Finishing Touches

We are halfway finished with the last two projects for my scrapbooking room. And, by we, I mean Hugh, because, I'm honest, and, in no way interested in stealing his craftsman thunder.

Ahem.

When last we spoke about the scrapbooking room, I made mention of wanting a table for additional crafting space. I may have also mentioned that I wanted an office chair, or, I may not have; it's really all a blur at this point. Anyhoodle, the chair I pictured in my head for the room was a vintage banker's chair, preferably in white. I started the search for the chair in local stores, coming up empty at every turn. Next, I sourced chairs online, where I found something similar to what I wanted on the Restoration Hardware site...for $495.

DOLLARS

American.

That's....INSANE.

Needless to say, I did not simply enter my credit card digits and hope that Hugh would overlook the bill; I am, after all, well aware that I have champagne tastes on a beer budget...light beer.

So, I got creative; I asked Hugh if it was possible that there might be an old chair lurking somewhere in the darkest recesses of the hardware store. He said no. So, I asked again, was he sure? Like, positive, sure? And, he sighed and told me to look for myself if I didn't believe him, which, I did.

Guess what I found?

The chair, while having seen better days, was exactly the shape I wanted, and, I believed that, given the proper care, it could be a dead ringer for the $495 Restoration Hardware chair. Hugh was less convinced, but, upon seeing how well the chair fit me (Like a glove, people! My ass cheeks fit in the worn grooves of the chair like it had been cradling my backside all it's life!), he reluctantly agreed to take the chair home to see what he could do with it.

Tearing it completely apart was not exactly what I had in mind, but, I had to trust that he had a method to his madness.

While he was working on the chair, I researched the maker's label and learned that the Sheboygan Chair Company, located in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, started producing chairs in 1888. The product number on my chair led me to an old catalogue, where I learned that the model was part of an affordable line of office chairs, produced in the 1930's and 1940's.

While technically an antique, the chair doesn't have a great deal of monetary value; given that it had been in the store since the beginning of the business, the sentimental value is, however, priceless. So, I was anxious to see that it retained it's original beauty while being updated for functionality and style. Hugh delivered on every aspect.

After he had deconstructed the chair, Hugh sanded the pieces. He glued areas that required glue and mended a large crack in the seat. Once he had the pieces in shape, he reassembled the chair and painted it to match the cabinets in the scrapbooking room. The metalwork under the seat was spiffed up with black paint, and a new set of casters was attached to the feet, making the chair easier to roll and maneuver around my workspace, as well as sturdier in general.

I love how it turned out.

I also love the price tag: under $75 for all the materials; that beats $495 in more ways than just financially, in my opinion.

Next up: the table I mentioned earlier. Of course, we may have to get through the holidays before Hugh embarks on that little adventure...so...to be continued.