IDEAS: More Dining Chairs

´Pyramid´ chair designed by Wim Rietveld for Ahrend de Cirkel - 6 for $3406 on 1st Dibs.  One for around GBP200 on ebay now. Too pricey.

 

Or these, Eames DSW shell chairs, which are always splendid, and either cheap if we find them at the right place or overpriced from vintage dealers.  The good thing is that the shells were used on a lot of different style bases so they are sort of ubiquitous but there are a lot of sources for cheap repro legs, like the dowel legs shown below.  So, if we can find six shells in good shape, we can pick up the bases we want easily and put them together.  Just an idea.

 

Nursery

Here is Sadie's finished nursery. I'm very proud of it. It is currently the most complete and cohesive room in the house. 

 I have also included at the end three of my original inspiration images, as a reminder that when you have a clear idea from the beginning of what you like, the things you need come along.

Customizing Placeholder Chairs?

We really need to get some dining chairs to motivate us to put our dining table into use and christen the new dining room with a little dinner party. There is a set of four Wegner chairs we will probably get from some guys in Ohio, but that could take a month or two waiting for them to come to NYC to drop off. Meanwhile, here's an option from CraigsList I have mentioned before: 

This set of six Henredon Hollywood Regency style dining chairs in a boring finish with boring fabric, but at an impossibly low price for solid chairs: $220 for the set. I offered the seller $150 and if he says yes, I think we'll have to take them (although I could always back out and blame my wife). 

Anyway, I don't mind the style of these chairs at all. I think it is just the awful 1980's wood finish and fabric that bums a fellow out. But here are some pix of what they could look like with a little love and crafting. 

First things first. We can strip and/or paint the wood fairly easily, but the upholstery and caning is what it is unless we want to try our hand at re-upholstering the seats. So, here are some upholstery paint examples: (all of the following examples are from: http://4you-withlove.blogspot.com/2012/05/painting-and-dyeing-upholstered.html) 

 These ones were done with DecoArt SoSoft fabric paint. 

This one was done with RIT Fabric Dye painted on. The one on the right is before and left is after. 

And these ones were done with acrylic paint mixed with fabric medium. (Before on left - after on right). This is an excellent example because there is a light pattern on the fabric and the person was concerned with keeping the fabric very soft. 

The person above followed the instructions of the person who did this (Before on left - after on right). She has very thorough instructions on her blog: http://www.hypheninteriors.com/2011/06/my-second-painted-chair-revealed.html 

  SO, with that in mind, here are some looks that don't entirely rely on fancy finishes or expensive upholstery. (CLICK ANY PIC TO ENLARGE) 

Note that this is the same chair as the ones I am looking at on CL but in white with contrast trim. They are on Ebay: (asking $495 for four - no takers yet)

And here are more in a variety or styles, all of which I think have something to show us about what can be done.

 

Le Dining Table Nouveau Est Arrive!

Golly, it sure is big!
It showed up today right on schedule and in perfect condition.  I am totally happy with our freight experience.

 We will have to justify it right away by having a big dinner party.  I figure that's about a month away given our state of general chaos right now.  But it is something to aim for and look forward to.

V practically popped with excitement imagining the Thanksgiving dinners she will serve on it.  She went so far as to use the word "tablescapes"!

Thanks mom and dad for the great table.

IDEAS: Chairs to go with a new Dining Table

Now that the dining table is all packed up and will be picked up by the freight company tomorrow for delivery late next week or possibly early the following week, we can start fussing about what chairs to use with it.  Here are some pics of chair ideas - just to keep things simple, I am confining myself to chairs attributed to Hans Wegner:


This is the Wegner "Wishbone" chair.  They seem to be more common that some of the other models and hence more affordable.  They all have rope or cane seats from what I can tell.

This original pair in great condition currently on 1st Dibs is $1800 for the pair.

And this set is on Craigslist now for somewhere around $1200 for four.

Another style:

Seller is calling this a set of Wegner teak side chairs.  I like the way the back comes together so smoothly - $795 OBO for the pair on ebay right now.

The official title of this next chair is the Wegner W2 chair. 

A set of four Hans Wegner teak W2 dining chairs for C M Madsens Fabriken on ebay now for $1750 OBO.  The condition looks just okay - the seats are vinyl and will need to be replaced.  The joints appear to have been re-glued in places.  But the wood looks very good.  Clearly they have been re-finished.

 And here is a positively dreamy set of six (four oak and two teak) for $4500 currently on 1stDibs with cane seats.  I loooove these.

The W2 chair is easily confused with this less exciting but very similar Wegner chair (below left) which is also frequently listed as the W2 but which lacks the leg cross-pieces on the front, back and sides which I think really do a lot for the proportions (and strength) of the chair.  Maybe they are alternate versions of the W2 but they are hardly interchangeable.  Plus, note that the seat on the cheapy looking version is just an upholstered board that fits in whereas the upholstery on the nicer version wraps around the front and sides.

Here it is without the cross-pieces.

And here, with.  See what I mean? This is so much nicer.

 And then there is the best known Wegner chair, known simply as "The Chair" or the "Round Chair".  Everyone on the web is pretty excited that Nixon and Kennedy sat in these during their debate.  Here they are with upholstered seats.

A dude named Lenny on ebay wants $6000 for four in oak right now.

Anyway, the version with the upholstered seat is less interesting than the version with the cane seat below.

 Sometimes they wrap the back with cane and sometimes they don't.

Oh, and departing entirely from Wegner for a moment, here is a set of six Henredon chairs on CL for $220.  Two arm chairs and four side chairs. Whatever else they may be, they are well made, solid and in nice condition.

 Ask youself, my dear, can we summon enough paint and enthusiasm to make these fun and exciting and suitable for the purpose?  it would certainly be nice to save some dough.