My New T-Shirt Wisdom Chairs

My quest for the PERFECT CHAIRS to go around my perfect 100 year old 60" round table has been going on for 40 years.

Really. I LOVE the table. I bought it in 1977, right before we moved away from Pine Grove, Pennsylvania.  My friend Kathy and I were on one of our typical weekend treasure hunts -- and we found this beautiful round oak table in a barn on Sweet Arrow Lake Road. I paid $150, which was A LOT OF MONEY for me at the time.

It was an impractical, poorly-timed purchase.  For one thing, neither John nor I had jobs at the time.  And -- I had to promptly put it IN A MOVING VAN...and pay to have it hauled to Iowa.  For another thing, when we arrived in Iowa, we were renting a very small house and this table took up half the living room.  But I've never been sorry about buying this table...

When John and I built our house, I designed the kitchen to accommodate my table.  Since June of 1981, every single family event has taken place in that kitchen -- sitting at that table.

So, yes, the table was P.E.R.F.E.C.T. But the chairs have been a different story. Finding the right chairs has been an on-going, frustrating mission. For the first ten years or so -- I had a rotating assortment of random wooden chairs...some were better than others -- but eventually, it seemed like there was always one "bad" chair. The glue loostened, the chairs got rickety...

In the 90's, I had some "matching" oak chairs that were kind of Early American. But they were cheap, and not very comfortable. I never liked them much.

At one point, I found some heavy "school" chairs at an auction, and I liked the looks of them. But the legs splayed out.  People were constantly stubbing their toes.  When John started wearing steel toed shoes with his bathrobe, I finally had to admit those chairs were a poor choice...

Then -- this winter -- I found THESE FOUR CHAIRS at a thrift store. $3 each. With upholstered back and seat...VERY comfortable...they were sturdy yet lightweight... and I knew I could funk them up with just the right Frankensewed t-shirts...

This is the official 'BEFORE" picture.

Now that all four chairs are finished, Lilly and I tried to set up a "photo shoot""

We never got it quite right.

These were the final two chairs...SO MUCH FUN, EH??

Frankie knows which chair is his...

I miss this project already. I love these chairs on so many levels. Of course, there's the SHOPPING FOR JUST THE RIGHT WORDS ON T-SHIRTS...

Then, showing Lilly how to staple and reupholster this simple project...

Choosing just the right BACK for each  chair...

I know it's time to move on...but this was just one of those wonderful projects.  It's been so much fun -- I'M SORRY IT'S FINISHED...

This will go down as the project that kept me busy during the HORRIBLE WINTER OF 2018-19.