Update: I’m linking my sweet little table and chairs to Kathy’s “Return to Loveliness” party at her blog, A Delightsome Life… because it definitely returned to loveliness after its makeover! Please stop by Kathy’s blog for more lovely posts!
One of our luckiest recent curb finds was a dining table and four chairs, which was sitting out in the parking lot of the apartment complex a few weeks before we moved out. What was odd about it, was that it was set up with the chairs all around it – as if it was waiting for a family of four to come along and sit down to an outdoor dinner!
We drove past it a few times – the chair cushions were completely awful – but finally I couldn’t resist. Due to some odd twists, we didn’t really have a dining set for our new place, and I loved the light colors and “open” feel of the framing on the set. I thought it had sort of a garden/patio/bistro feel, perfect for what I envisioned in our open-concept kitchen/dining room.
But those chairs. Oh. My. Goodness.
We used a few wooden “place-holder” chairs for a few weeks immediately following the move, then I got to work recovering the seats on the found set. I was kind of hoping to find something salvagable under that nasty brown seat cover. Instead I found this:
Just as bad as the top layer! So I removed it all and kept only the wooden seat base, which was unfinished. So I painted it white so at least it would look good from underneath.
I took a simple gift wrap-style approach, using two-inch foam cut to size for the seat, a linen lining, and some checked upholstery fabric in pretty garden colors. My primary goals were to get the pattern straight and keep the corners looking tidy.
I think overall they turned out really cute!
Here are the first two sitting at the table in the new-to-us house. And, for now, the set looks great in our kitchen/living room, keeping things light and airy without adding too much bulk to the room.
I might… someday… try building a new harvest-style top for the table. Not bad for a parking lot find!
Wow what a fabulous find I love this table and chairs to bad you beat me to it I would have snatched it up in a second.I thought mine was the best deal ever at the a thrift store fifty percent off I got a 6 foot whit and butcher block table and four chairs for $32. but yours even looks better right place right time. Susie
Susie, you rocked it on the thrifty find – that’s a great bargain! I can’t believe how many times we drove past this thing, debating, and yet it remained there for what seemed like an unusually long time. (I mean, a broken tent/awning we put on the curb was gone in less than an hour…!) Eventually we just said, we’re taking it, and I’m so happy we did! Thank you so much for reading and commenting on my post – I’m so glad you stopped by! – Janet