Antique Chair Revival

It's time for another makeover! Each month, our "Furniture Refresh" group takes a piece of furniture and refreshes it into a new life. You never know what we come up with! 

I was excited to redo this antique Windsor style chair I found at a flea market in the Hudson Valley. It's one of my favorite places to go for great farmhouse things. I scored with the chair, an antique cast iron bell, and an old milk box. 

There were several chairs available but this cutie caught my eye. 

Those spindles are so slim, crooked, and just plain sweet. Even though the chair was banged up quite a bit, I could envision it refinished to remain old looking. 

Normally any beat up piece with cracks could be filled in, sanded, then painted. But this chair deserved to show its years by leaving all of the scars exposed. 

A fan back American Windsor like this dates into the 1700's. If it survived this long, why not show it? 

So I sanded it. A lot. But not too crazy in the creases and cracks. Allowing the old paint to accentuate all of them. Including a lot of old wormholes. 

After becoming impatient with sanding, I cleaned the dust off, rubbed in coconut oil to condition the wood, then used a dark antique wax to seal the whole chair. It brought back the true identity. 

A few of the spindles were previously broken and repaired. And done well, as they were holding up. (Probably why the chair was painted.) The dark wax shows where the breaks were. Wormholes are all over the hand carved seat and they actually look amazing. 

Check out these handmade spindles. A bit crooked, but so fascinating! 

In fact the whole backrest is bit off. Like, it became twisted. 

The cracks are really obvious with the paint removed. 

Surprisingly, the chair is sturdy despite its age. 

I'm a sucker for antiques like this and believe they should be refinished if they can. Although it isn't valuable because of its condition, it sure is handsome; war wounds and all. 

With all of its scars and age lines, it's very functional. 

And it displays plenty of character. 

Sitting there all twisted and crooked, it fits into our home just fine. 

It will sit in our dining room as an accent piece. Used when necessary. After all, being a couple hundred years old, it should rest. After several more polishings, it should continue to shine in its own glory. 

Well, that's my makeover of the month. Let's see what the other group members did with their crazy amazing talent!! 

Here are the before photos: 

Click on the blogs to see the finished outcome: 

A Purdy Little House

Our Crafty Mom

Michelle James Designs

Redo It Yourself Inspirations

Shelstring

Thrift Score Thursday in the Hudson Valley

I have another thrift score Thursday to share. 

This one was a family fun day in the Hudson Valley. One of the things I adore about the area is the history that lives deep in New York State. Landmarks, and characters like Ichabod Crane and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" intrigues me. But today was... flea markets. 

Flea markets and yard sales. 

And, it was a big disappointment. 

Because... 

I was disappointed that we didn't take a truck. 

This wicker bomb shaped chest of drawers was in fairly good shape and only $10. 

Crazy wicked deal!!!!  

And we took a car.

Bummer.

There were a lot of interesting pieces in numerous tents that were in horrific shape and priced high.

The trouble with getting those pieces is:
1. Paying the price for them,
2. Adding the cost of repairing materials
3. Putting in lots of labor,
4. Then gambling on any profit,  if sold.
I passed on all of them.

I would have loved to work on this old cutie... but not for $50. Then adding (about) $50 of materials and then putting in hours of labor with the possibility of getting $50 for it...
is really sad.

But I had fun going through the scavenging hunt because you never know what you can find. Some of the tents were so full, that I couldn't see beyond the piles.

Some were easier to get through.
Kinda.
This vanity was worth buying.
But remember ... the car. Ugh.

A few tents had some furniture with workable financial margins... just barely.

Until I hit this tent...
I wished I brought a truck.

And a trailer.
The prices were fair with a good profit potential.

Next time, I'll know better.
Yah.
I will.

But I did score in the yard sale!
This little leather top table did fit in the car.
Damaged. Primitive. My style and my kind of price.
Totally snagged it.

This old woven blanket also fit in the car. Excellent shape and cozy just right price.

I didn't get a lot of awesomeness this time, but it was fun.
After scavenging... we worked up an appetite and chose a fun lunch where root beer never tasted better.
A&W isn't close to home, so it was a treat to have freshly made root beer.

As we ventured on back home, we took in a few road side attractions. When we stopped at a farm market for peaches, we discovered this distillery behind the parking lot.

It was our first distillery visit ever.

As you entered, you still have that farm and barn feeling about the building.

I loved this "Strawberries" sign.
There were award winning bottles of spirits on display.

The bottles alone were quite attractive.

How do you think the pear got inside this bottle?

We didn't buy any, but thought it was so cool how bottles are held onto a branch to allow the pears to grow inside. That's something I'd like to try myself... maybe for one of my bottled olive oil recipes.

Stainless steel contraptions and lots of wooden barrels were stacked to the ceiling.

It reminded me of the rest of us who pressure cook food and put up canning jars, 

but this is on a monster scale; and different style. 

I was in love with this cash register.

The distillery was an interesting set up.
But back to the farm market...
we ended up with a nice supply of apples and peaches. And a few apple cider donuts, of course!

On the way home another farm made us come to a complete stop to get "just picked corn".
Let's just say we ended up with a lot more than corn...it was like a "one stop grocery shopping spot".
There is nothing wrong with supporting our local farmers. Nothing. Fresh food; good food; and no middleman price gouging. Natural goodness from good folks.
"No Farms No Food" starts here.

So back at home, I examined my two new treasures.
That little leather table...

of which, I'm determined to clean it up, repair it and keep it.

And that old woven blanket... I'm not sure yet. I'll research the value before deciding what do with it.

I do like the table. 

Arts and Crafts style but very primitive and unique. 

I'm investigating the best way to repair that tear. 

And making a note for next time...
a truck goes along. I promise!