My Lovely 80- Year Old Rocking Chair

I finally finished this beautiful rocking chair!

  My father-in- law gave this to me so I feel like its apart of my family.  It took me a long time to decide how I was going to re-make this...

Here you can see how it was "fixed".  Defiantly not very sturdy.

So I took out the screw that was ATTEMPTING to hold it together and sawed off the broken part with a hack saw. 

I used an old chair spindle that I had in my stash and used the bottom part that already was tapered to fit into the existing hole. 

It was too big to fit into the hole, so I used this file to shave it to the right size. 

I drilled a hole into the new piece and put this dowel in it to attach to the rocker.

After making sure each end of my new piece had a dowel end, I put glue in the holes and tightened it up with my clamp.

This seat was in bad shape!  I removed it by loosening it first with a screw driver and tapping it with a hammer. Then I pried it up with the hammer.

There were a few spindles missing so I had to saw off one broken ones(arrows). I  relocated one spindle and clamped it into a spot where one was missing.

My cute son loves to help, so I put him to work!

I totally replaced the three missing/broken spindles! I didn't think I could- but then my husband suggested I just re-drill holes for the dowels and it worked!

My beautiful daughter wanted to help, so I gave her a little scrap to paint. Isn't she adorable! I love her to pieces!

I used some paint I already had and just started painting. I hesitantly admit that as I was painting this vintage rocker (it really is 80 years old; and that is old) I couldn't help but wonder "what would the folks at Antique Roadshow say?" I think I know the answer to that... shame on you! But I did it anyway.  I wanted it white.

I used some particle board as the seat and traced it onto some paper first.  It is VERY important to take the extra steps like making a pattern to cut down on mess up time. My new rule I try to live by is: DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!!!!

Now here is a sanding technique:To get that old, vintage look. Start sanding on the edges;

And just keep sanding in towards the middle sporadically to bring it in more in some areas.

I used 150 grit sandpaper (it gets it off quicker where you want it).

Here is another area where you can see the process of sanding: just keep rubbing til it comes of where you want it.  The KEY is to be RANDOM. So it looks like it has worn naturally.

Here is my FAVORITE glaze to use with whites and creams. It is RALF LAUREN TOBACCO GLAZE. It has a beautiful creamy color to it. I lightly brushed it onto the chair with hardly any on the brush.  Right after I wiped most of it off with a damp rag.  Instead of being stark white, the glaze gives it a slightly worn look.

I used this foam pad that is about 1/4'' thicker than the seat itself.  I got this whole roll at the fabric warehouses in Dallas while visiting my sisters! Awesome deals. Super cheap.

Now, if you want it soft and cushy, the SECRET is to put some batting in between the wood and the foam pad. #1 foam, #2 batting, #3 wood.

Cover the wood with the foam and batting then staple to make sure the foam does not move. Then cover with the fabric, make sure you PULL IT TIGHT!!! Then staple the fabric to the seat.

I decided to attache seat to the chair itself by screwing an eyelet brad into the two separate pieces, and then joining them together with picture frame wire.  It's really sturdy.

It turned out so beautiful and delicate.  This fabric is called TOILE. It has images of old fashioned people- and I love it.  I also got this in Dallas for $5 a yard!

These frames hang in this room.  This is my vintage room.  As of now my whole house is pretty much traditional; which I still love, but I long for some eclectic-ity in my life! (pretty sure I made that word up). But the BEST part about these beautiful landscape images, are that MY GRANDMOTHER painted them!!! These are photos of her paintings.  Almost everything in this room is part of my family heritage, and I love it!

You guessed it, these pillows are from family as well. The pillow shams are made up mostly from an old set my mom gave me.  The middle didn't match the bedspread (which we got as a wedding gift), so I covered it with some white eyelet lace fabric.  The outer lace fabric was added and given to me by my mom as well.  And the beautiful doilies in the middle of the pillow shams were crochet by my husband's grandmother.  I stacked three different sizes on top of each other to make a floral design. 

This amazing Industrial- Restoration Hardware- looking table is from my father in law.  I LOVE this as well!! It would look better on a wood floor. Maybe someday.

This little area also has a lot of meaning. The dresser was my husband's dads. He painted it white and added bead board on the side.  The fan was Travis' grandpa's and the sewing machine came with the vintage, over 50 year-old sewing machine, which belonged to his grandmother. And the weenier dog reminds my husband of his dog when he was a kid.

Here you can see the sewing table that I restored.  The mirror is from family, and my mom made the water pitcher and bowl.

I wish this room was bigger.  These beautiful treasures need more room to breathe. Some day I will be able to start from scratch and decorate in my new found favorite styles. And I do love more than one.

The best part about this heirloom is that it has a history and I enjoyed every minute of restoring this beautiful piece.  

Debbie  Doo's Link Party

Posted in: chairs, Fabric, glaze, my home, paint, re-makes, vintage furniture