Cane-Backed Chair

By Cate



It wasn't a "meet cute" - it was more of a "meet grimy."  I wouldn't have even noticed it had I not tripped on it in the thrift store.  But as I was rubbing my shin, I realized the chair had potential.  The brown shellacked wood was in good shape, there was no damage to the cane-backing, and the stained seat could be reupholstered.  So one newly-upholstered-seat and a fresh-coat-of-paint-later we had... this guy:

The wooden frame and cane were painted in another home-made chalk paint concoction.  The original color was a flat finish Behr paint called "Fashion Gray" mixed with Plaster of Paris and water to get this chalky finish.

I felt like the chair-before-bling looked too sweet.  Now it's a little edgy with its metallic touches.  I started by tacking the nails loosely in place to make sure I had the spacing right.

Once I was sure I liked the spacing, I nailed them the rest of the way in.  It's no secret that I am rapidly falling in love with nail head trim. 

Adding in this Chartreuse ikat pillow really plays up the edginess angle of the nail head.

I actually went to the thrift store looking for bookends... and (of course) I left with 3 completely random and non-bookend things.  The chair being the biggest prize.  Want to know what happened to the other 2 random thrift finds?  You'll have to check back in for a future guest post ;)

Look how far we've come cane-backed chair.  Can you spot Thor in the Before photo?

 Yes this chair would make a cozy addition to a sunny porch or a serene bedroom.  I hope he finds a good home come Saturday at the 5th Chelsea's Garage Sale!  Check back for the rest of our Week of Peeks - this and many many other show-stoppers will be available for sale THIS weekend: 

Contact us for the address - located in Herndon, VA.

Hope to see you there!

~ Cate

Tufted Mid-Century Modern Bench For Sale

Posted by Cate

What?!  That's right readers, my first piece is available for sale on Chelsea's Garage!  The hope that I would start offering merchandise has been a long time coming - since I first started guest blogging in October.  Now the day has finally come and what could be more worthy of an inaugural sale than this table-to-bench transformation?

 This bench started out as an odd little table in a thrift store.  I almost passed it up because it had all sorts of problems - had it not been for the brass feet and price tag.  

1} It was really short for a coffee table.  An awkward dwarf of a table. Way too low to the ground.  Look how it makes our petite puppy mutt look like a full-size purebred.   

2} It had an AWFUL paint job.  Whoever was trying to TLC this before I got my hands on it, did not bother to tape off the gorgeous brass feet before shellacking it.  What a crime!

So I had no choice but to start by stripping the paint off the table legs.  Based on the lines there's a good chance that in a past life, this table was once a handsome warm-toned wood mid century modern piece.  I wonder what would have possessed someone to paint it an oily black...  Stripping it was a grueling process involving a lot of chemicals with intense smells.  If you find yourself in a similar paint-job pinch, I followed the instructions on Liz Marie and was pleased with the results.  

While the legs were undergoing their chemical peel, I went about making the cushion.  I bought 4" high density foam and grey linen fabric from JoAnn's and had the foam cut to the table top's dimensions.  I secured the fabric around the foam by stapling it to the underside of the table top.

When the covering was done and the corners were tucked, it was time to add the buttons.

I prepped the button-hole placement following these guidelines from Salvage Love.  Before I covered the cushion,  I mapped and measured where I wanted to drill holes for the button thread.  Using some left-over fabric and a button-cover kit, I made buttons to match, making sure to staple down the knots to the side of each pre-drilled hole.

Now it was time to check in again on my table legs.  While I was working on the re-upholstery, the stripping chemicals were loosing the oily paint's grip.  I was then able to scrape off the old paint and give them a couple coats of fresh stain.  The picture on the left is post-strip and on the right is 3 coats of Cherry Maple Stain.  They've gone from winter pale to summer tan!

Finally it was time to accessorize: with nail head trim!

I chose what I thought was a brass finish that matched the brass feet.  However, when I opened the package I found that the nail head strip had two different finishes.  But I embraced the happy accident and decided I liked the combo because it played on the silvery fabric too.

 

The last touch before re-attaching the legs was to staple on a dust cover to protect the button holes and and loose strings from the fabric's edges.

Just for kicks, here some pics of it styled in our apartment.  {Consider this a sneak peak tour of our living room.}

46"L x 17"H x 19"D

$260

Available for pick-up in Northern Virginia.  If you are interested in this piece or have a coffee table you'd love to repurpose as a bench, feel free to contact me directly at catherine.henifin@gmail.com.

~ Cate