Remember this guy? Well….I made him my biyatch this weekend.
Garage sale find for $5
Actually, I think it was the other way around….but who’s keeping track? Buckle your seatbelts, because I’m going to take you on a magical mystery tour of the how-to’s and what-not-to-do’s of refinishing a really old chair.
Here’s what I used: 400 Super Fine Sandpaper, Elmer’s Wood Glue, Murphy’s Oil Soap, Watco Danish Oil (Medium Walnut), a Wood Stain Marker Pen and Howard’s Feed-N-Wax (like conditioner for wood.)
It started with this: The veneer was curling up in one corner of the chair’s back rest. I decided to give this Wood Glue a go. You had me at sandable and paintable.Then I realized I didn’t have clamps. Suddenly, the MacGyver in me came out. Office binder clip. Ha! You can’t fool me, chair!Sanded with 400 grain super-fine sand paper and fashionably clamped.Murphy’s oil soap provides cleaning power.Having a ninja helper oversee the Danish Oil bath is always a good choice. (Watco Danish Oil – 7 bucks at Home Depot)Whoops. Even though I’d sanded down the glue, the Danish Oil slid right off my “repair” spot.Not to be beaten by an old crusty chair, I had to get creative. Lucky for me, I had a similarly hued Wood Stain Marker. The marker worked wonders on the sanded and glued portion of the chair. VOILA!Chair in waiting for fabric delivery…
Here is what I would have done differently:
1. I wouldn’t have sanded the chair in my kitchen. My “Ah-ha” moment was realizing that I was quite possibly releasing really nasty crap into the air….IN MY KITCHEN…where I prepare food. Dumb.
2. I wouldn’t recommend using Danish Oil in conjunction with a repair job. But if not for my glue spot, the chair would have had a perfect finish. Alternatively, I would have sanded, cleaned and applied the stain BEFORE the glue so that there would have been some stain underneath the repair. Turns out the “sandable, paintable” glue isn’t Danish Oil-able.
This was a quick and easy project to complete. Most of the products I already had in my arsenal and so far, this project has cost a total of $18 in supplies, including the cost of the chair. Not bad for a weekend of DIY entertainment!
I located vintage 1960’s orange fabric on Etsy.com for only 10 bucks including shipping. If you’re not currently subscribed, please come back next week, as I’ll feature a seat re-covering tutorial.
Couple weeks ago, I received the most reader feedback I have ever had when I asked for helpful tips on decorating my guest bedroom. (Click here for original story: Something’s Missing). I was delighted to read all the suggestions, and put some of them into action.
Disclaimer: Because of the size and layout of the room, the bed and side tables had to stay put. Also: I’m not done…but I’m really excited about the search for lighting and bedding being over with. I can look at mid-century furniture all day, but I’m a search-and-destroy kind of gal when it comes to fabric. Who has time for that, really?
Here’s the before…where basically everything in this room was wrong. The lamp was too big, the painting too big, the moulding too horrible. I was so lost….but so wanting to set up this room to be a guest retreat people would enjoy staying in. Not to mention we just learned that very soon, my husband’s folks are visiting from Ireland and staying with us for two weeks! Pressure is on, people!
Something’s missing.
Everything you see above (except for the blinds and atomic clock) went on the auction block. Even the giant painting that inspired my color palette had to go. Have to pay for the change! I grabbed my handy dandy camera, set to clicking, added some stuff to Craigslist and Etsy to sell…which had my husband quite confused and concerned for my sanity. I don’t mean to sound sexist but generally it’s been my experience that men think, “Room, Good. Light, Good. Bed, Gooooood.” Then they wonder why we want to change any of it. Ever. Like doing something different is some crazy thing. Women, on the other hand could look at that first shot and be like, “Oh no, girlfriend. No you didn’t. Here’s what you need to do….”
Craigslist and Etsy winnings in hand, I set to Ebay and the local stores to hunt down lighting and bedding. As I mentioned before, I am really not the most patient shopper. Crowds, cars, wasted time. Why not do it from the couch if you can? Why do you think God made the internet?
I’ll sum up. Aside from the obvious subtractions, the new additions featured above are:
Vintage Orange-to-die-for- Guzzini (we think) lamps -found on Ebay. They were shipped all the way from Canada and packaged beautifully. I was delighted to get them, but bummed to find when one of them wasn’t working. I don’t think it’s anything a new lighting kit won’t fix.
Night Stands stayed – Craigslist
White Bedskirt – Target
White Honeycomb light bought for more practical lighting – Lowe’s for $15! Couldn’t believe it. But as it turns out, the damn light flickers. Guess we’ll be taking that one back. They don’t make ’em like they used to.
Bedding/Pillows/Shams in a Bag, Baby – Max Studio – HomeGoods
**Explanation for new bedding: What I had wasn’t terrible….but it was a down comforter with a drab quilt over it. Two people from Ireland coming for the summer are not going to be comfortable with DOWN in 80-90 degree weather. Besides, it has the added bonus of being meant to be. It’s my entire color palette in one piece. Now I don’t have to worry about patterns and crap like that I’m not qualified for.**
FUTURE Additions:
This guy will go in the corner once I have him refinished and recovered…
Weekend Warrior Project
I still need a headboard and platform. The mattress and box springs are on the floor for now. I can see something like this behind the pillows:
Photo Credit: West Elm. Love you West Elm, but not going to pay $999 for veneer.
orrrrrr
Real Wood. Real Mid Century to balance the old and new elements. $150 on Craigslist. I already have an existing frame. Deal, or no deal?
Stay tuned for more updates. Thanks again for everyone’s feedback!
I’m not a big fan of Charlie Sheen, but as I drove away from a garage sale this weekend, I found myself grinning like a fool, and yelling Charlie’s signature phrase, “WINNING!” to my son in the backseat.
Garage sale find for $5
…And maybe I am a fool. That remains to be seen. I did notice some warping on the seat bottom that indicates this poor chair was left outside, or was exposed to moisture at some point, but luckily it’s still pretty sturdy. This Danish modern piece is just what I’d been hoping for: a PROJECT…..a lost and forgotten piece of furniture, just waiting to be brought back to life. For $5 and some elbow grease, I’ll find out just what I’m capable of in the wood refinishing department. I’ll be employing some of my favorite refinishing tips to get this chair a warm walnut color. I’ll get the privilege of learning how to re-cover a seat pad; I don’t even know where to buy the foam. Hopefully when it’s all done, this chair will comparable to these guys:
Etsy Photo Credit to BeeHavenHome
Anyway, my project commences this weekend. Until then let’s forget about all the sweat and tears! It’s more fun to pick out fabrics. Feel free to cast your votes. I’m not dead-set on these….my only requirement is that they have a tiny hint of orange….that will be my accent color in the room this chair will grace:
Credit: rue23vintage on Etsy.comCredit: JennSki on Etsy.comCredit: MandMFabrics on Etsy.comCredit: Full Swing Textiles – Chevrama in Grapefruit
The lesson for this week: Don’t discount garage sales. Truthfully, I had…until I spotted my chair. You can still win it big.
Spoiler alert:….This chair will go in my guest bedroom with these newly delivered beauties I shall tell you alllllllll about later this week.
True mid-century men The Rolling Stones said it best: “You can’t always get what you want….but if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need.” Back in December I wrote a post titled, “Bathroom Bewilderment” where I bemused my boring guest bathroom. Here’s a photo of the room at the time:
Bland Bathroom
And here’s a photo of what I’d like that room to look like someday, however impossible it may be:
Renovated “after” pic of work by designer Gina De Pasquale.
So this last week, I had a few extra bucks in my pocket as I walked through Home Goods. $30 dollars later, I had a splash of color in my guest bathroom, and truthfully that’s really all I needed.
Well it ain’t boring anymore, that’s for sure.
Shower Curtain and super smooshy rug purchased at HomeGoods.
The brightly colored towels I had already. They were purchased at Wal-Mart.
Hand soap by Orla Kiely for Target
Picture to tie all the colors together was a gift from my folks….many moons ago.
I plan on being here for a very long time. Until which point our family decides some renovation is absolutely necessary, this will do us just fine. We have everything we need.
Today I’ll be featuring my favorite article of the month! Houzz contributor Mitchell Parker waxes poetic about what it is that draws us to the mid-century modern aesthetic. I couldn’t pass up sharing this one. Tomorrow, I’ll be sharing updates to my ever-changing “retro deco.”
I recently began work on my guest bedroom. I’d hoped that someday it would be a nursery, but I’m not sure that will happen for our family anytime soon. Needless to say the room has been largely neglected as a result of creative avoidance and we actually do have overnight guests from time to time. We had the bed and bedspread already. What I needed were basic decorative items and night stands. Today, I picked up some gorgeous solid wood night stands for a great price on none other than Craigslist. The seller was awesome and easy to work with. That’s not always the case. My new little night stands fit the small bedroom perfectly. However, I’m left with the feeling that it’s not quite finished yet. As pretty as the night stands are, and as atomic and fabulous as my new vintage wall clock is, the room is still missing something. Can you help me figure out what that is?
Something’s missing.
What is it? Something is definitely off, isn’t it? Is the lamp too big for the space? Do I need matching lamps on either side on a smaller scale? Maybe.
I know I’m lacking color for sure. My inspiration is the painting on the wall that I found at a thrift shop in Lake Elsinore for a steal.
Inspiration pieceCraigslist TreasureI think the flowers and ceramics have to go. Also: my feeling is that the chair is too muted. Love orange, but don’t like this version. Something about it irritates me.
And the moulding on the walls? That irritates me too…but I don’t have the time, the means or the time to fix it right now.
So here’s my idea. The same Etsy shop owner that sold me the atomic clock also has a matching set of orange lights. I’m thinking one MUST go on each side table if I can find a home for my ginormous ceramic lamp.
Summer in California: there is absolutely nothing else like it. Beautiful breeze, sunny skies and kids out of school. Makes me dream about summer things: being near the shore, listening to the calming sounds of the waves hitting the sand and…camping in an Airstream. Before I discovered the world of mid-century modern design I was always drawn to vintage Airstreams and the idea of having one to take to the beach for the weekend, or camping somewhere in the woods thrilled me. (The thought of sleeping in a tent gives me the creeps. I need to be safely and securely separated from anything that can scare, bite or kill me.) The perfect camping companion and-oh-so-shiny impenetrable fortress of fun just happens to double as an icon of mid-century pursuits: The Airstream.
Finding an aluminum dream on wheels to rehab for someone of my limited means seemed more attainable when I spotted this inspiring post on Houzz.com. It tells quite a story in pictures about a family who completely gutted and remodeled an Airstream they found on Ebay:
I fantasized about finding an old, slightly rotten and even more forgotten Airstream on Craigslist, or Ebay and bringing it back to life alongside my loving father, who would show me how to re-finish the wood and replace a few things. Together, we would restore our family camper to its original glory and create cherished memories on the vacations we’d have together. Perhaps we’d even lend our silver treasure to extended family for their camping trips! I’d mentioned this to my dad who said, “those things are extremely expensive.” Always up for a challenge, I later took to the world-wide web just to have a look-see.
Do you knoooooooww what I found? Just one such Airstream, 30 feet in length, built during the 60’s, for under 5K, OBO. In the vein daydreaming, do you remember the movie Field of Dreams with Kevin Costner? One of the famous quotes from that movie was, “If you build it, they will come.” Now…lately it seems for me, “If you search it, It shall be found.”
Now forget all the time and money it would take to get it ready for the road. Don’t rain on my parade! A girl can Airstream dream!!!
I subscribe to many mid-century blogs, and always appreciate great material and inspiring photos. This week, I’d love to share with you this post featured on houzz.com that’s overflowing with both:
midcenturyobsession 