Midcentry Granny Makeover

We found a set of six chairs--four armless and two with arms--in Alphabet City at a sidewalk sale while meeting some friends for brunch. Somewhere under that thick gold brocade and grandma plastic was a nice set of dining chairs.

I began by unscrewing the seat cushions and sanding all the surfaces with 180-grit sandpaper until all the scratches and imperfections were smoothed out, including the bizarre dirty-white/green paint and the faux-finish of gold "highlights" here and there. I discovered that the chairs were originally made in Pennsylvania by the Ebert Furniture Company in 1957. I was able to reuse the the foam cushion and the wooden seat, only discarding the gold fabric and protective plastic covering. I removed the unsightly metal feet and replaced them with low-profile felt pads.

On a trip to the Manhattan Bargain District to shop at Shepard Fairey's pop-up store, we came across Belraf Fabrics, and after sifting through shoulder-high stacks of textiles we found several styles that matched our vision for the chairs, including a green-on-ivory ikat print and a multicolored stripe. A good staple gun and some patience is all you need to do basic upholstery. We wanted to keep the original poplar seats which meant removing two layers (one for the original gold fabric and another for the plastic added later) of old staples by hand.

After I cut away the excess fabric this seat was ready to install. These chairs are sanded and headed to the spray booth.

I used a satin-black catalyzed-conversion varnish because the chairs will see some abuse, and I wanted them to look new years from now. I used a spinning table in the spray booth. It's easier to rotate the piece instead of circling it. A light first coat, a heavier second coat, and a final even coat will reduce the possibility of any runs. Since there was no chance of replacing the plastic covers, I decided to use Scotch Guard instead. (Fire escapes make great spray booths.) The black paint evens out the carved elements on the seat back, and the fabric adds a little pop. The chairs complete a comfortable, eclectic dining room that doesn't take itself too seriously. I like that. Plus the color and shape of the chairs pick up on the steel-frame elements of the table. There are two arm chairs that I haven't refurbished yet. They'll look totally different and you'll see them soon.

Industrial Dining

I found this metal cabinet on eBay for $25. A guy in Ditmas Park discovered it, originally used for machinist tools, while renovating an apartment building there. As soon as I saw it, I could envision it as an unexpected base for a dining room table. The 10 thin drawers would give a small apartment needed storage, plus it's a great conversation piece for guests.

I fabricated the top from walnut plywood with a solid walnut edge. The top is roughly 48" x 48".

The cabinet was only 16" high, and a table top needs to be at least 30" off the ground, so chairs and legs fit comfortably underneath. The chest also needed more visual heft to be in proportion to the square table top.

Therefore, I welded together pieces of 14-gauge, 1.5" square metal tube, forming two rectangular "legs." Then I blackened them to match the tones of the cabinet, so that the entire structure looks as if it were all made at the same time. Finally, I added rubber feet to the legs as a scratch-preventative for the apartment's wooden floors.


The steel rectangles are just wide enough to except the cabinet.

Fabricating custom steels brackets expedited the assembly process. I could have purchased some but they wouldn't have matched the black of the legs and cabinet.




I used self-tapping sheet metal screws in conjunction with the custom brackets to attach the two legs to the cabinet.

Eight total brackets hold the legs to the cabinet, while another four brackets attach the legs to the walnut top.

I'm going to replace the metal pulls on the cabinet drawers with small leather straps to add additional interest and to bring the tones of the walnut top into the base.

NOTE: The Heavy Chair is currently being fabricated, so I'll be blogging later about its final preparations.