Monday, May 26, 2014

Project Complete. Vintage Mid-century kitchen chair step-stool thingy

 Before & After photo above.  After photos below.





I talked about the discovery and planning for this chair in the last blog post.  Now that it is done, I need to work on selling it.  I love doing these large projects but it is cumbersome when it comes to moving on.  I don't have the space for this stool in my home so until it it sold, it is just in the way.  Plus, because of the space issue... I can't really start my next project until this one is outta here! So, putting on my salesman cap now....

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Summer Furniture project - refurbish a mid-century stool seat

 It is that time of year where the kids swim just about every day so I figured I needed a project to work on while sitting on the patio watching them.  I am in need of some accent tables, a table for under my TV, a desk for the baby or a bookshelf, so I started searching the thrift stores & yard sales.  I didn't find anything that I need, but thought that this metal chair/stool combo thing looked interesting.
To tell the truth, I have no place for this chair in my home and pretty sure that my husband will hate it but I wanted this project anyway.  I think maybe once it is finished, I will try and sell it.  After some research, I discovered that they are currently making a reproduction of this same chair!
When I found that, I panicked a little thinking, 'oh shit, I bought just a dirty stool that isn't even old!' but I took a closer look and this one is indeed, a very old version.  Also through some online comparisons I found out that it won't be super valuable once refurbished, but as long as I don't spend too much time on it, I will be able to turn a slight profit.  Obviously this business is more of a hobby than a business.


 At least I get to work in comfortable clothes!
I took it apart completely in about an hour.  I spent another 2 hours scrubbing off rust.  I like to keep most things original, so I soaked the screws overnight in a vinegar bath to get the rust off.  Today, (or maybe tomorrow) I will be working on upholstery, paint and then the real challenge.... putting it back together correctly.