Before & After: Breathing New Life Into a Vintage Roadside Find
In an origin story worthy of Antiques Roadshow, Ariana spotted this lovely little number on the side of the road, amongst a group of other discarded chairs, and decided to snatch it up and see what was what. Turns out it had its original tags and she was able to verify that it was made in the ’20s. She decided to restore this beaut back to its former glory by spiffing up the bones and adding a new gorgeous fabric.
From Ariana: I found this chair on the side of the road, tucked in with a whole slew of other unwanted chairs. The clean lines stood out to me and I grabbed it without really giving it too much of a once-over. Once I got it home and inspected it, I noticed it still had its original tag, made in 1921 by Statesville Chair Co.
I hated the fabric with a passion, the chair was missing a couple of feet but I knew that with a wax, simple stain and new upholstery it would be a beauty.
The hardest part of this project was searching for the right fabric. I wanted to keep the vintage feel but also update it and I didn’t want anything too busy or too plain. I finally found this great fabric from Marimekko. The actual upholstery was the most difficult part. My brother in-law has a great tool shed and he helped with the sanding, staining, waxing and adding new feet.
I love how the chair turned out. My only wish is that I had found four of them!
Araiana’s words of wisdom: If you are doing a re-upholstery project I would recommend taking photos of the old work before taking it apart. When trying to figure out how to fold underneath so the top looked good, I wished I had a photo for reference!