My dining chairs were looking a little tired, not to mention that the backs were becoming loose. I bought them 40 years ago second hand and they had been through a lot of use. I found four Chippendale style dining chairs in a local house clearance shop for £90. Two were carvers and the wood was in good condition. More importantly, the seats were the drop in variety, so easy to renovate and recover. I sold four of my original chairs for £20, so in my mind the new ones only cost £70. I sold the four I had not done any work on, so kept the better four. I reupholstered the seats of the Chippendale ones, and they looked good, but of course looked very odd, as I now had two different styles. Then I found four more very similar Chippendale chairs on eBay and amazingly bought them for 99p! Wood was shabby, but the seats were sound and all side chairs, so exactly what I needed.
Here is what they looked like:
I knew the wood needed a lot of tlc to stay as polished wood, but also wanted to lighten my dining room, so it was out with the Annie Sloan! I wiped all the chairs with white spirit to remove dust and dirt and painted two coats of Old Ochre, which is a cream colour. I then waxed with clear wax. The seats were recovered in the same fabric as my other four chairs, i.e. Sandersons William Morris Vine in Black/Dusky Pink and they were done. The original varnish has bled through slightly, but I am happy with that as it gives the chairs an antiqued look. It has slightly darkened the Old Ochre, which again suits the setting.
So here they are in their harlequin setting. Ii don't think I will paint the original four, but you never know! I also sold my remaining four original chairs for £40, further reducing the cost to £31 for eight dining chairs. Why would you buy anything new???
