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
Debbie
Thanks Pam:)
Judi
Love it!!
That was a GREAT job. I love the colour you chose instead of the traditional white it could have become...that helps me with ideas..*s*..
wonderful....
come by and visit some time.
Judi
Object of Maya*ffection
What a GREAT find and FAB makeover! The arm holders are my favorite part too!
Liz
Awesome re-do! I love the shape of the wicker. Very nice! 🙂
~Liz
Karen
Oh my! That chair and ottoman are so lucky to have found you. What a beautiful job you did restoring it. I bet it's real comfy.
Have a great weekend.. and I hope you spend a little time in your new chair.
Karen
Ladybug Creek
Allison Shops
I'm so glad you rescued this set and gave it new life!
I wanted to let you know about Atticmag's new linky party - Giveaway Friday! It's a convenient place for bloggers to link their giveaways each week. We've kicked it off with a fantastic giveaway of our own. Five lucky winners will win material to do a backsplash in their homes. Hope to see you there!
Allison
Atticmag
artisticblend
WOW!!! What a fabulous rescue! You did a fantastic job cleaning and staining them too. Amazing. I love it! I hope you enjoy it.
Pink Roses and Teacups
Hi Pam,
Nice to meet you! Wow, what a great find! I would have picked it up too! It came out awesome. Great job!
Debbie
Sandy
Fabulous find and make-over. Great job.
The Blackwood Cottage
That is a great find, it is amazing what get throw out!!! I love it, the cupholder is wow!
machelle
Debbie
What a find on this set!!~ Amazing what some toss to the curb...like they don't think about PAINT and a new life. Great job!!~ Did I miss this link up? Well glad I saw it now. Have a great weekend. Debbie
HOOTIN' ANNI
Amazing transformation. And the wicker is in great shape. If it were me finding something like this, the wicker itself would be shabby. You found a treasure.
My link for you... WIZARD OF OZ
Do come by to say hello if you have time!
ALWAYS THE ABRAMYANS
What a lucky find! I'm glad you took it home! You did a great job fixing it up!!! I just love wicker. Have a great weekend!
-April
Sweet Bee Cottage
What a great job you did! I love it!
Sarah
Way to go! What a find. I've long had a love affair with wicker, so I would have taken it home without a thought. In fact many years ago, shortly after I was married, there was a wicker rocking chair curb side near our duplex. I took it home, cleaned it up, painted it white. It serverd us well for many years. I think you were wise to stain this one. It looks fabulous, and with that ottoman you really found a deal. ~ Sarah
Sharing with Sherri
I love it when people toss out great stuff! Wow what a transformation! I would have never thought to take the steps you did before deciding whether to paint or stain. Great tips!
I recently bought a painted wicker chair and matching table, would of much preferred stain, but when those great deals come along we have to get creative! You certainly did here, Great job!!
Hugs, Sherri:)