Monday, December 27, 2010

Dining Room Table and Chairs

We  had my original dining room table and chairs from my childhood home. This remarkably modern dining room set is somewhere around forty years old. Surprising how timeless they ended up looking. Unfortunately, the natural wood finish did look a little dated - or at least did not fit into our overall plan. Originally buried (and unused) under tons of household detritus, we cleaned it off and prepped it for paint. Sanded both table and chairs, spray primer and finished with a flat black.

She said: I think it's funny that he breezed over the most important part of this post. The table and chairs that are over 40 years old - were his fathers. His dad passed away not too long ago, and he had the old table and chairs but wasn't sure if he wanted to keep them. After I saw them up close and personal, I realized that they were a classic style and very retro (which is a style of decor David loves). I knew they just needed to be revived with some sanding and paint. But more important, I wanted to save any items we could that brought back memories of his dad.  He doubted me through the entire process, but when he saw the finished product he admitted that keeping the set was the right choice.

The dining set had been at his brothers home for a few years prior to David saving them from being tossed out.


BEFORE


















AFTER
Casual observers will note the trippy seat cushion pattern - which is actually the original upholstery for these chairs! The chairs had been recovered twice, but we found the original trippy blue/green/yellow worked great with the black furniture and the mood we were trying to create.

She said: I originally planned to reupholster the dinning room chairs with a natural colored burlap. It was unusual but practical and durable for fabric and would have fit into the room decor perfectly. After stripping off two other fabric covers we found that the ORIGINAL fabric for the chairs was still intact.  
This was a big deal because it was the fabric David grew up with - the original fabric from his childhood. In this case , sentimental won over style. It was obvious (based on his reaction from the fabric still being there) that it was much more important to keep the original upholstery rather than match the decor. I like to think that there is no wrong decision if you've got an emotional attachment to a piece - thus we found a way to work the old fabric/design into the new room.  I chose some art work which contained some blues/greens/yellows - so that when in the room it would all pull together. I think it worked out just fine. 


To see the rest of this rooms final completion photos go here



This is the dinning room set BEFORE the rest of the room was decorated. 



































To see the rest of this rooms final completion photos go here

2 comments:

  1. Wow. I'm amazed that upholstery is in such great shape. I love the way you wrote about the decisionmaking process on whether or not to keep it, Rochelle. And also glad that it was upholstered over rather than replaced.

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  2. Thanks! You know how men love to leave out the details or personal parts of a story. Those details are what make this project interesting! Glad you enjoyed.

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