FAVORITE PROJECTS - 2011

In reviewing my blog posts for 2011, I realized that we didn't do as many projects as we usually do.  Then, I realized you have to stay home to get a lot done.  But, I was fortunate to do some traveling this year to Germany--

 And to France--

 Plus, I had a great girlfriend's trip to Santa Fe for 5 days, and Bob and I went to the Round Top, Texas antique extravaganza by way of New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas.  At our age, I'll take traveling any day to staying home and working on stuff!!  Here are a few small projects that we did accomplish.

We had been looking for a way to display Bob's collection of plumb bobs for awhile.  When we were in Round Top we saw some displayed on a big spool, so this was our copy of that idea.

This was a cheap yard sale rocker (without it's rockers).  Bob made new rockers and restored the finish to its Mission-style roots.

I upholstered a new seat and made a cushion for a more comfortable back.  This project went home with our son for his study.

 Below was a little rearranging project with a Restoration Hardware vibe.

Another rejuvenation on an old chair -- Bob did his magic in the workshop taking this walnut Victorian chair apart, regluing and refinishing.

 

We then upholstered it in blue velvet.  We just took it to the consignment shop, and hopefully it will find a new home.

 A two-year entry way project was finally completed when I found this table; and we refinished a yard sale frame and inserted the mirror.  The alabaster lamp was a gift, and I covered a lamp shade with a herringbone wool fabric.

 Another project from the long ago-entryway project was this gallery wall.  I debated a long time about what to put on this wall, and finally decided on this arrangement.

All in all, nothing big or too exciting, but fun projects just the same.  I have a few things in mind for 2012; we'll see how many get done (if I stay home)!

I'm joining the following parties this week.  Check these blogs out for a plethora of inspiration.

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday

Southern Hospitality for Top 2011 Projects on Wednesday

From My Front Porch to Yours for Auld Lang Syne Party on Saturday

CHAIR FETISH -- PART SIX

This chair called my name, and I brought it home from an estate auction in 1971. I loved the shape and size, but the original white vinyl upholstery left something to be desired.

I intended to have it recovered right away. But, my daughter was a baby at the time; and let's just say, she had quite the unsettled stomach and never hit the burp cloth on our shoulder. So, we always sat in the white plastic chair when we fed her -- it was so easy to clean up.

It soon then became the sick chair -- if a kid wasn't feeling well; they could curl up in a blanket and lay there with their bucket. The chair survived those uncontrolled sick years of small children.

It finally was recovered two different times in blue fabrics and withstood the teenage years in the family room.

After those rowdy years, it was moved to our bedroom and recovered again -- this time in a beautiful floral tapestry. I slept in this chair all night, every night for six months before I finally had my hips replaced. It provided the only position that was pain-free.

Now the chair is semi-retired, recovered this time in a beautiful shade of red velvet, and sitting in all of its deserved glory in the living room.

I adore this chair!!

Thanks for stopping by,

Sally

CHAIR FETISH -- PART FIVE

This is our computer chair. It swivels, rolls, tilts -- an all around good chair that we use everyday; and it is at least 100 years old. In the 1890s, my step-great-grandfather who I never knew was a judge in Prowers County Colorado. His son married my maternal grandmother when my mother was a child.

Then in the 1950s - 1960s, my husband's uncle worked in maintenance in the Prowers County courthouse. During this time, Bob's uncle acquired several pieces of unused furniture, etc. from the courthouse.

In the 1970s Bob did some professional work for his uncle. Not wanting to take any money, Bob finally agreed to take this chair as payment for services. We had it re-caned, then we refinished it, and started using it.

In the 1980s after my grandmother died, I was going through some old pictures and discovered a picture of this long-ago judge from my side of the family sitting in the chair acquired from my husband's side of the family.

Isn't it interesting how circumstances sometimes play out?

Thanks for stopping by,

Sally

CHAIR FETISH - PART FOUR

I had a very interesting step-great-grandmother on my father's side. My biological great-grandmother died young; and after my great-grandfather raised his boys alone on the prairies of Colorado, he sent for a childhood friend from Maine to marry. She never really mothered anyone, so she was always called "Auntie Evelyn". She was an artist and according to my family that explained a lot of her eccentric behaviors. I remember visiting her once in California; and I was totally fascinated by her easel and all of her paints and potions. She also had this little desk with cubbyholes stuffed with clippings, paper supplies, seashells, etc. etc.

I have inherited several of Auntie Evelyn's belongings including several paintings, the little desk and this quirky chair. It is unusual in that it has a drawer in the seat used supposedly for sewing supplies. However, this chair is so uncomfortable, there is no way you can sit in it to sew. It currently resides in my guest room. Since you can't sit in it, it makes a decent luggage rack!

Auntie Evelyn ended her own life by hanging herself in the barn under very dramatic circumstances. Enough said! Since she wasn't a blood relative, I have always been secretly glad I didn't have to pass her gene pool onto my children. They can inherit the quirky little rocking chair instead!!

Thanks for stopping by,

Sally

CHAIR FETISH -- PART THREE

There is nothing more endearing than a child's chair. This is the story of the one that resides in my living room. It was a gift from Santa Claus to my maternal grandmother for her second Christmas in 1901. When I was a little girl, it first resided at my great grandmother's house, and then was moved to my grandmother's house in Kansas. My grandmother was very attached to and possessive of her little rocking chair. She would never let me sit in it. I didn't understand because she was always so generous and loving otherwise. But there was always an excuse--- "you're too little", "you're too big", "the buckles on your shoes may scratch it", etc., etc. As an adult, I never was able to find out what her fixation was about her little chair. To this day, I don't know the story. When my youngest child was a baby, I jokingly said to my grandmother, "You know Jenni may be your last great-grandchild. Don't you think you should give me the chair?" To my surprise, when we were ready to leave Kansas to return to Colorado, she said, "Take the chair!" I had it in my car so fast.

Once it came to my house, it was always used by my children. And since I have had grandchildren, they use it to read in, watch TV in; it even serves as a corner post for blanket tents. And you know, it is still in near original condition with hardly a scratch on it. I cherish this chair, even though I have never sat in it.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sally

CHAIR FETISH -- PART TWO

These are my dining room chairs. They were purchased new by my paternal grandparents when they married in 1904. They were used around the table for all of their daily meals, while they raised three, good-sized boys. One of my uncles gave them to us in 1973, when we were moving into a new house; because he knew I always liked anything old with family history. They have been at our daily table ever since. That's 104 years of rough use, and they are still so sturdy never requiring any maintenance.

My favorite story about these chairs is one from my childhood that is still so clear in my mind as though it was just yesterday. My two cousins and I were playing one day at Grandma's. We were playing "bank". David and I were about six and Johnny was four years old. Back in those days banks all had teller's cages with iron bars between the customer and the teller to stop a robbery, I guess. These chairs with their vertical slat and side pieces reminded us of the bank. Johnny must have thought he could rob the bank, and got his head stuck between the side and the slat. Grandma tried and tried to get his head out, but to no avail. So she sent me out to the north 40 to get my Dad who was on the tractor. My Dad was not happy to get called in from his work to free a 4-year old lodged in a chair. As David and I stood scared to death, my Dad whipped out his pocket knife while Grandma held Johnny's head. We just knew that he was going to cut off his head, or at the very least, his ear. Well, my Dad just whittled away at the slat of the chair, until Johnny was free at last!

Now I have five chairs (no one knows what happened to chair #6), with one of the chairs having been whittled on. I certainly learned that day never to rob a bank! I often think I should replace those chairs with something more stylish, but they have served my family well. I'm now too loyal to replace them.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sally

CHAIR FETISH - PART ONE

I admit to having a bit of a chair fetish. I find them fascinating in all of their various forms. They seem to call to me as I browse in antique stores, and I have to really resist the urge to take them home with me. Today, I'm going to start a little series about the stories of some of the chairs that have found their way to our house.

This is my newest (old) chair. I had my eye on it for a year at a local antiques mall, but always thought it was too expensive as it would need to be reupholstered. The mall finally went out of business reducing the price of the chair. It had such a nice channel back and was such a usable size even though it was an ugly green vinyl. It had to come home with me finally. Until I could figure out what to have it recovered in, I set it in the computer room under the stained glass windows. It didn't look half bad, plus I discovered by opening the windows the sun shone in so nicely on the chair. Now, I hate to admit this, but I'm at an age that I am always cold. The sun warms up this chair like the vinyl seats of a 1955 Chevy convertible that has been left in the sun with the top down. Now that's HOT, and it feels so good on these old bones and joints on a cold day. So now, I'm in a quandary -- do I get my full-sized heating pad recovered in something beautiful and lose the warmth? I just don't know, but sometimes function triumphs over form. For now, anyway!!

Stayed tuned to meet more of my favorite chairs on future posts.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sally