...or When a $5 Craigslist Chair is Just a $5 Craigslist Chair :) This is a story about a chair...
I thought the corner of our front room (my office/furniture holding room) needed a little something, a chair specifically. I like wing chairs for the height they bring to a seating arrangement, so I went to Craigslist to see what I could find. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a chair whose primary job was to fill a space and look good (with a slipcover, of course), so when I spotted one nearby for $5, I contacted the seller about details and we went to have a look.
The seat cushion was attached, not my favorite, but the rest of the chair seemed ok - sturdy enough, the fabric was in good shape, and it didn't smell funny. So, we took it... I mean, it was $5! And, I soon realized why it was only $5...
When we were loading the chair, I noticed that one of the back legs had been put on wrong. Well, that would be an easy fix. Once we got it home, I attempted to fix that rogue leg and realized that both back legs were the same, as in they both belonged on the same side of the chair. And the legs were plastic, not wood :/ And then (yes, there is more!) I looked more closely and noticed that both front legs also belonged to the same side of the chair. Who makes a chair like that??? And who pays money for a chair like that? Ahem...
Well, I didn't get around to slipcovering it for awhile and eventually that chair got moved to the bedroom. And then I noticed that my favorite chair (not the one with two left feet, but another one that actually was a great Craigslist find) was being used to hold the Professsor's clothes - what?! So, the Craigslist chair promptly got moved to his side of the room , so I could use my favorite chair for actually sitting in! And then, finally I had time to make a slipcover :)
I used a chunk of dropcloth, and added some leftover white piping. I didn't have enough fabric to make a long skirt to hide the wonky legs, but since the chair's new job was to hold clothes, I figured no one would notice. And here it is...
Whew, much better, even if it is actually as off kilter as it looks in the picture! It now blends perfectly with the rest of the bedroom decor and is beautifully serving it's purpose.
Now, the lesson to be learned could be "buyer beware when shopping Craigslist" and that's a great lesson. However...
...I'm going to go with the Nester, who says "it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful."
Can I get an "Amen!" to that?
Sherri
P.S. And can I just ask, can we make clothing-holding chairs a thing?? Because, I'm pretty sure we all have them... ;)