Buying Furniture on Etsy

The time had come to bid farewell to my office chair.

This chair has served me well for the past several years.

It was originally purchased at a Kirkland store, 

so it was manufactured as an occasional chair.

I had my Dad put rollers on it, 

had it reupholstered once,

replaced the rollers a couple of times,

made slip covers for it later,

and have sat in it for several hours

every day at my computer/desk
for the past eight years.

So, I probably gave it a much 

hardier workout than was

ever intended for it.

It finally let me know it was worn out 

and ready for replacement.

So, I've had my eye out for 

a new desk chair for a couple of months.

I definitely needed a chair with

rollers since I would use it

between my computer and sewing machine.

I also wanted one with no arms.

I checked out chairs at

Pottery Barn and Ballard.

Both had chairs that had the look I wanted,

but either price or reviews kept me

from placing an order.

All the desk chairs at the normal

"office furniture" stores,

were functional, 

but lacked a lot in aesthetics.

Then I checked out what was

available on Etsy.

I found my chair!
It was in a shop in Texas,
Silver Star Salvage.
I have never purchased furniture on Etsy
so wasn't quite sure what to expect.
What I could see was that this chair was
VERY reasonably priced.
It would be shipped via Greyhound Bus Lines.
The cost of the chair, plus shipping and handling
still made the chair a bargain.
It's a vintage 1930's lawyers chair,
all wood,
and still very functional.

I took a chance and ordered it.

I have never received anything packaged 
as well as this chair.
Even the man at the bus station was impressed!
(I presently have what I consider 
a very "pricey" chair on order from
Ballard for my living room.
It will be interesting to see if it is
packed half so well.)

Layer after layer of packaging came off.
Underneath was a thick pad to protect the chair.

The chair is perfect.
Its size is perfect for my small studio/office,
it rolls perfectly (a big concern for me),
and is perfectly comfortable.

There were a few nicks and worn areas,
something the seller had clearly stated.
That was not a concern because I
intended to "redo" the chair somewhat.
Hint:  chalk paint,
which I'll tell you about in a later post.

To sum up,
please don't forget to check out
Etsy when you are in the market for
a piece of furniture.
I am fully delighted with the service I got and
with my new chair!

Slipcovering a Chair...#2



I have this little side chair that

went from the living room to the the basement

several months ago.

At that time I decided to "lighten" my decor a bit

and it just didn't work in the living room any longer.

It's a perfectly nice little chair,

but I have too much brown

in my house.

My plan was to slipcover it and

move it to my bedroom.

I purchased this white, embossed

fabric a few months ago,

with the chair in mind.

The first step was to wash and dry the fabric.

No point in making a slipcover if

it doesn't clean easily.

I have made one other chair slipcover in the past

using a commercial pattern.

This time I decided to wing it without a pattern.

Measuring, cutting and labeling all my pieces

started the process.

And of course, I made lots of notes for myself.

My approach was to "build" the slipcover,

piece by piece.

It took three separate sessions

to assemble all the pieces.

The trickiest part of the whole process

was the side area where the back, seat and bottom

all come together.

This was the same area that gave me

problems on the chair I had done previously.

Try as I might, I could not get that area

to come together nicely.

Finally, after venting to Nancy,

non-sewer that she is, 

her idea was to cover it up with a sash. 

Brilliant!

This turned out to be a bit of detailing

I had not planned on,

but it totally "makes" the chair!

Assessing the final results,

it's not perfect.

But it's a learning process.

And until I want to attempt it again,

I can at least use my little chair.

This week I'm partying at
Etsy Cottage Style.