A Dilema & A Dandy

A few months ago one of Marc's employees, and friend, lost his mother. Marc has been helping "M" with his mother's house, moving his brother, etc. M told Marc to come to the house and see if there was anything he would like to have. One evening Marc and I drove up and went through the house. We picked some vintage toys for Kyle's room, a platter and some curtains. I saw these curtains hanging on the windows and fell in lurve with 'em! As soon as I saw them I knew they would be perfect for our master bedroom.

We brought them home, shook them out and stuck 'em right in the washing machine to soak in oxyclean. After 40 some years of hanging on the windows, and the last few years collecting dust when "M's" mom had been ill, these girls needed some attention. They cleaned up beautifully!!!

They don't photograph well....or I just haven't figured out the proper settings yet. Sorry. Just look at the pattern- beautiful roses with tiny butterflies floating around....

Here is my dilemma: The back of the drapes have that rubber, thermal lining. After hanging on the windows for years and years they had gotten a bit of sun rot/damage. Soaking them in the Oxyclean seemed to make it worse. Or perhaps just putting the brittle fabric in water made it worse- I don't know. This is what the back looks like.....

The fabric on the front looks great but the rubber, thermal stuff on the back is a mess! It is all over the back of each panel. When the panels were still wet I started peeling more off but they start drying and then don't peel so well and I was afraid of damaging the fabric on front. I could keep spraying them and peeling, spraying and peeling- but seriously? There are 6 panels!!! That is going to take A LOT of time. So I am begging- if anyone knows a good way to remove this rubber/thermal backing from curtains, PLEASE let me know! I want to save these curtains, ladies, so I need your help!!! If you don't know- ask your friends, your family, the old lady across the street. I am begging you. If anyone comes up with the solution for removal- I will send you something special. Vintage linens perhaps? Hmmm.......a prize. Yes, that's what I shall do. A surprise prize!

Now, on to my "dandy" of the day. A couple of months back I found some chairs on Craigs list that made my heart go pitter pat. But alas, they were way beyond my budget. Today I was, once again, perusing Craigs list (sorry honey) for some kind of cabinet I could use for my milk glass collection when I came across an ad. It was the same chairs I had seen a couple of months ago but for a MUCH lower price! I was so excited! I called the woman who had them for sale. We talked for awhile, and she ended up knocking more money off!

I needed to call Marc but I had to have a plan first. My husband has a rule "One in- One out" which is my hubby's lingo means: you have to make the money before you can spend the money. So, I grabbed my camera, snapped some pictures of the three living room chairs I currently had in the room and listed them on Craigslist. I decided I would wait until Marc came home from work before asking him about the chairs. That way he could see them and love them as much as I did and want to go pick them up right away without another thought! Right? Hah!

Less than a half hour after I listed my chairs on Craigslist, people started calling and emailing with interest. Like LOTS of people. I was really excited then. When Marc got home I told him about the chairs that I wanted. He remembered that these were the same ones I had seen before and wanted! And before he could say anything else I told him I already had the other chairs listed and pretty much sold. So, he agreed to go get my new chairs. Woohoo!!!

So, what do you think? (Please ignore the cords in the background- we're working on that)

Aren't they perfect?? I really, really love these chairs. If you can really love a chair that is- but you know what I mean! They are from Arhaus (sigh) and covered in the most cottage-y cute fabric. Perfect addition to our living room.

The only thing I wasn't diggin' was the upholstered legs.

So I decided to rip 'em off and see what was under there. I grabbed my trusty screwdriver and went to work pulling out the 572gazillion staples.

And Voila! Solid wood that I will be staining to match my end tables. Yay!

But for now they look way better than they did.

Here they are sitting side by side. Swoon....

My living room is getting closer to completion. One baby step at a time.

Blessings,

Heather:)