A Lace Stenciled Chair, a Little Village & an Old Man with His Dog

For several years, I’ve had a little ladder back chair, that my daughter “adopted” to use when she practiced playing her guitar.  I picked it up at an  auction, with plans to sell it, but since she was making use of it, I never listed it in my shop.  Now that she’s working and going to college, she’s had less time to practice guitar, and the chair was taking up space in her room, so she bumped it back out to the living room, where it’s gotten stacked high with junk ever since.  I was hoping to take photos for my living room reveal, but when I looked at the little chair, I realized it was going to need a makeover if it was to stay in the living room.  There was nothing wrong with the way it looked – the way the wood had aged was actually very nice – it just looked a little too dark for my room.

I worked on it at night, and forgot to take any in-progress photos, but I added  chalky paint powder from Vintage Restoration Co. to some leftover gray paint, and gave it two coats.  The color was a good match for the antique window that is part of the wall between my kitchen and living room, as well as an antique screen door I have hanging on a wall.

I looked cute when done, but  I thought the top “rung” on the chair needed a little something added to it.  I painted a white strip across the center of the rung, let it dry, then used a lace stencil, (using the same method that I used on my Lace Painted Bottles), and painted over it with more of the gray paint.  The paint seeped under the lace stencil in a few places, but  I planned to distress it anyway, so knew it would be fine.

Instead of being just a gray painted chair – I think it’s totally unique now, and looks like it belongs in a quaint little cottage.

I have finally listed it in my shop (here), but I’ll have mixed emotions if it sells, because I love it now.

Here’s the before and after, side by side.

I usually photograph furniture in my front yard, or on my gravel road, but it was such a pretty morning, I decided to put the little chair in my Jeep and find a pretty spot in my neighborhood to take the photos.  Just a few miles down the road from us, is a tiny little village, with a population of just over 100.  It doesn’t have any stores, or a post office, but it has several quaint old buildings, and I love driving through it.

This old building was the destination I had in mind to use as a backdrop for the little chair.

I snapped a few photos of the little chair, but the sun was just a little too glaring, so I decided I would look for another location to take photos of it, but took a few more shots of the building, since I was there.

I’ve photographed the front door before, but it was with my point and shoot camera, so I wanted some new shots, now that I have a better camera.

I absolutely love the weathered front door, that bears just a bit of its original paint, and the pretty antique doorknob and keyhole.

The back of the building has another beautiful old door.

It has the kind of rusty old hinges that make a junker’s heart skip a beat.

It has what looks to be an old outhouse behind the building, which is leaning from the passage of time.

As I was taking my photos, an elderly man from a house next door, came out to walk his dog, and we struck up a conversation, since we have a beagle as well (read about her misadventures here and here).  He’s lived in his home for over 50 years, and said the building is more than 150 years old, and was the town hall before a new one was built.  I love learning the history behind vacant old buildings.  I’m sure this building isn’t stable, but I’d love to have a peek inside it.

I enjoyed chatting with him for a while, then got back in my Jeep and went to the next street over, where there was an old church building, that is still in use.  It has steps leading up to the beautiful old front doors, which were perfect as my chair’s little backdrop.

The morning was getting away from me, but I’ll come back another day, as there is another church and other old buildings I’d love to get photos of.

See that sign in the distance – the one on the right side?  That’s a sign for an estate auction coming up…so I’ll be back soon!