One Man's Trash

Over the summer, we picked up several pieces of antique furniture. First there were the vampire chairs that we found at a garage sale for $25. But we also brought home four more chairs and a sideboard. 

In my husband's hometown, there are designated "clean-out" weeks during the summer. Residents purchase a permit which allows them to dispose of oversize garbage. Things like old mattresses, broken lawn mowers, and old TV sets...any household trash is fair game. But here's the kicker: people also throw out perfectly good furniture. Sometimes the furniture needs a little TLC, but other times there are no discernible defects. It truly is a case of "one man's trash is another man's treasure."

During clean-out week, residents put stuff out on the curb on the weekend. By the following Friday, anything still on the curb is picked up and tossed out by the town. But in the interim, it's the perfect opportunity for a little treasure hunting.

This year's haul: an Adirondack chair, a channel-back armchair, a rocking chair, a wicker armchair, and a wood sideboard. We found these with the help of my inlaws, who have a great eye for furniture.

 Here is the Adirondack chair. When we brought it home, the wood was a bit beat up and it was missing several wood plugs. My husband spent some time repairing the wood and I'll be giving it a fresh coat of paint soon.

We also found this upholstered armchair. I believe this style is called a "channel-back chair." The current upholstery is dated, but it's a well-made piece of furniture. Despite its smallish size, this one of the heaviest chairs I've ever encountered. It's also surprisingly comfortable. I once dozed off in this chair while my husband and six of his friends were playing a raucous card game...in the same room. No joke.

This chair is currently in our living room. We'll have it reupholstered in the future when we redecorate this room (probably not for a year or so).

Then there is this petite rocking chair. We're not sure how old this is, but it is a lovely oak piece and it's in great condition. My mother-in-law mentioned that this was likely a ladies' sewing chair. I believe the idea was that the chair would be armless to allow the chair to fit under a sewing table or to free up the lady's arms for embroidery projects. This rocking chair is currently in our bedroom.

This wicker chair was another find. I don't think this is particularly old; I seem to remember this style being sold at Pier 1. This chair is currently on our front porch, which has an assortment of mismatched wicker furniture. I love sitting here with a hot cup of coffee and the Saturday paper. I'll be spray painting this a cheerful yellow .

 

Last but not least: this wooden sideboard might be my favorite find from this year's haul. It has such interesting details. We haven't quite decided where this piece will end up. Although it's a sideboard, the style is a little too whimsical for our dining room. I'm thinking it could work as a dresser in our guest bedroom. Right now, this paint reminds me of overcooked brussels sprouts. Not good. I haven't decided on a color yet, but this will definitely get a fresh coat of paint. And those wooden knobs are begging to be replaced with something more appropriate!

There were a few other items we brought home, but don't have pictures of. My inlaws found a beautiful antique wicker tea cart (sort of like this one). It would look lovely in our living room. We also found a number of dismantled balusters from a grand Queen Anne Victorian home. They are the size of small tree trunks. We haven't decided what to do with them yet, but we picked up about five of them, with the hope that they can be repurposed somehow (amusingly, I saw the same balusters -- likely from the same house -- turn up in an antique store a few weeks later. Glad we scored ours for free!).