Hello! Long time, no blog. And if you've ever read my blog before, you are probably surprised to see furniture/decor.
Here's the thing: I'm crafty. I can't help it. With our recent move, I've been thinking a lot about furnishings and decorations. I also spent some time with my folks right before we moved and they must have contaminated me with their antique bug!
I'm not so fussy that I like fancy antiques. I'm more of a primitive, junky, how-can-I-remake -this? kind of girl.
After I dropped my two youngest off at school last week, I noticed that someone had used the school dumpster to get rid of an old rocking chair (and a mattress!?) The chair was in a broken heap, but I had to check it out for "parts." It looked pretty rough, but it had a couple of redeeming features: the slats were in good structural condition and there was some carving on a couple of pieces. Maybe it was just junk, but maybe it was old. So home it came. (I looked ridiculous carrying this thing down the street for five blocks and actually lost the edge that had a cool finial on it!) It sat for a few days and, then, I decided to dive in. Here was my process towards the goal of a shelf like I had seen in the magazine Country Decorating Ideas #129 Flea Market Style, Fall 2012, "Parts and Recreation."
The rocker had been painted a very ugly brown at some point. The paint gummed up the carved areas and peeled off a lot of the others. The wood was very weathered where the paint was gone and I couldn't even tell what type of wood was used. (Not that I'm much of an expert.) Once wet, the wood darkened considerably and then dried back to the weathered gray.
Next, I stripped the paint that remained after I used the wire brush. Again, a dark color emerged. It dried overnight and remained dark. I was surprised, but not displeased.
I used sanding blocks to get off the few stubborn patches of paint that remained (as well as a craft knife and skewer for the carved sections.) I didn't sand too much because I wanted to keep the primitive look of the piece. At this point, I also removed the dowels and tenons and evened out the edges that weren't symmetrical due to damage. (I used a hand-held jigsaw.) Finally, I gave the pieces a good rub-down with Danish Oil to protect and moisturize the old wood. It came with the added benefit of slightly darkening the areas that I had cut and exposed lighter wood so there wasn't as great a mismatch.
The glue that held the slats in place was long gone, so a little carpenter's glue was in order, especially since I was not going to use the bottom piece that held the slats in place for the seatback.
The back had a significant curve, so I needed to cut my shelf accordingly. I started to "eye-ball" it, but decided a quick template would help! I used the jigsaw again to cut the curve from the piece that had held the slats from the bottom.
I made a modified "T" (to accomodate the curve) with the previous piece and the only other straight, flat piece I was able to salvage. I inserted two screws from the top to secure the "T."
I'm getting close, now! From the seat back, I drilled holes for the screws to attach the shelf. It might appear that I went overboard, but I needed screws on each slat to pull the slats close to the very roughly-cut curve that I made! There's no picture, but I did, in fact, screw the shelf into place, too.
I don't have a picture, but I added four vintage hooks that I picked up in South Dakota. They simply screwed in to some pilot holes that I drilled on the front.
The last step was to create some holes in the back to hang the shelf. I just used a large drill bit and made shallow holes. (Given the curve on the seat, I needed substantial nails to come about 2 inches out of the wall to meet the hanging holes! It wouldn't have been necessary had I drilled one hole in the center, but I wanted the shelf to balance well.)
What I love about this project:
*I only paid for stripper, sanding blocks and protective oil. I can use all of these on future projects, still.
*After working with the pieces and seeing the joints, I'm convinced this rocker was pretty old.
*Once I stripped the paint, a sweet inverted pineapple-shaped carving emerged on the headrest.
*The shapes carved out of the largest slat have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the headrest carving. It is quirky and makes me smile. I even wonder if they were done at different times.
*Even after stripping and sanding, the wood has the patina of age. The weathering is still visible.
*The shelf fits perfectly above my bedside table and is great for holding some of my favorite jewelry! (You see, everything comes together in the end!)
