the future is leaving

Give a girl a new blog, a blank canvas … and then what?  It would appear the freedom to post about anything and everything comes hand in hand with a minefield of decision-making on what exactly one should write about.  Errrr!  But I'm thinking once I get this first post out of the way, it will be plain sailing (fingers crossed).  

True to form, I haven't strayed too far off the beaten track.  Chairs.  This one is a current favourite.  An Ercol rocking chair, Windsor Quaker to be precise.  Picked up at auction after failing to meet its reserve, this sorry fellow was confined to the 'brown furniture' section at the auction house.  That section which, because of all the unfashionable (read ugly) brown, no-one fears to tread … except perhaps for the up-cycler.

The original dark brown stain (varnish, lacquer, call it what you will) on these chairs is fairly invincible, and I've seen one too many unsuccessful attempts at trying to remove it in order to get to the beautiful blonde wood beneath.  Stripping the chair down and all that goes with is a huge undertaking, and the results rarely look good.  So when considering how to transform this little rocker into something more eye-catching, I opted for what some might consider an easy life.  And no doubt there will be others who liken this kind of make-over to a criminal offence.  

Like. I. Care.  

Grey spray paint to the rescue, and I like it this way.  Plus I like spray paint … it's exciting.  Difficult to master, yes.  And being difficult to master means it makes you swear a lot.  But hey-ho, I also like swearing!  Post make-over this chair now gets sat on, rocked … you know, all the stuff a rocking chair should experience in life.  Stuff it wasn't experiencing, nor likely to experience, while hanging out at the auction house waiting for someone to come up with a winning bid.