Monday, March 1, 2010

Worth Getting Fixed? Yup Not All Furniture is Disposable

I have a  chair that was a "freebie" to me. It has to be about 25 or 30 yrs old, maybe more and covered in a green velvet fabric.  Friends of mine gave it to me when they were cleaning out the house of an aged relative. I think the official name of the chair style is a "ladies chair". I actually keep it in the kitchen area, tucked next to a small bookshelf that holds a reading lamp.  I love sitting in it first thing in the AM with a cup of tea or coffee, the sunlight streams in my east facing kitchen window, or after a full day at work, it's a good place to sit with a glass of something to unwind. The pets, who have taken over my bed and my couch, don't "take over" my chair. Oddly, the people who gave me the chair told me their aged relative used to do the same thing, except that the chair was located in a small side parlour at the aged relatives house. I think it was fate that brought the chair to me.

 It is was very comfy, until the bottom fell out.  Actually, it was partially my fault, well- ALL my fault.  I used it as a step stool one too many times and the bottom fell out. The webbing holding the springs gave way. Chunky chicks should not use furniture as step stools, especially since I own a step stool that is all of 4 feet away.

I called around, got some names and found a local place that fixes chairs and does upholstery.  I am not good at that kind of DIY.  I took the chair in and I was quoted a price of $175 to fix the webbing, re-tie the springs together and replace the old cushioning that has spilled out.  At first I was a bit taken a back and gave half a thought to chucking the chair. UNTIL the next sentence out of the owners mouth was-"If you want to throw out the chair, I'll take it".  Which to me means it's worth fixing.   The chair as they say, Has Good Bones." 

The owner told me exactly what he would need to do to repair the chair, told me it would take about 10 days and asked for a deposit. I gave him the deposit and I'm looking forward in getting back my chair with a much improved seat. I wish I had the money to get the chair recovered, it would have been another $175 to $200 depending on the fabric. But the fabric on the chair is in good condition and I don't mind the green color.   I'd like to think I'm keeping the chair out of  the local landfill, I'm helping a local merchant (who by the looks of the workshop is really good at what he does) and I'll get back my comfy chair and keep the memory alive of a departed aged relative.

4 comments:

Grace. said...

LOL--enough of the justification. You LOVE the chair and you wanted it BACK! And it was worth the money to get it fixed. We all have chairs/sofas/footstools like that.

FRANNIE said...

It's definately worth the money. Most furniture today is poorly made and without character.

It sounds like you got a bargain at $175 and you'll love it for years to come. :)

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