Lime Away

A couple of years ago I purchased a set of 6 dining chairs at a rummage sale and I think I paid about $12/chair for them.  We sanded them down and recovered the seats with new fabric and they've been our day in and day out dining seating.  

A year or so ago, one of the cane backs on the chair ripped and I called a place to see what it would cost to fix it.  As it turned out, it would cost $235 to fix the caning.  Ouch.  

In other words, our set of 6 chairs went down to a set of 5 because I just couldn't commit to $235 to fix a chair that I paid $12 for.  I've been wanting to find another set of 6-8 chairs but the price hasn't been right: it's kinda hard to beat $12 per chair.

We got an email last week from Perry at Hope Street that one of their residents is graduating and will be moving into an apartment.  He needs some items to get his new place set up.  One of the items needed was a set of dining chairs and we decided to donate our set of five.

I checked out Craigslist and some consignment shops.  I found this set of 6 in the "make an offer" section.  Well, don't mind if I do.  The chairs had some rad 80s fabric and it looks like the wood had been limed.  But I liked the shape, they were really comfortable and are made of solid wood.  Done.

When I brought them home, I tried a little bit of hand sanding and an orbital sander just to see what I was getting into.  In a few minutes, I could see that this was going to be a time consuming job because the layer of finish on top was really thick.  I took a chair into the basement and put some stripper on it.  

A couple hours later I did some scraping and there was still some finish left, which would mean that after I stripped them I would still have to sand off the remaining finish, which is more time than I'd like to commit right now so I think I will just reupholster them and leave the limed finish (for now).  

I looked on Pinterest for some limed chair inspiration and here's what I've come up with:

I hope to get to the fabric store this week to score some non-80s fabric for the chairs. Keep you posted on that progress.

If anyone is interested in donating to Hope Street, there's still some items needed to furnish his new apartment.  If you have pots/pans, couch, chair, kitchen table, bed or dresser that you'd like to donate, let's talk :)

Bar Stools

I picked up some barstools at TJ Maxx this weekend. They are comfortable and I like the weathered, imperfect finish on the legs. 

But when I brought them home, I wasn't crazy about them.  I wish that they would be a little taller than the top of the breakfast bar and perhaps something with a more open back.  Also, they stuck out rather far from the breakfast bar into the dining room.

Greg & I hung out in them for hours last night while we worked and they were very comfortable.  But there's a type of stool I've had in my mind for awhile.  I've been reluctant about ordering them because they're online, not easily returnable, and I don't know if they'd be comfortable or not.  

Here's the candidates:

#1.  Safavieh Franklin Stool from Overstock.  I like the height and the contrasting seat, but there's only 1 left!  I am not sure if I'd be able to get my hands on another 2.  And if I don't like, they'd be a pain to return.  These would sit and 1.5" from the top of the breakfast bar.

#2.  Madeleine Barstool from Restoration Hardware (we'd get the armless kind).  These are the cheapest (!) option, but they would stick out into the room even farther than the ones we currently have. I like the height though: they'd be 4" taller than the breakfast bar.

#3.  Constance Stool from Ballard Designs.  These are on sale right now and and have good reviews for comfort and stability.  However, they'd be about an inch shorter than the breakfast bar.   

Has anyone sat for extended periods of time in seats like these?  Cast your votes!  

p.s. there's going to be some changes to the blog that I am excited to share with you!

Tres

Marielle is three months old today.

She still has the furrowed brow, serious side of her but is showing a little more of her light-hearted side these past couple of weeks.  She also has a serious double chin.

Lots of improvements and finishing touches have been going on around here.

Remember the buffet?  

There was a space between the two cupboards where the old radiator used to be.  Because we switched from radiant to forced air, we decided to put a shelf in this space to put that space to work.  The carpenter put in the shelf today.

He pried the original baseboard off the back wall and moved it to the front.  It needs a good scrub-down, but I wanted to post this anyway (trying to keep it real here).

I'll likely use it to store cookbooks once I have it stained.  

We're also getting the fence put in this week.  We have the back fence in and the front fence will likely be built next week.  I felt awkward snapping photos of the crew while they were building it in the backyard so all the photos I have of the fence so far are "stalker shots" that I took of the progress through the window.  I'll post new fence photos next week.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!