Thankful for Dining Room Chairs

Happy Monday! Hope you enjoyed a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend.

I am thankful that we were able to spend the holiday weekend in Chicago visiting my brother.  He recently moved into a new apartment with this fantastic view...

I'll post pics of his bachelor pad soon.

I'm thankful that my brother hosted Thanksgiving dinner, as my dining room was still missing enough chairs. I bought a larger dining table and host and hostess chairs, sold my old dining table and chairs, and have been on the hunt for side chairs ever since. I had pretty much decided that the oval-back Louis XVI chairs would be ideal.

Locating the ideal chair proved to be quite the challenge. Hickory Chair makes a lovely one ...

if you are willing to spend $1,000 per chair on sale. Thankfully, I am not.

I'm thankful that I didn't settle for the less expensive options at Restoration Hardware, Ballard Designs and Wisteria since they weren't exactly the finish and fabric I wanted. I need stain-resistant fabric. Remember... we're a red wine-drinking, kid-friendly household.

So, that left me with craigslist and Ebay. I found several antique chairs, but once again, they were really expensive. And they had to be shipped. And they needed to be reupholstered. 

I'm thankful that I expanded my local craigslist search statewide and, eventually, to the surrounding states. 

I'm thankful that I spotted this during one of my craigslist searches...

So, they're not exactly oval. And they're more Louis XV than XVI.

But I like them. They are real wood with intricate carving (circa 1930). They are sturdy. They have potential. And they're only 25 bucks each.

I am thankful that I have a husband who doesn't question my potential insanity for purchasing chairs sight unseen in another state.

I am especially thankful that said husband, on the day before Thanksgiving, drove 3 hours to downtown Chicago, dropped the kids and me at my brother's apartment, then braved the insane Chicago holiday traffic for an additional hour and a half to pick up dining chairs that his crazy wife bought sight unseen, and drove back another hour and a half without complaining. That's love, people.

Here are the chairs in the back of his car. I'm sure he was freaking out when he saw the upholstery :)

I've got big plans for these chairs... fresh paint, new upholstery, new nailhead trim. They're going to be great!

 I'm hopeful that they'll be ready by Christmas!

Scored any great craigslist items lately? What's the farthest distance you've traveled for a good deal?