MCM Chair Rescue

Hey Blog Friends! I have a fun makeover to share today but wanted to talk a little bit about what has been going on over here lately. My lack of blogging has to do with the fact that I have been fortunate enough to pick up some design work recently- Yay!! 

Unfortunately the kind of work I have is not "pretty" as in I don't have any fun pictures to share. I was lucky enough to win a bid to help with a master suite/ kitchen addition to a home in Texas. So it's all construction document/ CAD work for now. We're just at the beginning stages of the design- maybe towards the end I may have some more to share and maybe when the project is complete the owners and architect will let me share some pics with you all. But that is why the ole blog has been quiet lately.

Now- onward to chair makeover madness!

Remember me asking about these chairs last week? 

A little bit about them: A friend was getting rid of them because the seats were missing. For most people- yes I can understand tossing the chairs. But for me new seats are an easy fix! 

I loved the back and the frames were in great shape. And thank you for the comments on what to do with them. If I were keeping them for myself I would have definitely kept the wood as is. But because I'm putting them in the shop and because the wood was chipped and needed fixing in some places- matching the stain would have been tough. So in the end I painted them white.

And went away from the traditional fabric (as many of you suggested) and choose a more structured pattern:

To fix the seats I used some scrap plywood and made a template:

Which I cut and out and upholstered. Then was all finished!

Chair Christmas Tree Cat Action

I love the detailing on the back and legs- simple but still interesting. 

I'm so glad I was able to rescue these chairs from the garbage! I think they turned out awesome.

And another quickie- I had found some old window frames being tossed out the other day. One I painted red (and already sold) but was able to snap a picture of this one:

These are a quick fix if you happen upon some in your town. Just cut out some hardboard, paint with chalkboard paint, wood glue and staple into place and Voila! New chalkboard. :) 

If your curious I have a Facebook Page promoting my shop. Check it out if you want at

C. & S. Finds

Opinion Por Vor Vour??

So a few weeks ago I scored these awesome Mid Century Chairs for free! Jeah!!! (Anyone else watched that show- totally guilty pleasure)

I love the back of them- something I would love to have in my own home. You know, if I didn't already have an over abundance of chairs and a booth in a furniture shop to keep full. They are missing the seats but that's an easy fix.

Anyway- my problem is this:

I'm not sure how to revamp them? My first thought was go bold! I have some bronze Modern Masters Paint I think would look really cool with these. But I didn't want them to be too crazy since I am reselling them. So I have some extra fabric on hand I thought would go well with the bronze:

But... is the fabric to traditional for the chairs? I like mixing it up but I'm afraid this might be a bad mix up.

Would the chairs be better with a simpler more modern fabric pattern? Should I still go for a metallic frame? I LURVE these chairs and don't want to screw them up. I find it hard to choose a design path when I don't know my end client.

Should I just go with my gut and do something I would like (Not necessarily the option above...)

Any advice is much appreciated!

And in closing- a picture of a cute baby :)

Stay warm everyone!!

Dining Chairs: A Life Journey

Ok, maybe the title of this post is a little dramatic and I'm sorry to keep bringing this up but it's really starting to get frustrating. Why can't I find a decent pair of chairs at a decent price? For real...

I guess I was extremely lucky to find these chairs for my future dining room for $30 and $80 respectively.

I've been scouring Craigslist in my city and surrounding areas trying to find chairs to finish the set, going to garage sales and thrift stores with no luck. It's like all the cool furniture has been sucked into some black hole never to be seen again.

I've resorted to searching Ebay in hopes of a deal but those people think very highly of their stuff if you know what I mean. Some examples:

This chair would be a good complement to the first one I found (for $30). Guess how much they're asking for this bad boy? $200! Not including the shipping. It doesn't even have a seat! Lame...

This little beauty doesn't have quite the sticker shock starting at $50. But even if no one bids on it the shipping will make it over $100 which isn't worth it to me.

This chair is a set of four made by a company called Farstroup. It would go well with the pair I found at a local shop. It must be some famous company I've never heard of because they are asking $550 for the set, not including shipping!

And this ONE chair made by Shelby Williams (some other famous company I've never heard of) selling for $250. At least shipping is included in this one.

And finally look at this. $200 plus $60 for shipping. Look familiar? Looks pretty similar to these lounge chairs I bought not to long ago. $35 for the pair!!!!!!!!

So what is the deal Ebay? Is your furniture made of gold or something? Do people really buy furniture off of here and pay the shipping costs? Because for me it's a deal breaker.

And a heartbreaker because I'm starting to feel like my grand plans for a new dining room are falling apart. I hate to start off the new year with a big pout face but can I get a break here?

And I promise this will be the last you hear about it until that fateful day I find the rest of my set!

Thrift Store Steal (of the Century!)

I happened to have some time off this week and just happened to pop into one of the thrift stores near our house. I almost didn't since I usually don't find anything of interest there but this time I did.


Look! Two Mid Century Lounge chairs in near perfect condition!

I couldn't believe it, I'd never seen anything like this at this store before. My heart started beating fast- two people were sitting in them. I was sure they were thinking about buying them and thought I was to late.

I decided to ask if they were going to buy the chairs and it turns out they were not! So then I looked at the price preparing myself to be disappointed with a high number. But they were only $16.99 each! OMG! OMG! (In case you don't search Ebay often these type of chairs sell in the $100 range.)

Ok, act normally- don't call attention to yourself.

The Con- Man and I sat in them for a while trying to decide what to do. I was going back and forth about buying them because I really didn't need them. I'm really only supposed to be buying dining chairs. 

But I just couldn't pass up this deal. They were so cool! I knew I would regret it later if I didn't buy them. 

So for now they're just chilling in the sunroom waiting for me to decide what to do with them.

Have you ever had a heart stopping thrift store moment? I sure did today!

Dining Room Dreaming

This past weekend I had a little time to hit up some of the thrift shops here in town with some success. I've been on the hunt for a new dining room set. I've been looking at Craigslist, Ebay, and thrift stores when I have the chance.


Well this weekend I happened to stop in at The Oz, everything they have is Mid-Century themed and they have lots of cool stuff. I usually don't stop in because they are pretty pricey. But I took a look for the heck of it and saw these a pair guys for sale:

They were marked $125 but I talked them down to $80. Not the deal of the century but I really liked them. They are made of teak, sturdy and in good shape. They are the style I've been looking for but haven't had a lot of luck in finding.

They have neat little details-

They just need some new upholstery. I just need to find them two more friends of a similar style and I'll hunt for some appropriate fabric.

And the funny thing is that The Hubs has yet to say anything about them! I don't know if he really hasn't noticed that there are 2 new chairs in the dining room or that he's so used to strange objects showing up in our house that he no longer feels the need to comment.

So to recap-

This

+ this

will eventually =

I'm so excited! Has anyone else found something they have been searching for lately? Any good thrift store finds? Anyone have some chairs they want to donate to me? ;)

Dining Room Dreams

Lately I've been going on and on about changes I want to make to my dining room. I wanted to change the lighting and a new dining set, ect.

All these thoughts have been floating around in my head for some time now. It's hard to explain the look I'm going for- I want to mix vintage items with contemporary pieces. I love some of the items I already have but am ready for some new things as well. I finally got around to putting my thoughts down on paper and am interested to know what you think.

Some of the items may not end up being the exact thing I end up with but it's a start. I love the stained glass window I have hanging above the console table. I bought it back in high school for $30. One of the glass pieces was missing but I was able to find one that was similar to replace it with. It had white paint which I stripped off and stained with a dark stain. I'm partial to it and don't want to get rid of it.

The console table we have now doesn't do much for us in the name of storage. I'd like something with some doors and drawers. We don't have a lot of storage in our 1930's home so gaining some extra through furniture would be nice. I haven't decided if I want to go ultra contemporary like the white one I have shown or do something with some wood and metal like this one:

I love the metal and wood dining table. Though I think I'd like the metal legs to be raw steel, not painted in any way. A large vintage door would be awesome as the top! I've been searching Craigslist and Antique stores for deals but haven't found any yet. I've also been on the hunt for the rest of my dining chairs. I found this guy last week and am looking for some friends for it:

I think having a mix of chairs in the same style, upholstered in the same fabric would be pretty cool. I'd love to find a bold graphic print to use. I like the one with the dots from Knoll above.

Finish it off with a clean contemporary light fixture and I think I'm in business. 

Any thoughts? I always get these crazy ideas in my head and never know quiet how they will turn out!

Latest Craigslist Find

I don't know if I've mentioned my obsession with Craigslist before; but it's true I'm a Craig Junkie. I bought several items for Con-Man's room from Craigslist (crib and dresser- $250 for both!), furnished our garage apartment for cheap, and we've sold a bunch of stuff on Craigslist too.


Well my latest find is my favorite so far. I love Mid-Century Modern Design. You may not be able to tell by looking around our house since most of what we have is family hand me downs, but slowly but surely we are updating the house to fit our taste. I've been thinking about updating the dining room lately. I was so excited to see this guy for sale the other day:

It's solid walnut, the lady got it from an estate sales years ago and was ready for a change. She sold it to me for only $30! I love the detailing-

And it's in great shape, just needs an update on the seat cushion. My plan is to try and find another chair that is similar and a set of 4 that are the same. Then upholster them in the same fabric. I'd like to find a unique table to go with them. Our table we have now only seats 4. It would be nice to have one that fit at least 6 so when we have company over people don't have to eat on the couch.

But for now it's hanging out in the corner just chillin until I find it some friends. I'm so excited about it though!

What's your favorite Craigslist find? Are you a Craigslist Junkie?

Vintage Chair Rescue

Don't you love it when a project works out, especially when you weren't sure it would? That is the case with my project this week. I was hoping it would turn out alright...

Well lucky for me it did!

It seems that in our neighborhood you are not officially part of the hood until you have a cute little chair on your porch. Everyone has one; metal ones, woods ones you name it. So imagine my delight when I saw this little guy sitting on the side of the road waiting for the garbage man.

You may remember me posting about it during welding month . It was bent out of shape and rusted out on the bottom. 

Well I gave bending back into shape myself another shot and I was actually successful this time! No help needed from the hubs! 

Success!!! Unfortunately though while I was bending, pulling, and shaping, the rusted leg broke.

I was only upset for a moment because I realized this could be an opportunity to use my welder! I hadn't used it since my  curtain rod project and was itching to pull it out again. 

I started by using the grinding bit on my Dremel to get any old paint and rust off the area I was going to weld.

Now this is a part of the project that I wasn't sure would work or not since the leg was rusted pretty badly. Still I thought it was worth a shot.

Getting all set up!

And what do you know; it worked! I was able to weld the two pieces back together again!!!!

I decided to keep it red since it would go well with the paint on our house.

Making some progress! I applied 2 coats, hopefully this will help it from rusting out again.

All done looking fabulous on the front porch!!

I even made a  pillow to go with it.

So once again:

Before; rusted out, bent out of shape, sitting in the garbage pile.

After; shiny and good as new vintage chic!

Read more at http://diyshowoff.com/2013/08/15/before-and-after-diy-contest/#DlHqDqOhFOFmE5zd.99