A tale of two rocking chairs...

I brought this chair home from a garage sale a couple weeks ago. I drove by the house, not intending to stop, when I spotted this rocking chair near the curb. It was late in the day and I was surprised it was still available. Something about it called to me. I saw potential. I loved the lines, the spindles on the top, and the way the arms curved. I loved its curves.

The novelty of this chair managed to blind me to one major issue. The seat. Bet you didn't notice the lovely, yellow, rope seat? I didn't at first. All I saw was a chair that could be painted and look really good as a side chair in the living room or even a nice porch rocker. I didn't even think about the challenges that chair seat would bring.

When I asked the owner about it, she said that she was asking $20 and that it had been her grandfather's rocking chair. He had hand-woven the seat after one of his grandkids had broken the old one. Wow. It even had some history and a handmade touch. I was even more convinced this chair should come home with me.

I offered the woman $10 for it - since it was late in the day. She hesitated and then agreed. I was happy. But it didn't take me long to consider the logistics of painting the chair when the seat was woven around the wood in key places that would be painted. Maybe I could put a chair cushion over the seat? Hmm...my vision for this chair was unraveling.

Fast forward a couple weeks, to when I found this beauty. Again, the curves got me. I'm a sucker for good curves. And this chair was all wood. No odd colored seat issues. I saw it at a garage sale and it was priced at $25. I thought, "no Nicole, you just bought a rocking chair!" So I left and tried to put it out of my mind. After all, I was only half way through my garage sale list that Saturday and was determined to stick to my budget.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get this chair out of my mind and decided to go back and see if it was still there. It was. I offered the woman $15, the last of the cash in my wallet, and she accepted. I drove home with part of the chair in my lap and wondered what I was going to do with the other chair...

And here they sit, in the basement at my in-laws house. Both rocking chairs. Waiting for their fates to be decided. I think I will try and sell the first chair on Craigslist...The second chair I would like to paint and add a cute chair cushion to soften the seat. I really liked what Ashley from Shanty 2 Chic did with her recent wood rocking chair find. You can check it out HERE. I would love to hear your thoughts about these chairs. What do you think? I will be sure to update you on any makeovers I decide to perform...

Maybe these chairs can live happily ever after? Stay tuned!