Chairs and more Chairs

Went to the Monday auction today. We're currently stripping the wallpaper from the 12 foot ceilings in the second living room/dining room which has proven to be a nightmare. So, meanwhile I'm trying to focus my positive thoughts on the dining area. I managed to grab a set of antique ice cream parlor chairs for $20. I also found a great table/2 bench set of iron hairpin legs at the auction today for $22 (not bad since a new set of legs is between $65-$80 and now I have three sets to mess around with). Unfortunately they came attached to a weirdly patriotic picnic table from the 60's that must have come straight out of the VFW rec room. I thought I would take the legs off and discard the heinous table tops at the auction-- but as life would have it the screws were rusted so badly they couldn't be loosened. Once I got home and pulled the dirty benches out of my now soiled car, I realized that the wood of the tables was so badly rotted that all you had to do was put your weight on the legs and the screws just ripped out of the rotted wood-- fabulous. The entire experience made me seriously reconsider the idea of any type of reclaimed wood, specifically watching all the varieties of termites and wood-eating insects that crawled out of the joints of this ugly table.

The world's tackiest picnic table? Possibly. Not gonna lie, I SORT OF liked the benches but they were too rotted to save.



Last week I bought two vintage school chairs from a church basement for almost nothing and spray painted (I liked the original patina but they were too rusty to be used regularly)... all better now. I'd like to distress them a bit but I've never done that to metal before.

(BEFORE)


(AFTER)

Retro Hutch Makeover

Thanks for the comments on the last post. I decided to go with a neutral color and then realized the doors were the perfect surface for a pattern. I used acrylic paint and a small brush, then sanded the pattern down for a chalky look. I think it still needs knobs though! Finally, an excuse to buy some pretty hardware from anthro.

Now what to do about that ugly door bell box on the wall . . .

Yay or Nay?

I have a 1960's hutch that I got for $1.00 at an auction a year ago. That being said, I like it but I don't love it and I want to convert it into a bookshelf in the living room. I get a lot of ideas and I'm really indecisive so I was playing around with it in photoshop trying to decide what to do with it. I thought about a fabric backing but I think most prints would be too much against items on the shelves unless it was a really subtle pattern.

This is what I was thinking of doing, thoughts anyone?