Heirloom Rocking Chair

Here are some before pictures, although I never thought to take one just before beginning the project. What you should be able to see in these pictures is that the chair was so uncomfortable, that it needed lots of blankets and pillows to make it bearable to sit in. Imagine sitting in this rocking chair just after giving birth. OUCH!




Here's the middle of the project, after a full day of demolition--taking off all the old leather (seat and front) and vinyl (back), pulling out the hay and hair stuffing, and ripping out the old burlap. It took a full trash bag to hold all the stuff we pulled from the chair.

This is the chair with the new burlap (jute) on it.
Tiffany got the new covering on the back started.


Here's the finished product of the back.
After I finally completed the chair, here are some of the details.

 

This is my favorite detail because I think the decorative ribbon and nails came out really good on this side. On the rest of the chair, there are all kinds of mistakes with the nails being uneven or not centered on the ribbon. But this side looks pretty good.


The finished project!

There are lots of marks in the wood from our efforts, but Tiffany thinks a wax pen will work to erase some of them. However, one thing Cade and I love on this chair is the natural aging. I have no idea how old this chair really is, but it's built well and is finally comfortable again.

I saved a bit of the materials from the original chair--the leather, straw, burlap, and a small note telling where it's from and who recovered it--in an envelope and wrapped it in the batting on the seat back. If it ever really needs to be dated, I hope that serves the purpose.