Today, a stranger is lurking...
Backing up, this is my kitchen office.
(just in case you haven't seen this photo for the millionth time this week)
Ok.. it looked like this only last weekend. It's just that sometimes life takes you on a different road.
This room has been through a lot to the point I'd be surprised if it wasn't traumatized due to all it's changes. The above scenario is something I was finally pretty happy with. I LOVE the eclectic look and it's functionality. And the chair on the right was my all time fav. Ever. I planned to retire with this very chair. It was the ultimate. Until..
* gulp *
This happened.
* sob *
And as if that wasn't enough,
this one followed soon after.
(no jokes on gaining weight please... you'll make me eat more!)
Enter this beauty, in which I have two of them.
Their story.
I was frequenting a used furniture place and when I spotted these, I didn't care about the price. Those lines reeled me in.
As I was walking out the door giddy with my new purchase, a gal stopped me and inquired, "Do you KNOW what you HAVE?" She proceeded to tell me some history about these chairs. Their workmanship is from way back before they used screws.
You can see from this shot how the arm is joined and what the true patina is like. They are perfect!
Anyway, this gal told me they were from blah blah (can't remember where) and worth about $1500. EACH. I paid $50 each. I gasped and did some research. If what she says is true, what a scoop!
The seats are actually comfortable. See the shape in which they flow?
( Can you tell I'm trying to rebond with them? )
So, why don't I just use them for my kitchen office? Well, let's try it then.
I don't like it.
This deal is dead! T'was a good memory it was. My life is ruined because these chairs match. I even thought of painting the table top white and maybe painting the chairs white. But that patina on the chairs is soooo nice as is. And then I'd have to do something else to the armoire... AAAAHHHH!
All because of the demise of my fav chair. This canNOT be!
(denial is the first stage of mourning, yes??)
So, my initial thought then was coming back here and posting this quandary to all of you not so emotionally attached to this pathetic scenario so you could give me your opinion on what you would do. (that sentence was waaay too long!)
Then I thought abit more. Going back to this photo... see the table on my patio? I decided to try this old farmhouse variation instead of the round one.
I hated it.
But then, I got busy and was forced to use it.
Now I'm liking the functionality.
But everything ELSE is wrong!
Right now, my kitchen looks like a bomb hit it. My dead chair is even in this pic.
So, why don't I just tweak it to death and make it work?
Cuz my mouth also feels like a bomb hit it from a nice little tooth surgery today. And it's squawking alot louder at me than these silly broken chairs and two tables are.
The whole entire reason for this post?!? I don't remember!
Right. Yes I do. (Be quiet for a moment mouth! Let me get this out there!)
I was having issues with the round table. It was too small. So I was rather delighted when the broken chairs guided me to a potentially better way.
Remember my profound advice on how you must be willing try out the ugly in order to find function first?
I'm so in the thick of ugly right now it's not funny. So, I am forced to take my own advice. But I don't have to LIKE it.
~ Part 2 - The Drama of the Broken Chair that changed my sorry Life ~
coming soon
How about you?
Do you have a fav object (piece of junk) where you'd absolutely DIE if it died before you?
What would you do to this table/armoire/chair deal (colour wise) to make it work?
Please join me in my moment of sorrow. Think of my chair while you listen.
Thank-you.
*sniff*
Oh my! I wish I could've been a fly on the wall to see just how that chair met it's demise! Hope you didn't get hurt. RIP, fav chair. :o(
ReplyDeleteGosh! what can one say?
ReplyDeleteIf you hadn't of told us the whole story, (mouth pain included) I'd have to say... Donna, are you on something? LOL
So...the dilemma is the chairs? No, wait it's the table?
You poor thing... I've got nothing! No advice for you.
except ...As you've pointed out in your 'beauty' chairs they just don't make 'em like they used to, huh?
Uhh...I'm sorry, what?
ReplyDelete: )
Julie M.
Ok now, don't panic! I hope you didn't throw your broken chairs away because I know you can make something out of them like shelves or something...I know you can think of something wonderful. I really liked the 'new' chairs with the round table. Don't change those absolutly brilliant curtains! How about the two chairs on either side of the armoire? Oh, I don't know, you'll figure it out. Now we need to see a picture of the farm table in the kitchen.
ReplyDelete#4, You are right. I just added the farmhouse table. :)
ReplyDelete#3, I understand.
#2, I am on Advil. And it's not working. Hence, the confusion for poor #3.
:D
FJ Donna
Dear Friends,
ReplyDeleteWe are gathered here today to mourn the loss of Donna's beloved chair and Laura's fan. That's right. A fan. Bought in Greece. Used every night for 12 years as the white noise necessary for my slumber. I've had an imposter for 3 months now.
That might be why I'm blogging at 11pm.
R.I.P. You've sent me off to bed with a smile!
ReplyDeleteI'm new to your blog.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say that I like the new chairs with the round table. If you're going to use the white table, I'd paint it another color. It looks too stark in contrast with the rest of the room.
~elaine~
I like the round table because it contrasts with the squareness of the armoire and I like the chairs with it because the tops are rounded like the table. Just my 2 cents =)
ReplyDeleteI love the chairs, but they do feel a bit off for the area. Hmmm...perhaps home-made cushions would help until you find an arrangement you love?
ReplyDeleteI am very attached to my dresser and nightstand. I've had them for literally 22 years. They're very tall and rectangular in a beautiful light wood, all hand-crafted. And there have been some close calls (like when the vanity mirror on the dresser almost broke off-I was in tears) but they have survived all the gashes, bumps, and moves across the country. Thank goodenss! They must outlast me or I don't know what I would do.
Ok, let's see. Your favorite chairs broke on you? You didn't tell whether they could be fixed? The first one looked like it might be fixable.
ReplyDeleteYou exchanged tables but are not sure you like it? I do! I like the table in front of the armoire. Maybe live with it some more.
You got two fabulous new old chairs and you hate them because they match?! Split them up. Put one in your bedroom or living room or anywhere else. Don't hate them because they have a twin! They are gorgeous.
Or have I missed your point entirely?
I am so sorry for your loss. Sniff!! Moment of silence ensues.......................!
ReplyDeleteNow I do like the two new chairs...they are gorgeous. I like them better with the round table. Maybe, like you said before, painting the table white will help you out. It is okay that the chairs match. Maybe put or keep a quilt on one of them? Or a cushion? Something simple to break up the "twinness".
Best of luck and rest...tooth surgery can really take it out of you. And you should have gotten the pain pills at least for the first few days.
Hugs
SueAnn
Ah, so *this* is what you were talking about in your email...
ReplyDeleteBummer on the chairs. I grieve along with you. BUT those two black chairs look to me like they were meant to go with that round table. Seriously beautiful. But my style lately is a bit more matched....can't believe I just said that.
I'm sure you'll find some gorgeous way to incorporate your 'look' using what you've got...you've got skillz!!!
Outch for your tooth and chair!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLOVE the chair...Must be fixed!!!
Love the blog too...my first time here!
Your new office is great...works well I would think.
Enjoyed catching up here this early morning..
Stop over when time permits...love to have you too!
xoxo~Kathy @ Sweet Up-North Mornings...
Donna - I've been reading your blog for a while now, and thought I pretty much had you figured out, ya know as much as possible, but, I'm confused. What happened to the chair?
ReplyDeletePaint something . . . cranberrish to bring in that fave wingback chair color from your LR overthere - the one the cats high-jack all the time? Not much, don't faint, think about it - watered down - not red - for crying out loud, cranberrish - yeah, made it up. Just something. Love those new chairs - but they are a little too matchy matchy - even for you!
Call the doc - go get some good narcotics, girl!
I think this case of your broken chair is an opportunity for me to pass along the very best advice I was ever given ...
ReplyDeleteThere's no such thing as 'more ruined'
Your chair is already ruined, so you can't make it any worse by trying to fix it. You may be successful. If not, how much worse could it be?
... Connie
Have you tried wood glue. I found two similar chairs on the side of the road and had to take them completely apart and reglue them with wood glue. If that doesn't work, by all means don't throw it away, I would savor the memory and try hanging the back and seat to the wall, seat side flush with the wall. Just my opinion. Take care.
ReplyDeleteKaren
This post has made me realize that I am normal and I am not crazy! Oh my, I like the farm table, it is so fabulous. So sorry about your chair but you can put it back together again and it will be good as new.
ReplyDeleteHave a super day.
Life has it's ups and downs.
ReplyDeleteGive the new chairs a chance... they seem to love you and need a proper home. The 'trick' chair could always be used for family gatherngs or guests.
Donna
ReplyDeleteCan you take some pictures of where the joints come together on your chairs. The first one looks like an easy repair. The second one I would have to see the joints. I just finished total repair of a chair for a friend and when I say total I mean the entire thing blew apart on them. It was like a big puzzle trying to figure out how all the pieces went back together.
On those windsor chairs. Those are great chairs. They are probably worth what the lady said. You typically don't find those chairs built with the wedge like that anymore unless you buy them from an artisan and then they will be every bit of $1500. They are beautiful chairs. I hope you don't paint them they are perfect the way they are.
--Grover
Donna, You made me laugh despite your pain & suffering. I agree with those who have suggested repairing the one chair with the broken back...Gorilla wood glue to the rescue?! And, put the repaired chair back in with ONE of the new chairs (find a room for the other) and go back to the round table. I prefer the round table against the hutch, looks cleaner and..well...um..."well-rounded"! But again, YOU have to live with it and i'm sure after a bit of mourning, you'll be able to see the light, I mean right..arrangement for you. ;)
ReplyDelete~judi ;)
OMG! Donna, you must still be on pain meds!!! That was hilarious! But I can so relate, just gave up the lortab yesterday...been a bit loopy!
ReplyDeleteI like the table, but I think the color needs to be darker. The chairs can work, even though they match. It is ok! I can wait to see what you come up with!
Congrats on SYTYCD!!! :)
Missy
Oh no, I didn't read through all of the other comments but is the chair beyond repair? Can the comb back be glued back in. I'm sure a handy girl such as yourself has already considered this, but I was hoping maybe the pain meds were clouding your thinking a bit.
ReplyDeleteIf it can't be repaired then I like the other two windsors with the farm table and here's the crazy thing I would do to make it all tie in together. I would paint a diamond pattern in black on top of the table, like you'd see on a floor. Big diamonds! and I'd paint the rest of the table either taupe or a rich gray color, depending on which you like best. Of course you'll want to do the diamonds last! ;)
I hope you feel better soon! And the piece I hope lasts is my pie safe, and the bed my father made, and... and...
Kat :)
Excuse me while I wipe up the drool...those chairs are fantastic! What a score!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to channel YOU right now. Once your tooth is feeling better, go and fix the chair. If you can't, (can't?) then hang the back of chair to the wall. Use the bottom as a plant stand. Or throw it into the fireplace. But WE all know you can fix the chair.
ReplyDeleteNow about the round table? The round table is very good there. I agree. Don't you have a circular saw or maybe your buddy, Dan does? Get a piece of wood. Cut it in a circle larger than the round table. Place on top. Beat it with hammer. Nail or glue down. Paint, distress, throw things at it. You know, get it just how you like it!
I agree with the others. Mix the chairs up. And just imagine who sat in them.
OK, now it's ME. You'll be fine! But I wanna know. Were you sitting in the chair when it broke?
So sorry to hear of your loss. It is so hard to lose a loved one. I know that after time you will learn how to go on and love these chairs as much as your previous love. I also hope that your toofus feels better! Yuck! Dentists!
ReplyDeleteI love the new chairs! What a deal you got. I would use them as end chairs to your table though. Find some chairs similiar to your old chairs for the sides. I think that I would paint the top black and the legs brown. I dunno. I do the same at my house. It's full of ugly! I would have to say that the one thing I would be heartbroken over is my antique sleigh bed. Even though it has only been in my life for 6 months, it has captured my heart!
I am sorry, but I just could not help but chuckle. Been there. Now in response… (1) I really would love to hear the story about the chair's demise; (2) I like the round table with the new chairs; (3) PLEASE do not paint those chairs! They are perfect; (4) I am sure the thought has crossed your mind, but have you attempted to repair your chair? (5) Although the farmhouse table is nice, I don’t like the way it hides the great armoire; and (6) I hope your mouth is feeling better!
ReplyDelete~ Tracy
I am SO SORRY!!!
ReplyDeleteIt does look as though wood glue and a bar clamp or two would work---as has been suggested----
The windsor chairs are beautiful!
Try that table running perpendicular to the hutch or just keep moving and placing and moving and placing and dragging and placing....like I do...
wooooh.....
annie
Donna, I just had another great thought. Fill the holes in the seat of the chair with wood putty and paint a chess or checker board in black on it. I haven't read any of the previous posts, so I don't know if this has already been posted as a suggestion. Take care
ReplyDeleteKaren
I like the new chairs. How about a table cloth for the new table - which does seem to offer you more space. The table cloth could make it work until you figure something out - at least it won't be ugly!
ReplyDeleteYou can easily fix those chairs! Don't throw them out, just get some wood glue and clamps and they'll be better in no time. In the meantime, I love the new chairs!
ReplyDeleteThrow out the broken chairs. Your life will not change for the worse without them. The new chairs are a score. If you want them different put different colored pads on them with skirts or something. I DON'T like the rectangle table in front of the office armoire. I was under the impression that you put an office inside an armoire so you could close the doors easily when you wanted to hide the works of the office. This is not possible with that table in front of it. Love the round table and the new chairs.
ReplyDeleteThanks all for your input! I'm drinking it all in.
ReplyDeleteThe Chair Story
I was simply sitting on the thing and got up suddenly for who knows what. Something about a cat on the keyboard on top of a post I was about to publish rings a bell. I panicked and got up quickly, somehow knocking the chair on it's back. SMACK. The back promptly snapped right off. The two main supports on the far sides are nearly clean breaks, the rest of the spokes, untouched.
A repair looks possible if I somehow grind enough away on the side posts in order to create the extra support needed for the holes again. But it'll take some MAJOR fiddling.
I'll be trying some other options first but I do want to save my fav chair at some point. This new way may lead me to something better so will go that route first. I will update with changes in a new post, so stay tuned!
As for the other black bowback chair? It was not a quality set and all the joins were wiggling loose. My wiggly son basically just took it to the next level one day and it snapped on him while he was using it. Breaks in the spokes, not a good outcome, but I detest their quality anyway. A bad purchase all around, as I can find better quality for less in this current fanatical DIY phase of my life.
I will not be painting the high end windsor chairs. The current patina is just too awesome and probably have alot to do with how much they're worth. Not sure if it's the original finish or not with that incredible blue popping through, but the finish is amazing and smooth and nothing I could even possibly duplicate. Plus, they work with the other black bowback chairs in the kitchen. If I keep them, they must work in black mode which is a nice anchor in a room anyway.
FJ Donna
Donna, you make me laugh! You bought a pair of chairs and then you don't like it that they look the same? Didn't they look the same in the store? LOL
ReplyDeleteand of course you can fix the old ones!
Donna - whatever you decide to do with the room I have no doubt it will look fabulous! I'd be hunting a good chair repair shop and save that precious chair though. :)
ReplyDeletehang that broken chair up on the wall put a plant on it and call it a day! :)
ReplyDeleteno matter what you do we will all love it and it will look fabalous!
I would paint the round table white! But that is coming from someone who wants everything white right now. I'm sure it will all be clear tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love those chairs!!! They would have drawn me in too. Cept I'm so tight I wouldn't have paid the 50. I know it is shameful.
ReplyDeleteI would paint the armoire chartreuse and put some cool old lady brooches on the front of charcoal gray painted baskets.
Oh, I always hate it when things you really like break. I had this caned back setee I found on the side of the road. It had a broken leg and needed to be recovered, so we put on a new leg and I made a slipcover. Fast foward a few years and our "new" leg was not holding up. The wood it had been screwed into was damaged. I was so sad, but I ended up throwing it away. :( I feel you.
ReplyDeleteOkay..I love the round table with the chairs.
ReplyDeleteTo help..could you add a leaf to that table to make it oval?!?! Would that be better for ya?!?!
The other rectang table....I would have to put a piece of velcro on the edge of the table to hang a piece of curtain or fabric. Something with pleats. Then you could change it for the different seasons.
But...I am not the best decorator. I just do what I love.
I think you're nuts. :) I love the new chairs and think they look better. There is no way that anyone is going to think you've lost your niche or talent for the bizarre if two things--I repeat--TWO things match! Please don't throw anything at me. I know I'm old and have back issues and all, but there is no way my favorite chair would not be padded. Anyway, I'd put some snazzy chair cushions on those two and call it a wrap. You could put mismatched pillows on them. Or you could sit in one and your son in the other and then they would look mismatched. Imagine what I'd be like if it were me on drugs with a toothache.
ReplyDeleteOh, and prop up your favorite chair on the deck and plop a plant in it. You know I love you, don't you?
If all else fails, list your two matching chairs on ebay or something and make a gazillion dollars and buy new ones just like your old ones.
Bummer! But I do L.O.V.E. the bow back Windsor (?) chairs. Did the back snap off, or just loosen and come out? If it didn't snap and the pieces are intact, regluing is an easy option.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry about your little chair. It looks so sad sitting out there all broken and forelorn.
ReplyDeleteJust maybe, maybe it can make a comeback with lots of help.
Sissie
I bet someone somewhere can fix that lovely chair for you. There has to be a way.
ReplyDeleteI know you will come up with the perfect solution. You certainly have it in you.
Get some wood glue and glue them back together?
ReplyDeleteI feel for you...I have a lovely antique Irish Pine table and chairs...the chairs all need regluing so for now I have traded them with my FIL's table and chairs which are ugly but not a health hazzard. (I teach classes at the table so couldn't risk one breaking under one of my customers ).
Eventually the pine table and chairs will become part of my home again...but not just yet. (FIL, aka G'dad, does not sit at the table any more so he is safe LOL)
You are funny girlfriend and I'm sure the breakage of the chairs and the fiddling with the table and the purchase of new chairs will only lead to more fun posts! I for one, consider THAT a blessing :).
ReplyDeleteYou are so funny Donna.
ReplyDeleteI do feel your pain though. I've lost many a chair due to kids, but the worst was an antique pine chair that my 300 lb. 6'4" brother sat in and it collapsed. So sad. I kept it around in hopes that one day I would be able to repair it, but it never happened.
One day you'll find another that will steal your heart :)
rue
Everything always works for the greater good! I think you can make it work not matter which way you go. In the current set up, simply bringing some black up into the cabinet and higher parts of the room will tie it together better. Right now all the black is in the chairs and table base. Putting black in other places will make it feel more balanced and allow the eye to move around the room. (Do I sound like a designer/decorator? Fake it 'til you make it, right?)
ReplyDeleteLove the chairs. The tabletop is too bright. You could tone it down a little with glaze. You could tone it down more by painting it cream and adding glaze. You could go with an unexpected color like robin's egg blue or deep red. You could try sanding the current top (but not all the way) and see how it looks with bits of wood showing and bits of paint.
ReplyDeleteYou could do a decoupage treatment with a ton of seed packets or music pages or old letters. The decoupage would be the bravest choice as it could either turn out brilliant or horribly tacky. For a similar look but less risky - have a piece of glass cut for the table top. Put photos or seeds packets or music sheets all over the table and the glass on top will hold all in place. You could change it whenever you wish. At Christmas you could display all your favorite holiday cards. I do this on my table and have really enjoyed it. Functionality is increased because you would have a smooth desktop. You have so many inexpensive choices!