So I mentioned my chair project in the previous post. Yesterday I was determined to paint them. I went to the closest Sherwin Williams to find my paint color. I had already picked out the red that I wanted, but couldn’t find the paint card. So when I got there I just picked another red I liked. (Or more, that I thought I liked.) Turns out it was hideous. As soon as I opened the can I knew it wouldn’t work. It’s a strange pinky-red, that is entirely too artificial. I can’t stand it. Tom is picking up the right color on his way home from work today. Regardless, here’s my embarrassing shot. (It actually doesn’t look nearly as bad in the photo.)

    However, on a more positive note! On the same outing that I got paint, I visited Goodwill. I just stopped in to look for furniture steals- and I found one! I loved this little chair as soon as I saw it, but the fabric on top was badly warn and I wasn’t sure how to replace upholstery fabric that is on top like that. I looked it up and down, noticing that it was hard wood and obviously quite old. I left it to look at what else they had, the other chairs were big and clunky so I returned to this delicate little chair- there was just something about it that I found charming. I was examining it a second time, when a lady came up and leaned into me and said- “I think you should get it, it’s a definite antique.” she proceeded to gingerly tell me methods of finding cheap fabric to replace the top- from used pillows or place mats. She returned several times with examples that she had found from around the store. She was a delightful woman. She told me several stories of similar projects she had fixed up. So thanks to her encouragement, I bought it for whopping $4.00!

    This afternoon I decided to tear off the top, as I was peeling off the brittle ribbon from around the edge, and pulling up the layer of upholstery fabric I was surprised to see a stringy yellow filling under a layer of creamy white padding, as I looked closer I found that what I was looking at was straw under lambs wool. Antique indeed.

    Last week I visited several antique stores in town, hoping they might have a few cheap things; Which they didn’t. However, I admired the old chairs and worn tables. I enjoyed imagining up histories for each piece, and decided that someday in the future when Tom and I had a real income I would buy an antiques or two- as an emblem of gratitude for history. Perhaps it was those short trips to the antique stores that trained my eye to discover this little gem. I adore it.