I ended up picking up this great gray vinyl, on sale for 50% off, and found that even though this is upholstery grade vinyl, my machine had no problem working its way through this project.

I am slightly disappointed, that I let someone that I didn't even know discourage me to the point of changing my game plan. This will not be the last time I attempt to use leather, but I will be purchasing it some place else.

New Rocker

My Valentine gave me a new rocker base on the 14th. It was very simple to remove the old base and attach the new one. I know these are seen everywhere, but its been a wish for a long time to own one. This shell chair is the one I bought out of someones backyard, for $25, before it slowly rotted away in the elements.

Girly retro chair...

A new chair that I've been working on. I have started a lot of projects lately and not many of them have been finished for different reasons. It really wasn't bothering me and I knew that i would get a chance to work on them again soon.

Then last night as I lay in bed watching "Hoarders" one of the hoarders in question said that his hoarding started with projects that he brought home and wasn't able to find the time to finish. He now was trying to sort out his life on a TV show in front of everyone watching. His family was sad and effected, the city had already fined him for the mess that was his yard.

Well, after the show was over I sat up in bed and made a little "to do "list. This made me feel a little bit better, but I knew that I was going to have to spring into action.

So, today nothing on my list has been done, but I did finish this little chair project that had been sitting in my entry way for about a week.

Last week on my alley rounds (not looking for projects, but looking for something to help finish a project) I found 3, yes 3 great chairs in need of a home. What was I to do? Leave them there awaiting large trash removal day. Or work the jigsaw puzzle it was to try to cram 3 large chairs into our car knowing the car seat had to stay.(I really wasn't thinking about leaving my son in that alley, I'll leave his bike 4 hours away to haul furniture home, but never would I leave my little helper!) Well, they all fit. One in the back, one next to the car seat and one next to me in the front seat.

So, back to the part about me not ever wanting to be on a TV show about hoarding, I finished a quick makeover on this great chair. In its previous life it served as a scratching post for some lucky kitty, and the was some paint splattered on the back of the legs. I started by taking a bark cloth panel and cutting three sections and then sewing two seams to go right about where the legs are in the front. I then used my cardboard strips and upholstery tacks to tack the fabric around the front of the chair. This was previously done this way but with just the same fabric. I then stapled the fabric underneath the chair and used whatever they call that stuff that is used to finish the underneath of furniture.

Then with some help from my sidekick, we used goo-be-gone and extra fine steel wool and were able to remove all of the paint from the legs. After a good cleaning was done to the whole chair, I listed that pretty little thing on craigslist.

And there you go, no hoarders here!

Vostra

So here is a little story about a girl who loves to find things in alleys. I picked up a couple of chairs awhile back in an alley not far from here, one was in pretty good condition and the other looked as if a cat had been living onto for about 50 years. The one that was in good shape was sold pretty quickly since the white upholstery doesn't mesh well with a three year old and his chocolate milk lovin' ways. The other was placed in the basement of doom, to be reupholstered when I finished the 32 other upholstery projects I have going.

Today being a beautiful day, I decided I was going to tear the chair apart and rid it of the smell of all of the cats that have loved in so much in the passed.

The shape of the chair was a dead ringer for a Jens Risom Knoll webbed lounge chair, and by now I hope you know how I LOVE webbed vintage furniture. So I peeled the red crushed velvet back that had been so loosely stapled on, to find the sides of the chair also served those cats as a scratching post. No biggie, I was going to web that bitch anyway. Mind you I already looked for a makers mark and came up with nothing, I took out my utility knife and began to cuts those years right off that chair. The buttons went first, then the scratched and stinky upholstery. I tore through the blue composit batting, pulled all of the horse hair roping and burlap. I started pulling tacks, and so noticing how beautiful the wood was from the structure of the chair, and for those of you that don't go pulling furniture apart I will let you know that the wood inside isn't ever as nice as the legs and exposed parts. I was so happy that my little faux knoll chair was already working in my favor, then when I flipped the chair again I spotted what I thought was,"voltra". A quick google search turned up nothing, and I had never seen an upholstered Jens Risom chair of this shape. I then thought that maybe the "L" was a "S'' and quickly with my google search my heart sank to the bottom of my stomach.

For quickly I found that in Germany the chair was produced by Walter knoll under the name "Vostra" during the 40s and 50s, being designed by Jens Risom. The exact frame was used for the webbed chair as was for the upholstered chair.There it was, what am I to do? If I chose to continue with my plan would that destroy what the chair was, but since its the same frame are they inter-changeable? At this point I have left the springs intact, do I go ahead and reupholster? Do I list it on ebay in its current state knowing that we really shouldn't have nice things in our house with a child and two dogs? I'm so mixed at this point, i don't want to devalue the chair by completely changing it's original state. Please if you have any suggestions I'm all ears.

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

I found this great chair in an alley, on our way to Baby J's surprise birthday party. He was blindfolded and wondering why I had stopped and what I was thrusting into the back of the car. Sadly a scraper had already had his way with it and had taken the rocking mechanism with him.

The upholstery was in perfect shape and the arms were beautiful, so I cut wood to fit the bottom and then worked quite a few stressful hours to splay the legs, make then sit evenly and be sturdy. I had the legs already, so the only investment was stain and glides for the legs.

It turned out pretty great, and now it is SOLD! On to the next project.

My Space

I feel like it is all starting to come together!

One more down

I finished another upholstery project. I found this very "granny chic" chair in an alley, and well I have a hard time saying , "no", so it came to live at our house. I thought it would be a perfect size for our sun room, since we have a table and chairs in there, but I still wanted a comfy chair for lounging.

I used a striped linen and also black burlap for the sides and back. I have to see this project was pretty easy, I got it done in a couple of hours. I am happy with the result, and one less chair in the landfill.

DIY Upholstery Project

It's not done, and it won't ever be perfect, but I am happy with the results. I found this chair on Craigslist and felt like it had good bones. I am self taught at reupholstering, and at some point I would love to take some classes. Until then, this is what you get. I still have some work on the cushion, and then wood base and legs came unfinished, I sanded them with fine grit, and then used some wax-n-feed, I have decided to go back in and use med. grit then fine, and then some danish oil in dark walnut- I think, maybe med. walnut, we'll see. The base is still not attached to the chair so it is easy to work on. I then chose an army green canvas for the upholstery. I loved the color and the durability of canvas, but I had never worked with canvas to upholster, and I have to say I don't think it is the easiest to work with, not much give.

I had to go back to the fabric store and decided on some burlap to finish the back. I thought It would give it more of a rustic look and since I could already tell the project would not end perfectly, I decided that I could get creative with it. Instead of using tack strips to finish the side and back I chose more rustic upholstery tacks. I am very happy with the project, it's a very comfortable chair, and even with the frustration of the curves, I loved the time I was able to spend using my hands and being creative.

I will post more finished photos when that time comes.

Freestyle Pickn'

For those of you that are not familiar with American Pickers on the History Channel, freestyle pickn' is a term used when you see something you like in someones yard, and you stop, knock on the door, and ask if they are willing to sell whatever it is that you were interested in.

Today was my first freestyle pick. If you remember my anniversary gift, you know that my husband has been a picker in the past. Not me however, I have eyeballed many a front porches, but never had the nerve.

Today was my day. I had many times before seen this lonely shell chair parked in a backyard, while on my way to a loved thrift store. Sitting in the rain, piled with leaves, amongst an array of walmart patio furniture, out of place, and not being loved for the modern classic that it is. I had pulled around to the front of the house a few times, loosing my nerve each and every time.

Today, with not a whole lot of luck at the thrift store, I told myself I was going to leave a polite note about how I would love to buy the chair and my phone number, and hope that something would come of it. Well, lucky for me there was someone outside, and I was able to jump out and profess my love and beg and plead to bring the chair home with me, to live out the rest of its days warm and loved inside my house. The woman laughed and thought it was funny that I had such an interest in her patio furniture. She said it was her fathers, when he was alive and had run out of room for it in her house.

So, my promise of loving the chair they way one should love an Eames design(and a crisp $20) and the chair is mine. I did a little cleaning with vinyl conditioner, and you would never be able to tell this chair had lived anytime outside.

Mama's New Chair

I am now the proud owner of a comfy Overman pod(?) chair. I picked it up off craigslist for $30, and I was told that there is an ottoman that goes with it, that she is trying to unearth for the depths of her basement.(not holding my breath)

Scavenger

I had Saturday morning to myself and chose to spend it shopping estate sales. A couple were a bust, but a beautiful morning alone and only spending $6 it was a wonderful time.

From the top, I found a whole box of old paint by numbers and these are a few of my favorites, all for a buck. The same sale I purchased a stack of vintage fabric, a small vintage red pillow, and a vintage slip cover for my daybed, and a small metal basket(not pictured) for an additional $2.

Last, but not least, at a different sale I found a pair of Eames DKX (wire) chairs for $3. I only picture one because the other is at the doctors right now having a few spot welds done.

One chair had the seat pad and the other had the back, so I put them on one chair and used a lot of vinyl cleaner and conditioner and the pads are looking pretty good, the finish on the chair is not however. I will probably sand and repaint the seat white and the legs black, and try to get it back to its original beauty, but I like to wait a while and live with the patina, but I won't be able to get it back. So I feel like I made out like a bandit, and I am in love with all of my new treasures.

Shell Chairs...

Shell chairs. Sorry no links, just trying to clean out some saved pictures from my file.

Did we see these this weekend?

Ebay listing in St. Louis. We saw these listed at a estate sale this weekend at $75 each, which we both thought was high.

Craigslist Finds...

St. Louis MO; First set of chairs are fiberglass and $45 a piece, and I think their design is a little different than the norm

Second set of chairs are listed for FREE, I already have a email in and I'm sure only an hour after the post I will never hear from these chairs again.

craigslist find

Eames style lounge
St. Louis MO; $50

craigslist find

St. Louis MO; pair for $100

Is that my chair at the Ace Hotel?

photo via flickr

Tulip Table and Chairs

Just a little inspiration. The last photo is of a CL find here in St. Louis, 6 chairs and oval table for $300. I think if this is what you have been looking for is a good deal. Not like my $20 table and chairs, but after all this is a larger table, and more chairs. The second photo with the red cushions was on flickr and noted asking price of $750.

The other photos are all flickr finds and were posted as inspiration.