08/11: jac's wedding present
after many years of dating, my friend jac finally got married to her long-time boy.
jac not-so-subtly hinted that she would like a chair from me, so i decided that i would make her one for her wedding present.
i spent a very long time scouring ebay and gumtree for a chair until i finally found something suitable! it would appear that the demand for nice single vintage chairs has gone up, since they were always too expensive or just plain ugly or too new. so it did surprise me that i ended up finding one i really liked, considering what else was out there. i have a few things i look for when i'm after a chair: 1. it has to be less than $40. i don't see much point in buying a chair for $100 only to have to spend lots of time stripping it back and buying upholstery fabric/stain/other embellishments. plus, if i mess it up, i don't feel quite as bad! also, i like the idea of taking something really cheap and turning it into something beautiful. if it's $100 and already a beautiful chair, then it's not really a challenge. which leads into 2. it has to be somehow different - i like things with a bit of quirk. and 3. it has to have enough wood or upholstery to allow me to change it. this one definitely had all 3, and it satisfied point 2 by having an almost completely circular base, two different style legs (front and back) and an oddly shaped round back.
so with all that in mind, i bought this wooden chair covered in hideous thick green paint. unfortunately, however, i got too excited about the prospect of stripping the paint off that i didn't take a "before" photo. very annoyed! so instead, this is how the chair looked after stripping the seat of the horrible green paint (which covered the whole chair but was flecking off in places to reveal thick white paint).
and this is what it looked like after... well, sort of (yes, i wrapped a chair!)
see more photos, including how the chair actually looked, after the jump...
jac not-so-subtly hinted that she would like a chair from me, so i decided that i would make her one for her wedding present.
i spent a very long time scouring ebay and gumtree for a chair until i finally found something suitable! it would appear that the demand for nice single vintage chairs has gone up, since they were always too expensive or just plain ugly or too new. so it did surprise me that i ended up finding one i really liked, considering what else was out there. i have a few things i look for when i'm after a chair: 1. it has to be less than $40. i don't see much point in buying a chair for $100 only to have to spend lots of time stripping it back and buying upholstery fabric/stain/other embellishments. plus, if i mess it up, i don't feel quite as bad! also, i like the idea of taking something really cheap and turning it into something beautiful. if it's $100 and already a beautiful chair, then it's not really a challenge. which leads into 2. it has to be somehow different - i like things with a bit of quirk. and 3. it has to have enough wood or upholstery to allow me to change it. this one definitely had all 3, and it satisfied point 2 by having an almost completely circular base, two different style legs (front and back) and an oddly shaped round back.
so with all that in mind, i bought this wooden chair covered in hideous thick green paint. unfortunately, however, i got too excited about the prospect of stripping the paint off that i didn't take a "before" photo. very annoyed! so instead, this is how the chair looked after stripping the seat of the horrible green paint (which covered the whole chair but was flecking off in places to reveal thick white paint).
and this is what it looked like after... well, sort of (yes, i wrapped a chair!)
see more photos, including how the chair actually looked, after the jump...
01/03: john donne chair
i finished another chair just recently!
this one was inspired by this post. as a huge typography and literature nerd, i love the idea of incorporating words into my furniture!
my victim was a wooden ex-school chair that i bought at a visual merchandising sale selling off all the old props. here it is in all its dirty, grimy, gummy glory
and this is the final piece
ok ok so you can't really see much difference there... but keep on reading and i'll tell u how i did it and show you all the after shots!
this one was inspired by this post. as a huge typography and literature nerd, i love the idea of incorporating words into my furniture!
my victim was a wooden ex-school chair that i bought at a visual merchandising sale selling off all the old props. here it is in all its dirty, grimy, gummy glory
and this is the final piece
ok ok so you can't really see much difference there... but keep on reading and i'll tell u how i did it and show you all the after shots!
22/12: lisia's chair
my friend lisia just recently did a very grown-up thing and bought her own place. it's a very cute little townhouse in the middle of a leafy patch of suburbia.
she had just bought some big ticket items like a couch, bed and dining table, but i thought she needed something a bit different, so i recovered a chair for her as a housewarming present... as you do!
here is a quick before and after picture:
i bought her a classic 70's style recliner from ebay (again, evidence that i should not be allowed on ebay!)
as u can see, it was pretty ugly. it was in good condition with regard to the foam batting and springs, but it was really filthy and the upholstery and wood were not in the best condition. i set about cleaning the wooden bits of it - there was so much black gunk on the arms, it was gross. so after all that was cleaned up, it already looked better. i then oiled it with some teak oil which brought out more of the wood colour and added some shine. much better!
read more for more info and photos!
she had just bought some big ticket items like a couch, bed and dining table, but i thought she needed something a bit different, so i recovered a chair for her as a housewarming present... as you do!
here is a quick before and after picture:
i bought her a classic 70's style recliner from ebay (again, evidence that i should not be allowed on ebay!)
as u can see, it was pretty ugly. it was in good condition with regard to the foam batting and springs, but it was really filthy and the upholstery and wood were not in the best condition. i set about cleaning the wooden bits of it - there was so much black gunk on the arms, it was gross. so after all that was cleaned up, it already looked better. i then oiled it with some teak oil which brought out more of the wood colour and added some shine. much better!
read more for more info and photos!
28/11: chairy pasttime
i have a confession - i have some hobbies that are considered a little strange, maybe eccentric. i have been told that makes me a more interesting person. one of these hobbies is recovering old chairs. i also kind of have a chair obsession - i love them. i don't really know why, but some are just so well designed they make me all gooey inside (eames, i'm looking at you).
the chair obsession becomes a bit of a problem while driving, since i tend to keep an eye out for ones on the side of the road. i have found a few that way.
this one, however, was bought off ebay. its a ligna chair that was made in czechoslovakia and has lovely queen anne legs.
this is what it looks like now.
and this is what it looked like when i bought it (and cleaned up all the cobwebs - ew!)
read on for more info
the chair obsession becomes a bit of a problem while driving, since i tend to keep an eye out for ones on the side of the road. i have found a few that way.
this one, however, was bought off ebay. its a ligna chair that was made in czechoslovakia and has lovely queen anne legs.
this is what it looks like now.
and this is what it looked like when i bought it (and cleaned up all the cobwebs - ew!)
read on for more info
28/03: furniture love
i have a serious 'thing' for furniture.
trawling eBay is often quite painful because i see so many things that i would love to buy... and most of these are vintage chairs and wooden furniture that usually requires some TLC. its crazy, i should not be allowed on eBay. for example, the other day i was watching a dressing table, art deco style with a crazy octagonal mirror and it was up to 22.50 with a minute left. so, i bought it, with no way of picking it up at the time (i have a very small car!). i now have it and have the daunting task of stripping it back to bare wood and restaining it. but hey, $22.50 is pretty cheap!
so today i was on gumtree and i spotted this vintage dresser from the 1930's, art deco style, $30:
there are a few problems with it - the glass is cracked, the veneer on the curved side has a big gash in it and the insides need a good clean out and sand. if it wasn't for the veneer, i would probably end up buying it, but i don't know how to fix the broken veneer. sadly, i think i have to let this one go. i hope someone picks it up and buys it and restores it to its former glory. it makes me sad to see it like that!
trawling eBay is often quite painful because i see so many things that i would love to buy... and most of these are vintage chairs and wooden furniture that usually requires some TLC. its crazy, i should not be allowed on eBay. for example, the other day i was watching a dressing table, art deco style with a crazy octagonal mirror and it was up to 22.50 with a minute left. so, i bought it, with no way of picking it up at the time (i have a very small car!). i now have it and have the daunting task of stripping it back to bare wood and restaining it. but hey, $22.50 is pretty cheap!
so today i was on gumtree and i spotted this vintage dresser from the 1930's, art deco style, $30:
there are a few problems with it - the glass is cracked, the veneer on the curved side has a big gash in it and the insides need a good clean out and sand. if it wasn't for the veneer, i would probably end up buying it, but i don't know how to fix the broken veneer. sadly, i think i have to let this one go. i hope someone picks it up and buys it and restores it to its former glory. it makes me sad to see it like that!
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