As I had mentioned, for months I was searching chairs for the breakfast room. I did not want any regular, wooden or upholstered chairs. Something different.
I had been seeing lots of bentwood chairs on blogs and Pinterest and I wanted them. These bentwood chairs are made by bending wet wood into shapes (in case, you did not know).
Amazon and eBay had them listed at about $100 each. Crate and Barrel has them for $110. And I wanted 4 of them.
Since most of these chairs are either antique/vintage, I did make rounds of the stores. They would either have a single or a pair.
On a Thursday night, I was browsing Craigslist and came across a posting that read "4 Cane and Wicker Chairs-$60". I saw the photos posted and they were Mid-century chairs . I sent an email asking if the chairs were still available and if I could pick them. And went to sleep with my fingers and toes crossed.
Next morning, there was a reply saying the chairs were available. And after few emails to and fro, fixed my lunch time to pick them. The seller was 10 minutes away from my work.
At work, Itortured asked my colleague to accompany me to pick the chairs. She agreed without a question. When we reached the seller's place, the chairs were on the front yard. We got down the car, sat on each chair to make sure they were not broken.
Paid him, loaded the chairs in the car and drove away.
I did inform Mr. Tweaks ahead what I was bringing home. I prefer to have him prepared. When I came home, he helped me unload the chairs. He had no reaction/expression on his face. I do not like it when he does that.
Mr. Tweaks left the chairs in the garage and asked me not to get them inside unless they are cleaned. He clearly meant "make them look very clean". And the chairs stayed like this in the garage for 3 months.
These chairs are made in Yugoslavia. I could not find much information about these chairs.
I had been seeing lots of bentwood chairs on blogs and Pinterest and I wanted them. These bentwood chairs are made by bending wet wood into shapes (in case, you did not know).
Amazon and eBay had them listed at about $100 each. Crate and Barrel has them for $110. And I wanted 4 of them.
Since most of these chairs are either antique/vintage, I did make rounds of the stores. They would either have a single or a pair.
On a Thursday night, I was browsing Craigslist and came across a posting that read "4 Cane and Wicker Chairs-$60". I saw the photos posted and they were Mid-century chairs . I sent an email asking if the chairs were still available and if I could pick them. And went to sleep with my fingers and toes crossed.
Next morning, there was a reply saying the chairs were available. And after few emails to and fro, fixed my lunch time to pick them. The seller was 10 minutes away from my work.
At work, I
Paid him, loaded the chairs in the car and drove away.
I did inform Mr. Tweaks ahead what I was bringing home. I prefer to have him prepared. When I came home, he helped me unload the chairs. He had no reaction/expression on his face. I do not like it when he does that.
Mr. Tweaks left the chairs in the garage and asked me not to get them inside unless they are cleaned. He clearly meant "make them look very clean". And the chairs stayed like this in the garage for 3 months.
I could not believe that I found these 4 for $60. Now, I had other things to worry about. Should I stain the chairs, paint them or leave as is?
Reshma
Hi Reshma, I vote "leave them". Original vintage mid-century chairs should increase in value, but I don't think they will if you paint them. Also, I think the seats will "give" a bit when you sit on them and paint might flake off the seats. You could probably get around that by using spray paint and doing several light coats, but I admit I am partial to wood rather than paint anyway. Make it a great week!
ReplyDeleteVickie, I wrote this post after I worked on the chairs....:-(.
DeleteBeautiful find Reshma! If it was for me I would paint it antique white and sand it off to give it vintage look. Really looking forward to see what you do and final product will turn out
ReplyDeletePrasanna, I have never tried giving a vintage look to anything....I should try on something sometime.
DeleteLove those chairs. Can't wait to see what you did.
ReplyDeleteVidya, I love these chairs too but regretting what I did about them.....:-(
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