As kitchen renovation drags on, with small successes here and there, and the big reveal still out of reach, I was really happy this morning to tackle a quick and satisfying project.

Last week, I scored these two sweet chairs for $6 each at a local thrift shop:

The frames are solid wood frames with quality plywood backs and the legs are joined with mortise and tenon. They’re steady, well-made chairs with great lines.

So this morning I set about re-covering the seats and refreshing the wood, and I’m so thrilled with the result.

There were a few light scratches and some discolored spots on the chairs, but nothing serious–

So after removing the seats, I did some very light sanding, a coat of Restor-a-Finish and a coat of Feed-N-Wax. That wood shines now.

The foam on the seats was in decent shape, so I just added a layer of soft batting–here’s the uncovered seats, the left one with the original foam, the right with new batting over the foam:

I was very, very tempted to use my favorite rust-colored faux bois fabric (seen here), or a bright blue cotton twill, or one of the hand-woven Guatemalan fabrics I picked up last year, but ultimately I settled on a classic mustard yellow wool felt.

It was so meant to be.

Reminds me of happy memories re-upholstering the thonet chair and those twin armchairs we used to have. Good times.

August 9, 2013

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