My parents have always been good at updating and refinishing old furniture, so I guess I thought that I would be a natural at it. However, after I tackled this project, it wasn't long before I realized I was in over my head; so I ended up stopping for a few months, then doing some online research and re motivating myself to finish it up after a while.
I spotted this old rocking chair at Chad's folks house. It didn't seem like it was getting much attention, so they seemed happy for me to take it if I was interested. It resided in our living room just like this for a while. One time Essie sat in it and made a comment about her bottom having a hole in it. I think I got started soon after that.
I jumped right in and was making good progress at first, even though the simple task of pulling the old fabric off was a little more involved than expected as there were jillions of tacks and staples holding it down. Then, once I got it off, I realized I had no idea how to create a new seat, without a hole in it. I ignored that fact for a little while and went ahead and stripped and restained the wood. Then I took a long break.
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| Henry being very cooperative while I worked |
After doing some research I decided to get some upholstery webbing and top it with foam to replace the seat. I think it worked ok, we'll see after it's been in use for a little while.
I determined that upholstery is a little more frustrating and difficult to work with than just plain wood refinishing. I did end up enjoying the project, though and definitely learned some things in the process. Hopefully next time it won't take me nearly a year to get it done! Here's the chair with it's new yellow corduroy outfit.
