chairs | Salvage Sisters

I’m dedicating this post to my family, especially my late mother, Frances Dalzell and late Grandmother, Kathleen Mulligan who are responsible in large part for the existence of Salvage Sisters! Family readers cue wry smiles!

I’m convinced they would be delighted to see the efforts of my Salvage Baby Lucia, who turned TWO this week.. she certainly has an eye for the antique! I was delighted when i ‘mistakenly’ won (thats what I had to tell the baffled husband who went to pick it up!) this vintage German Sleigh at Ross’s Auction in Belfast. It’s uses have proven unending even convincing said husband of its merits as a household item!

Tv seat

Snack time

She loves to pull it out from under the table and have a seat, or use it to climb up on the table to dance! It’s a great little coffee table too.

Auntie Doris' pram

Its hard to imagine any of our modern day toys would live to tell the tale, let alone look so charming as this little pram which Lucia took a shine to as we cleared out Tullyroan lately. It belongs to our Aunty Doris who certainly knows how to hold on to a thing or two! This little beauty is around 70 years old. Doris has a fabulous eye for interiors and I must do a post sometime on her amazing collection of refurbished antique chairs and sofas!

Birthday trike

Salvage Aunty Lucy has excelled in her shoppping this year and got Lucia this trike for her birthday! We looooove it. I trust it will last to hand on to the next generation too..

And finally some words of wisdom from people who know, to hand down to the family.. I especially agree with the first and last one.

“Thrift is not an affair of the pocket, but an affair of character.” ~S.W. Straus

“I believe that thrift is essential to well-ordered living.” ~John D. Rockefeller

“Cannot people realize how large an income is thrift?” ~Cicero

“We are not to judge thrift solely by the test of saving or spending. If one spends what he should prudently save, that certainly is to be deplored. But if one saves what he should prudently spend, that is not necessarily to be commended. A wise balance between the two is the desired end.” ~Owen Young

Mostly when i buy an old wreck of a chair, table or otherwise, i drive home thinking of my expansive plans for re-vamping and re-working my fabulous find. However, its amazing how easily you can get used to a furniture’s foibles as time passes. Not so for this chair though, recently purchased at the lane sale as a pair for £1. Whilst its elm and blue velvet components were visually pleasing, the webbing in the seat was completely gone, making it somewhat akin to a parking your bum on an uncomfortable toilet seat. Thus began my first ‘proper’ upholstery job yesterday. Here’s a recap of the events as they unfolded.

1. Chair on arrival