So, yes, we do have enough chairs for our family.... But, what a pain when we have guests for dinner....
Well.... pain no more!
Last wednesday, Mr. Monkey found an ad on Kijiji.... 6 pressed back chairs with newly re-caned seats for $375. Not a ridiculous price for 6 caned chairs.... but also not truly a thrifty price either.... again, if you know me well, you know how I don't like to part with money, I'm thrifty, cheap, like that :D
Aaaanyway, the chairs were in a little town 15 minutes away.... we bundled the girl-monkey up and off we went.
Conclusion. They were nice looking chairs; however, with kids, I don't think caned seats are practical. Not to say my kids are ram-my or overly rambunctious, they're pretty gentle on our furniture (we've trained them well).... but, they are kids and kids drop food and spill drinks (heck, so do adults) and the thought of trying to clean food and drink out of caning - no thanks. And - And! They were wobbly. And loose. And not at all the solid and heavy chairs that we were after.
We thanked the lovely gentleman and were on our merry way, sans chairs....
We hopped in the family bus, and decided to head into the city to check out Bibles for Missions.... But, on the way, we stopped at our favourite Antique Shop, Brooks' House. We've purchased a number of items from this place and have found the prices very fair and reasonable. The nice lady who owns the store told us long ago when we asked why her prices were so low, that if she priced like other antique stores, she'd never move anything. Makes sense. She prices her items so she gets her money back with a little extra for profit. Pretty fair in my books.
And you can tell, if you visit her store once a week for a month, that her stock changes all the time. She chooses quality pieces and if they need some TLC, her husband fixes them up in his workshop. Perfect!
We found a beautiful table and chair set almost immediately when we walked in.... and as luck would have it, it was priced NOT as a set! The chairs were priced at $196 for 4 solid oak pressed back chairs and the table was $275.
The smarty-pants that Mr. Monkey is, he brought along one of our own kitchen chairs to match up to anything we found.... BRILLIANT!
The height of the pressed back was perfect! The colour was off; but, seriously, nothing in my house matches anyway and that's just the way we like it.
So, the million-dollar question, asked by the wheeler and dealer, Mr. Monkey, 'What's the best you can do on them?' And that's the great thing about buying from an independent seller, there's always a deal to be had.... Because they needed a little TLC upon arrival to her shop, she could only do 10% off. Good enough for us!
These beauties are now a permanent fixture in my home.
We have extra seating for company; of course, our table still only comfortably seats 6, but has fed upwards of 10.... you do what you have to do, right? The table will be replaced later-later, no rush on that, just gives me time to find something I really-really love.
So all-in-all, they were a great price for something old and something solid and best of all, something with character. Less than $50 a chair.... PERFECT!
And, somehow the thrifty-ness must have filtered down to the girl-monkey, she came away with this....
A vintage tin that housed a few vintage buttons for the HUGE price of 50 cents. And so her button collecting career begins.... I LOVE IT!
Have a lovely January day my dears.... ;)
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