apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Chris,
I have a Wassily chair, and I did exactly what jamie pup suggested, putting on self-adhesive felt pads. I bought some that are about the size of a quarter, cut them in half, and just stuck them on the bottom, two on each tube, one on each end. They stay on reasonably well, and my chair doesn't scratch the floor. You might want to try putting more than 2 on each tube.

WASSILY CHAIR-

Looking for clip-on glides for a tubular frame chair.

I have two Wassily chairs, authentic Knoll, but of an earlier vintage date. One of the small improvement the newly manufactured Wassily chairs have are a set of "glides". Because the bottom bars, or skis, that serve as the legs, or the feet of the chair are metal, they can slide around a bit, and have a tendency to do some damage to hardwood floors. The newly manufactured models have the aforementioned "glides". These are little plastic non-skid feet that attach to the bottom of the ski in the front and back, slightly lifting the tubular bar off the floor. Going to the source, I contacted Knoll, and looked into purchasing a set of these glides to add to my older models, but found that they were attached with a screw. I know that drilling a precise hole into a tube without access to a machine-shop is damn near impossible. Drilling one that is also threaded to receive a metal screw... forget about it.

Hence, if I want to use my older Wassily chairs, but not tear up my new bamboo floors, I need another solution.

The Wassily chair has what I would imagine is a pretty standard diameter tubular frame. I'm wondering whether I couldn't use a glide made for some other tubular steel chair, such as a cantilevered, Mart Stam or other Breuer design. I know I've seen the ones that clip onto the tube.

Is anyone familiar with these?

I'm going to do some hunting around, but I just thought I'd ask- Does anyone know where I might be able to pick up a set of these clip-on glides for a tubular frame chair?

Thanks for any help.

Just wanted to thank Jean and Erica for lamp rewiring advice! I'm convinced I can do it now!

I went to the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore on Sunday afternoon, and was really impressed with some of the cool retro and home goods shops there. B'more's so much funkier than DC.

I really enjoy this site and have learned so much from it. Thanks to all the posters!

Hey Chris, I've always had great success with the self adhesive felt pads that you can cut to shape.
I know sticking them to a tube may not sound as if it will stick but I have stuck them everywhere including the skids of a rocking horse and kid sized rocking chairs and they do stay on.

thanks

Does anyone have any good resources (online or books or favourite mags) on an new-meets-old sensibility?

I'm in need of fresh inspiration. I know the 80/20 rule, but I think I need something more visual. I've been pleased with some of the Domino spreads, and Living etc. and Marie Claire Maison are generally great. Problem is that my apartment was built in the 1980s, has low (popcorn - gack!) ceilings, and little architectural charm to speak of. Getting this to work is a little trickier than it would be in an older apartment.

Something seems to have gone very wrong with my efforts in my dining area. If I get a bit more together, I'll set up a flickr account and you can all have at it, but in the meantime I'm still trying to self-diagnose. (cherry-blossom paper lanterns - cheeky or just kitschy? And what am I going to do about that massive expanse of black upright piano that I recently inherited?)

I'm tempted to take an axe to the entire thing and just start over. Guess I shouldn't really do that to the piano, but today it's really tempting...

Jean, Erica, Christine...
Can you please repost or direct me to the rewiring info? I just bought an awesome vintage art deco sconce with cloth wiring I really need to rewire and would love to do it myself insteading of having to find someone to do it..thanks!

My short answer is http://www.ehow.com/how_117605_fix-lamp.html.

Also go to a small hardware or lighting store for a kit. Get a tube of "white grease" or Bulb Grease (brand name) while you're there. It protects the bulb from corroding while in the socket -- problematic in humid climes.

Serra,
It was in the last open thread--essentially, they told me to go to the hardware store and get a rewiring kit and then to ask advice. I didn't even know there were such things as a lamp rewiring kit, so this was good advice for me!!!

Jean beat me to it with a much more informative answer!

If you have cloth wiring, you'd better make sure to get a new socket!!!

Original blues -- Weirdly, one thing that helps distract from an 8' popcorn ceiling is to set a low "water line" for the tops of photos and tall furniture, so that the eye concludes everything interesting is BELOW a certain level and gives up on noticing the ceiling.

Much as I love architectural character, it brings with it a lot of dusting. Congratulate yourself on never having to spend a couple hours getting dust off door insets, baseboards, and weird ledges.

To anyone out there,
I am interested in buying a pair of Wassily chairs. There's a lot of repros going around for around $300 but can't verify quality of craftsmanship. Can anyone advise where to get a reputable or used Wassily chair? Thanks.