Couldn’t Save the House…
People have asked me where I find the furniture I refinish, and it’s really not a simple answer. There have been different arenas for how I find the pieces I refinish, and one of those is estate sales. Now, estate sales are not exactly garage sales, and they are not for the faint of heart or for that matter the weak stomached. However, if you are patient and really look you may score some great finds.
The house this chair came out of was an old house in one of those transitional neighborhoods in Ft. Worth (man, I wish I would have taken a pic of it). There were some old homes and new stately homes. Sadly, this house was being torn down to build a new one. It had been the house of a doctor who at one time used part of his home for his practice. The doors in this place were amazing – glass knobs, dutch styled, odd sized – there were so many variations and they were all fantastic! Most homes in Texas don’t have basements, but this one did. It was a tiny wind of a staircase that only one person could walk up or down. Once in the basement, it was a bit of a maze that eventually led to an attached garage. Obviously, the house needed some updating, but I really loved the character.
There was a bedroom that was definitely decorated by the lady of the house. Rosette printed fabrics, gold trimmings, and lace were adorned everywhere. And, tucked in the corner was this chair.
It had obvious stains on the upholstery, but the woodwork just begged for your attention. When I sat in the chair the support in the seat sunk down beneath you but was comfortable besides that. My husband really liked the look of it as well. The problem with the chair was the upholstery. Please understand I know my boundaries… I DO NOT reupholster on the regular. My momma had done some reupholstering on some pieces, and I even helped her reupholster mine and my husband’s first couch. But that is not within my skill set people. I reupholster dining room chair seats, that’s it. My husband though who often thinks I’m the She-Ra of all things home said: “Babe you can do it, I’m sure you can.” So, off we went with this antique chair for $92. We actually made a pretty good haul over the course of two days, but I would have gone and left with nothing just to see everything in that house. It was co cool.
Often when my husband, Clint, is with me he’ll ask, “Watcha gonna do with that?” Sometimes I’m not sure, sometimes I just know I need to get it, but in this case, I think we both knew this one was staying in our home. Although, it took up rent-free space in Clint’s shop for a very long time the day finally came. I stripped that pale pink fabric off. I reinforced the tied string (I’m being super untechnical y’all because I DO NOT do upholstery!). Then, I placed a foam cushion on the seat, draped it with new cotton batting, and voila… Not sooo fast. That was actually all the easy stuff. The slight arch on the back of the chair made me remember why I don’t do upholstery. And, getting the trim to run all along the edges straight enough to pass my criticism was a little nail biting. All in all, I was pretty happy with it. I’ll tell you like my momma has always told me in projects like this – “If people look too close, then they get what they deserve.”
Folks, the chair is comfortable and it looks pretty in our living room and it has a story… The story is, I AM NOT doing another chair!
My heart to your home,
Jolé
