I used to watch this show - and it’s predecessor “Furniture on the Mend”. They go step-by-step through the whole process.
I think it looks wonderful! I did a wing chair about 15 years ago and while it was kind of fun I did not do a good enough job to try it on a bigger, more important piece. Matching was hard, and I picked a much simpler fabric.
It looks great!
It looks great. I cannot tell.
This is timely for me. Ds1 has a new job and is outfitting his first apartment, moving in next month. He is one of those people who likes to collect a lot of information before pulling the trigger. Driving me nuts. He is going the cheap IKEA route for bedroom furniture. The living room is the combo of a free couch from a friend of a friend, and he just purchased a lovely used Lane recliner. VH’s experience makes me appreciate the craftsmanship that went into it! His recliner is similar to this one …
https://www.lanefurniture.com/recliners/heathgate-high-leg-recliner
We haven’t gotten our hands on the couch, but now I’m thinking he should buy the second, matching used recliner because they’re really nice. He’s not a big guy, and I can see sleeping in this many nights.
Looks good to me. Thanks for sharing.
One of the best investments one can make is to buy good quality antique and semi-antique furniture. This is something that can remain within the family for generations, and I love living amongst furniture that has a story.
Examples from my house:
- Our breakfast table was purchased by my mother in the 1950s for $20. Some lady had it on her porch and my mother commented it was going to be ruined by the weather, and the lady said she didn’t want it any more. It is round, seats eight, and is tiger oak. I would guess it is worth $1,500 to $2,500 today.
- My dining room furniture used to belong to my dad. I'm guessing it would cost $$5,000 to $10,000 to replace. I'm sure one of the children will want it when we're gone.
- We have three 4x7 quartersawn-oak bookshelves in our den that we bought off of Craigslist or eBay for $900. I was told that they were made by prisoners at the Ohio Penitentiary in the 1920s and were used in the Ohio State business school and journalism school before being sold for salvage. We had them refinished, but saved the little oval metal tags that marked them as university property, and we clearcoated some writing on the back that tied the bookcases to the university.
- I have an old, black antique safe that I purchased from the estate of a schoolmate. The guy was a bit of an outlaw and there was a tremendous amount of speculation as to what the safe contained when he died. In the end they got an attorney to go with them to the sheriff's department with them and then had a deputy in the room who was not allowed to see into the safe but was able to assure that nothing was taken. Just a great story to go with a safe that serves as both furniture and as a safe.
- My father gave me the mission-style desk that my great-uncle used in the management of his plantation, as well as a bachelor's chest from his home that does not contain a single nail. He also gave me an old oak filing cabinet from his office.
I could go on a bit, but my point is that quality antique furniture lasts forever and can be a reminder of one’s family and personal history. So why buy a bunch of crap furniture?
I have several heirlooms that I plan to keep forever – e.g., my great-grandmother’s rocking chair, in which she rocked my grandmother, who rocked my mother, who rocked me. But as I discovered when I moved three years ago, sometimes good old stuff doesn’t fit into the downsized house. And at my age, I’m not sure I need to invest, just to furnish.
Earl, because a kid just starting out doesn’t have the money to invest in good furniture. Or have a family with antiques or access to them. Or is likely mobile and may not want to haul large, heavy pieces.
We do have a couple of sentimental pieces, furniture my dad and his dad built, that my kids will happily take when we’re done with them.
I love antique furniture but at this stage of my life things need to be easily portable. We have two “lawyer stacks”, antique bookshelves where each shelf has a glass door that rolls down and they’re each individual units that stack together. Phew, you can carry them upstairs, 1/6 of the bookcase at a time.
If it’s huge or heavy, good-bye, whether it’s antique or horrible particle board. I make an exception for the piano, but it’s a console style so it’s not too hard to move.
Antiques may not blend in well with a person’s personal decorating style. Often they can, but not always.
So far (2 days!), I am another Bob’s Discount Furniture fan. I bought an IKEA sleeper sofa before I adopted my rising college sophomore daughter which lasted much longer than I thought it would. I looked for this one for six months and again decided that the $1000 model may not last as long as the $3000 model but it looks good, and who knows what I’ll want in 5-10-15 years? It looks great and it’s comfy and I love having a sofa again!
Here, here! As I may have mentioned upthread, we also bought a Bob’s Discount Furniture piece. It’s been about two and a half years now and it’s perfectly fine.
@Youdon’tsay said:
The OP said she was approaching “senior citizen” status. I was just pointing out that quality, antique furniture was something that could be left as a lasting legacy. I agree that a kid just starting out may not have a lot of money to invest in good furniture. Furthermore, most people under 30 don’t really value things they way they should. Antique furniture need not be expensive unless one just has to have Empire or pre-Revolutionary stuff.
But it is frequently possible to buy solid, antique furniture at the same or less cost than a bunch of junk. For example, the three bookcases I mentioned cost $900, plus the cost of refinishing. Somebody, whether it’s my children or some future purchaser, is going to value these bookcases 100 years from now. I doubt the same can be said for bookcases made of pressboard with a heavy paper veneer of a fake wood grain.
The only items of furniture I have that cost a lot of money up front are the dining room set my father gave me. Everything else is stuff I’ve found in low-end antique stores, on Craigslist, or have received from my dad (who got them from another relative). I mentioned that I love furniture with a story. Sometimes the “story” is how little was paid for a nice sturdy item that will last for generations, such as the $20 Tiger Oak dining table my mother bought or the $225 large, quartersawn oak buffet that I bought eight years ago.
In any event, when buying furniture, consider whether it will still be a nice piece of furniture in a 100 or 200 years. Instead of buying something to throw away after a few years, buy something that will last several lifetimes.
@VeryHappy I think your chair looks great. Congratulations on competing a challenging project. I wish I could sew it do crafty stuff.
Thanks. Frankly, I’m eager to try it again. It was fun.
This is such a timely thread!! Now that the kids are in college we decided to redo our family room. The couch is completely SHOT…so we went for an upholstered one but done with sunbrella fabric…and two Four Seasons chairs with ottomans…so more of a conversation area than lined up to watch TV media room “look”…Good quality, American made and hopefully will last, classic style. BUT for the end tables and lamps I’ll probably get them at Lowe’s or ebay…why pay a lot for a table or lamp? Our house is like that…we mix antiques in and I think things look pretty good. Comfortable and casual but with elegance too. Got our mahogany DR table through a want ad in the paper when the kids were super little. Inherited chairs from Mom and had them reupholstered…
There was a 2 day sales tax holiday and it motivated me and H to go out and finally get a new couch. We ended up buying a floor model and it is a beautiful mahogany colored leather from Carolina Leather (I believe). Nice that it will be here in a few days and not take 12 weeks!