New Chairs

We got new chairs for our dining-room table this month--YAY! These chairs have been a long time coming, folks. Let me explain ...

Basically, about seven years ago now, I got conned ... I mean talked ... into taking my grandparents' old dining-room table and chairs. My sister Cindy had had the set in her house for years. But she and her family were moving to Spain, and they were getting rid of things and asking people to take furniture, etc. Many things they were able to sell and give away, but they had some furniture that had been in the family, so they didn't exactly want it to go outside of the family. You understand.

Anyway, I told my sister that I might perhaps be interested in the bedroom set, which had been my other grandmother's. But, you see, I already had a bedroom set that I had bought when I first moved into an apartment back in 1993 or so. And I liked it. I really liked it. But it was just furniture that didn't really have a lot of sentimental value, so I told her I'd see if I could sell it. I half-heartedly posted it on an employee bulletin board where I was working at the time. To my surprise, it gained some interest. In a matter of days, the set was sold and gone. Poof!

Around this time, I was relocating to Charlotte--so for a little while after I moved, I was sleeping on my sofa until Cindy and Joe could deliver their bedroom set to me. At the last minute, as I remember it, she talked me into taking the old dining room set as well. They had room on the truck, she said, and would be making the trip from Knoxville anyway. She laid it on thick. (LOL! Hi, Cindy!) "Yeah, yeah ... whatever. Just bring it." I think I said something to that effect. I agreed to the table as long as it was small (it has leaves) and to four chairs (none with arms, please). I think she has two chairs stored at her MIL's house or somewhere in Tennessee.


Here is a photo of the table sans-tablecloth. You can't see the chairs that well, but you get the idea. I snapped a few photos to take to the refinishing place a few months ago.

So I gave away the small table and chairs I already had (a hand-me-down from my sister Robin) and reluctantly took in my grandparents' table and chairs. Don't get me wrong--the set is very special because it was theirs. It has a lot of sentimental value. But it wasn't (and still isn't) in the best shape ... and it really isn't like anything I would pick out myself. The table has a heavy pedestal, and the chairs have upholstered seats--neither of which are my style. The first year we were married, Tanna recovered the seats with sample fabrics I got for free from a neighboring office at my old job. (It was a furniture/decorating business.) Those same swatches still cover the seats.

Long story short ... I would love a new table and chairs, but no one in the family has room for this old set, and I feel bad to just get rid of it because of its sentimental value. So I looked into getting it refinished. It's a pricey job, but we decided to make the investment--for the table, at least. The chairs ... well, they were going to cost about $200 each to be refinished. And that doesn't include re-covering the seats. So we decided to get new chairs and to just have the table refinished. My brother took one of the old chairs, and I am hoping my parents will take at least one of the other chairs that are currently lined up out in the playroom. We are waiting until sometime next year to get the table done. (I've had holiday tablecloths to help with its appearance these last few months.)

Wow. This post is getting really long! Here are the new chairs already:


New chairs from Crate and Barrel. YAY!

I searched high and low for chairs I liked. Who knew there were so many dining-room chairs out there? I wanted dark (perhaps black) chairs. Simple. Very simple. Nothing connecting the legs to each other. No jail-type posts (or whatever those things are called). No arms. I would know it when I saw it. And I finally did see it--in the Crate and Barrel store window. It was love at first sight. After getting DH approval, I happened to get a coupon in the mail to C&B. It was the perfect opportunity to place my order. We are fortunate to have a C&B nearby, so we had the chairs shipped to the store to avoid paying shipping fees. Our new chairs arrived earlier this month, and I just love them. Can't wait to see how everything looks altogether after we have the table redone.