One day this last May I was driving down a long winding country road on the way to a garage sale when I saw something sitting by the side of the road next to a mailbox. It was a wicker chair and ottoman. Not believing what I was seeing, I turned around and drove past it again. Then turned around and drove past it about five more times before I actually got up the nerve to stop and get out of the car and look at it. It was then that I noticed the little post-it note on it that said FREE.
I had never before in my life ever picked something up off the side of the road, but it appeared the people that had previously owned it wanted it to go home with someone, so I loaded it into my car and took it on home.
This thing was filthy. Had leaves stuck to it and all the color had been bleached out of it by the sun.
I thought maybe I had made a mistake by picking it up. And the husband definitely thought so!
But it was amazingly well built and very solid. Other than cosmetic issues, it appeared to be in good shape. This is not your typical cheap Kmart wicker, it was a high end wicker piece back in its heyday.
So this all happened 3 ½ months ago. It has taken me this long to decide what to do with the chair.
Paint or stain?
Oil or latex?
Use a paintbrush, paint sprayer or cans of spray paint?
Well, before I could do any of those things I had to contend with the brittleness of the wicker. So using my husband's air compressor
and a Low Volume/Low Pressure spray can attachment
I applied a mixture of ⅓ Turpentine and ⅔ Boiled Linseed Oil.
FYI, I did all the work myself, I just used my husband's huge hairy hand for the photo op (you already know I have strange thumbs, but I don't have excessively hairy arms).
The Turpentine and Linseed Oil mixture is supposed to replenish the oil in the reed and help with cracking and dryness.
It did bring some of the suppleness back to the wicker and brightened it up a tad.
But it was still pretty dirty looking and appeared to have mildew on it, so I put some deck cleaner on it. Sounds harsh, but it's basically just bleach and water. I let it sit on the wicker for about ten minutes and then sprayed it off with a hose.
That really brightened it up and got rid of the mildew.
Now I had something to work with!
So I FINALLY made the decision to stain it to see how it looked - if it looked bad I could always paint it after that, but once you paint you can't go back to stain. I used MinWax's English Chestnut stain and here are the results - ta da!
These are my favorite parts of the chair - a built in cup holder
and magazine holder/netbook holder.
I put my recent garage sale pillow on it as a cushion.
I'm pleased with how the wicker accepted the stain.
Martha is pleased also.
Before
After
Tricia Rose
That is amazing! I didn't know old dry wicker could be restored to life...
Bounty Huntress
Just fabulous!! That is such a cool chair.
The Little Red Shop
ps I have a Hawthorne tree in my front yard! I love it!
The Little Red Shop
What a wonderful find and informative post, Pam! Your "new" furniture looks beautiful! I think it's lovely that the former owners gave the set a chance for a new life. Thank you so much for your sweet comments today! I really appreciate your encouragement with my blog!
Have a blessed Wednesday!
: )
Julie M.
freckled laundry
Beautiful! I noticed the cup & magazine holders immediately. I LOVE the stain. I would've gotten lazy (and intimidated) and just primed & painted it so I'm happy it went to a caring, new owner. You cracked me up with the "not my huge hairy hand" comment. lol
Have a sweet day,
Jami
Erin@likegrandmas
This turned out wonderful! So glad for the restoration tips 🙂
Katie@LeBeauPaonVictorien
Great job with your curbside find! I LOVE how it turned out....I would have definitely picked up that chair too!
Linda
What a great find, Pam~ it turned out beautifully!!
Susan (Between Naps on the Porch)
Pam...you are one smart cookie! I would never have thought to treat it in advance. It turned out beautifully! Love the stain you chose. Very impressive! Now are you sure that wasn't your arm? 😉
Terry @ La Bella Vie
Wow, this was not only an amazing find but a great transformation you did! I love it and would have snatched this set up in a heartbeat too!
Terry
PS yep hubby has big hairy hands alright:)
Sherry @ No Minimalist Here
Pam, I've never stopped and picked up something from the side of the road either. If I had seen this chair and ottoman it would have been a first for me! They turned out wonderful and now should be around for a really long time.
Olive Cooper
Pam, you did really good here and as you said this is good stuff. You have helped me out also as my neighbor has some moldy old wicker she wants help with. I will use this blog post to refer to. hugs♥olive
Country Dreaming
Looks great--you did a wonderful job.
Isn't it fun to pick up things from the
side of the road? Love it!
Melinda
Pat
I would grab that thing in a skinny minute! You did a wonderful job on the restoration!
La
Pam, the transformation is phenominal! It looks like a new set. Stain was the right way to go and your garage sale pillow is perfect. I'll bet your husband changed his mind about this fabulous chair too. I'm impressed! La
Debbie Sews Retro
Good going Pam!! What a beautiful job you did on that wicker. Anyone would love to have those pieces on their patio or in their sunroom.
Debbie