Furniture Flip: Our Trash Picked Chair

Thrifting

Dec 27

One of the things I miss about apartment living is the dumpster diving. We had a huge dumpster parked near the entrance to the complex and to the side was the “bulky” drop off area.

If you had something to throw away that wouldn’t fit in the dumpster, then you could drop it off in the bulky area. The maintenance staff used it often as well when they would clean out apartments that had been vacated but not emptied.

Our dining table was picked up from the bulky area, along with a bedframe for our guest bedroom. Walking by it was such a thrill because you NEVER knew what you would find.

One day I spotted a beautiful vintage chair and a mid-century modern occasional chair. The MCM was in decent condition, so I brought it up to the apartment and sold it online.

The vintage chair had seen better days. To put it lightly, it was nasty!

Nevertheless, I brought it home too because it was free. I ripped out the seat beforehand as it was badly stained.

I called my friend, Mark Baity, to get on his calendar to have it reupholstered. While I waited for the chair to be picked up, I went looking for fabric.

At the time, there was a small fabric shop in Huntersville (closed now) but I found a lovely print for $5/yard.

Mark stopped by one day to get the chair and in a few short weeks he was returning my new favorite piece! I could not believe the magic of reupholstery!

It is still a piece that is commented on in our house to this day. Reupholstery is a small investment but I love how you can turn vintage pieces into custom pieces for a fraction of retail!