Mad Men Chair – Part 1
Posted by Adam A. Ries in DIY, Furniture, Interior Design on March 2, 2014
That’s what I call it, because I am enamored with mid-century modern furniture as so often seen on the popular AMC television series Mad Men, set in New York City in the 1960’s. The fashion, the furniture, and the social context they build in this series had me hooked. And now I have my own Mad Men chair.
It was probably over a year ago, shopping with a friend at a nearby independent furniture store that I first saw it. The store was having a “retirement & going out of business sale.” Lots of new beautiful furniture, but even on sale it was all a bit out of my budget. First floor, upper floor, full of wonderful items to draw inspiration and future wants. But then the basement is where I saw it. A mid-century upholstered office chair, low to the ground and on casters. It just had “that look.” But it was broken, in the corner, and probably not supposed to be out where the shoppers could see it.
So I found the owner and asked her about it. She laughed. In a store full of deeply discounted new furniture, I wanted the broken old chair in the corner that was probably supposed to be in the trash a week ago and someone forgot about it. “Yep, that’s what I want!” I offered her $10, and the owner declared, “sold!”
Turns out once I got it home, it was a pretty popular chair made by the furniture company Paoli out of Indiana. The Paoli Chair (turns out they made lots of similar styles, all now very popular on Ebay). My chair even had the original label stapled underneath, dated 1963!
Unfortunately, I started taking it apart before thinking to take photos. Can you tell I’m not a professional blogger? Anyway, below is another chair just like it I found on Etsy (with a price tag of over $250!), but in much nicer shape.
Just imagine it all scratched up, with the armrests almost entirely worn of their color, and the upholstery so dirty you want to wash your hands after just touching it. And not yellow. The chair I bought is green, not yellow like the one above.
So here is the main body of the chair, seat removed, and starting to strip the finish.
I even took photos of removing the upholstery, to make sure I could re-upholster it the same way and get it looking as professional as possible.
I also saved the fabric. Why? I knew I wasn’t going to re-use it on the chair, but by saving the pieces I have an exact pattern of each piece to use when cutting the new fabric I plan to use.
Once the fabric and all of those staples were removed, I used a liquid furniture refinisher to strip all of the stain off of the chair Then I wiped the wood clean with mineral spirits and a clean rag. This cleans any remaining refinishing liquid off the wood. Then I let the wood dry completely.
Next comes sanding. You could tell where the old chair had constantly banged up against a desk or wall, it almost looked as if a dog had chewed on it. I knew I couldn’t sand those spots out completely without altering the shape of the chair, but I smoothed the spots over best I could. The rest of the chair needed just light sanding. A few spots will still show a little when it is re-stained, but that gives the chair character. It shows the piece of furniture has been used and loved before I came along. When refinishing furniture, I’m not trying to make a piece look brand new, but rather respect the craftsmanship and give it another life.
I’ll reveal the finished chair in the next post. But below is a very similar chair by the same company that I used as inspiration for the finished product.
I’ve always been a fan of monochromatic gray, and I think gray together with wood tones results in a masculine look. The gray fabric on this one is a little light, but I really like how the back rest and seat are upholstered with the stitched lines to give it a little interest. I’m not entirely sure how to obtain that effect, especially since I’ve never done anything more than a simple fabric covered board for a seat. But I strive for perfection, and I’ll post photos of the finished chair here soon, because it turned out great!
Winter’s End?
Posted by Adam A. Ries in Exterior, Home Improvement on March 1, 2014
Nearly a 1 year hiatus. Yes, and although I’ve often considered updating, I’ve been learning how to manage my full time job, living with family, and keeping friends on the weekends. With quite a few projects in between also. What have I accomplished over the past two years, since I got really lazy journaling about home improvement projects? Let me think:
- Primed the entire house exterior
- Painted the entire house exterior
- Painted front & side entry doors
- Install all new window trim and moldings through entire house
- Stained or painted new window trim (the bathroom, laundry, and kitchen have painted woodwork)
- Ordered raised panel vinyl shutters (not my favorite material, but inexpensive and zero maintenance won this time)
- Primed & painted vinyl shutters (4 pairs)
- Hung shutters on front & side windows
- Blown cellulose insulation into attic (insulation value at R-60, baby!)
- Painted main living room (boring white was getting old)
- Hang living room curtains on new sturdy drapery rods
- New laminate countertops & tile backsplash in the sister’s kitchen
Most of these steps I didn’t document, but I can highlight the finished outside of the house!
Below is the completely untouched “before” picture. Other than maybe a few plants and the park bench, this is how the house looked before I started working at all. Complete with rotting windows, vintage door, and fading bland paint job.
Here is my rendered “after,” with the intention of all new windows, doors, shutters and a new and noticeable paint scheme.
And here is the “after!” All the work I mentioned is complete, it’s only taken a little more than 2 years!
Oops, apparently this was before the shutters went up. But you can see how nicely landscaped it looked last summer, with fresh mulch, plenty of rain, and such a beautiful shaded green lawn. It has definitely spruced up the entire corner. What was before an almost unnoticeable little house is now a home that just looks loved and well maintained. And a little bit of personality thrown in there too.
I really liked how the landscaping with its large radios curved edges has really softened the strong horizontal and box-like lines of the house.
And here is the house (with shutters) earlier this winter, about mid January.The shutters are actually a color called Urbane Bronze (Sherwin Williams), but it is a strange color. Some days they look brown, some days they look black, and in the photo above they look blue gray. Since we didn’t replace the dark gray roof, I thought a gray/brown shutter color would help tie in the dark roof and brown paint scheme. And I think it accomplished that.
Although you cannot tell in the above photo, thanks to all that snow. NW Ohio has gotten in excess of 52 inches of snow this season, more total snowfall since the Blizzard of 1978! But the fancy Nest thermostat and medium efficiency furnace kept up just fine. Although I can’t compare until the winter is officially over (yes, I do keep utility bills each year so I can document the homes energy usage and compare it after I complete energy upgrades), I would dare to say the energy usage this winter is probably lower still than any winter before this thanks to the energy efficient and air-tight windows and doors. And you can also see how, thanks to the attic insulation, we have very little heat loss through the roof, as the heat from the house doesn’t escape from the ceiling to melt snow off the roof.
Something to Reveal
Posted by Adam A. Ries in About Me, DIY, Home Improvement on March 2, 2012
Wow; WordPress had to send me an e-mail reminding me to renew my blog subscription and domain name. That “reveals” to me how long it has been since I last updated this blog. No, I’m not proud of the 6 month hiatus. But I am proud of what I’ve been doing in this time.
This past summer and fall, the house painting project got 90% complete; but a job and the cold weather set in before I could finish. I still have the north gable and trim, as well as the east fascia boards that are primed but not yet painted. I want to use the first few warm Spring weekends to finish painting those areas. Priming and painting the front door a spicy Fireweed red should be another short weekend project. The house currently does not have shutters, but I have envisioned adding a contrasting color by introducing shutters since day 3 (days 1 and 2 were spent bringing the bathroom and kitchen up to speed in this former beat-up rental home).
I have already revealed that I enjoy hunting for old furniture at yard sales and auctions, but I’ve been really good. There have been a few items that have tempted me, but I already have several sets of chairs and a big chest of drawers waiting for a new life, not to mention 3 dining chairs to refinish and reupholster to complete my dining room set.
And the windows. That was probably one of the lengthier projects I have ever undertaken… and technically, not yet finished because I am still without woodwork. Only now I am without woodwork with new windows that are air-tight, water-tight, and so much nicer looking on the outside and soon on the inside. I’m re-using as much of the old woodwork as possible, using mis-matched pieces on the windows where the trim will be painted, and sanding down to bare wood for the windows that will have stained trim. But trimming out each window is a lengthy job; creating a new window sill (So exciting to be getting window sills! The old windows were trimmed without this much-needed ledge); lining the inside of the window opening with 1/2″ thick lumber; and finding the best pieces of used molding to complete the inside trim. To this point (4 windows of 12 total), I have been able to use entirely all salvaged board and trim.
So if you read the title, you might be wondering what I have to reveal. Well, the first hint is that I am going to have to change this blog’s tagline. I am no longer unemployed. It just so happens that I was selected as the Interim Program Manager for my hometown’s Main Street organization! You can read all about it from either our town newspaper, or our town’s online newspaper. From the first week, I have been excited for the challenges and rewards each day brings! I have so many ideas for Van Wert, specifically the downtown, and with my long-time passion for historic preservation, I know I can make a positive impact on this community through Main Street.
What does this mean? Well, firstly I am employed. And it’s more than just a temporary job. It’s an experience job, and so far I love it! The people, the multitude of tasks each day, the office, and the entire downtown district. I am still getting to know the business owners and learning about their businesses, in hopes that I can be as beneficial as possible to them. Fortunate for me, the guy I replaced was very willing to come in periodically and walk me through different responsibilities and answer the multitude of questions I need answered. No, its not as a designer; but I truly enjoy working where I can make a positive impact in people’s lives, and I get to spend my evenings and weekends doing design and construction, my other passion.
So what are my other goals for this Spring and ultimately this year? I’d like to find a nice screened storm door for the front so that I can enjoy the Spring and Summer breeze.
I have been thinking about how nice it would be to have a small gabled awning over the back door, not only to help protect the door from the elements, but to keep myself dry when I stand bumbling for the house key in the rain. And I think it would help give the side door a friendlier look. Something similar to this:
Or this one. 
Similar to how ours would look, as I could easily move the light from the its current position beside the door to above. Also, our utility room window is just about the same distance the left of the door.
Up and Adam [Ries] 