November 16, 2017
Family heirloom or dumpster dive? If it’s got good bones, who cares! Yes, I have both. And both have history and stories to tell which make them even more fun, am I right? There are just some things you can’t get with mass manufactured furniture.
So, when your mom calls and says there is a wing backed chair in the dumpster down the street what do you do? Jump in the truck and load it up quick before the trash man comes around, that’s what! And that’s just what I did with this beauty, I love a good furniture rehab!
Yes, the yellow and green flower tapestry upholstery had to go, but under it all was a great structure, and even the original horse hair cushioning! This project I tackled myself. Stripping it back, paint and all. I wire brushed the frame and applied a couple coats of Briwax, before I recovered it in burlap and vintage mudcloth. The frame was too pretty to cover up so I went for the deconstructed look. I wanted it to feel as if it had always been that way, nothing too perfect, something well loved over the ages.
Furniture rehab, I call it Heirloom RX, is one of my favorite things! You will be sure to see more of these. I tend to work them into my interiors, either with clients’ old pieces, or new to them old finds I hunt down. I’m always on the search, so if you see me in a dumpster somewhere don’t judge!
