A perfectly imperfect chair...

This chair was another side of the road find.  Although it was in sad, sad condition (ugh that seat) it is so solidly built with joinery that still in perfect shape.  This chair did not deserve to go to a landfill, it just needed a makeover!

Lousy cell phone pic - but it really looked this bad!

At one time, it had been painted and it had been mostly stripped of its paint by someone.  Thank goodness as I'm not sure I would have had patience for those spindles.  There was damage to the top of the back where the center had broken away.  Because the top of the back was a mirror image of the bottom back, I was able to make a template and cut a new piece of wood that is joined and glued to the top back.

Patching the damaged seat back - masking tape can made a great "clamp" for difficult spots.

After a thorough sanding that removed the last residual paint and some discoloration, this chair was stained with a gel stain in hickory, and finished with two coats of a satin wipe-on polyurethane.  It now has a subtle glow and hand rubbed finished. 

The gross layers of previous upholstery were removed, and a thick seat pad was added over the original seat.  The fabric is from Nate Berkus's home decor line. I like the rustic farmhouse quality of the chair paired with the clean modernism of the fabric.  

This is a piece that shows its age but in the best possible way - it is perfectly imperfect as only aged, rustic, and solidly built furniture can be!