Monday, November 12, 2007

a weekend project...

before... and after

I have ALWAYS adored these chairs. We received them from some very generous family friends when we were newlyweds (what fortune!). I call them my library chairs because that is what they remind me of. Each one is slightly different. They are old, squeaky, SOLID, and wonderful! They also have never really 'matched', but other house projects were always in line ahead of these guys. Not so anymore! Lots of sanding involved, but it was well worth the effort! Although I miss working on our house, it has been fun to look around this apartment and see what we can fix up! The list grows daily!

10 comments:

Zach 'n' Jack said...

wow, those are SO beautiful! I love doing projects like that, and you should be proud- those chairs turned out great! Impressive!

dixonfamily said...

You are just so darn talented! Projects like those will probably never make it to the top of my list, because I have a hard time just getting the dishes done. The chairs are just beautiful! Anytime you are bored or looking for a project, my home is open!

*K*R*I*S*T*Y* said...

Hey Bob Vila called, he wants a tutoring session with you. The chairs look AWESOME! I'm always looking for stuff like that on craigslist but you just can't find much of the solid stuff anymore. You can find "antique" or "shabby chic" but that only translates to "crap".

kat and jason said...

ok--seriously you are awesome. i don't know how everything you do turns out perfectly. is it stain?? what type/color?? call me.

Missy said...

Are you serious? Can you give us more detail on how/what you do to complete a project like this Tara? You are amazing. They look great (and where are the cute pillow from too?).

thepainterfamily said...

thanks friends! reading comments is so fun with gals like you!
Details: sanded off the original varnish (this was most time consuming/labor intensive) I used Minwax stain in 'ebony' (one coat) and then a high gloss polyurethane (3 coats)...basically i just followed directions on cans! One plus about this project was that there was no "factory finish" (which is sooo hard to remove) and also, these chairs were sort of rustic anywho...so if I didn't sand so great in some spots and the stain was uneven...all the better, more personality!Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed this project and I did 85% of the work (usually my hubbie is the 85%er and I am more like 15%) but this was low stress and hard to mess up! the only downer was all the curves on the chairs made it impossible to use the rotary sander...had to do a lot by hand! thanks again for all the encouragement! Feelin' so warm and fuzzy!(pillows from target (?) old times...5 yrs ago, bought for a fouton we used to have! heeh!)

Blake and Yanery said...

Amazing!! I just love to see all the projects you have done. It inspires me to tackle the things I would like to do. Your so talented. I wished you lived closer, we would have so much fun.

Amy said...

Amazing! Maybe you living here will rub off on me a little....okay that was a joke. So not crafty me.

Charla said...

Wow you are so amazing! What a talent you have for so many things! Thanks for leaving such sweet comments on my blog. Hope you continue to do great! Love to you,
Charla

Tiff and Dave said...

You're so awesome Tara. If only I had a little of you in me!! The chairs look awesome and I'm sure you will really enjoy them.