Salvage

I know this has nothing to do with baking. Please stick with me anyway. I'm so excited, I have to share.

There's a shed out the back of my house that is filled to bursting with old, dusty, mainly broken furniture. I'm assuming it all graced the boarding house next door at some point in history, and technically belongs to the School. But judging by the layers of grime covering them, I think it's safe to say that some of these pieces have been in there for 20 years or more. Ain't no one gonna miss 'em.

So I was delighted to find a salvageable piece amongst the detritus a few weeks back. See, we really need more seating in our living room and I was hoping to find something that could be recovered that would end up being a) nicer and b) cheaper than what I could buy at a store. Enter this classic 1960s Parker Knoll chair! Looks awful, right?



Well, look at it now:



Pretty, eh?

I must admit it didn't end up being quite as thrifty a project as I was expecting. With supplies for refinishing the wood, upholsterer's fees and sundries, and the (albeit very expensive) fabric, I spent around £200 taking this chair from shabby to chic. But it's well built, original and I feel good that I've brought new life to an unloved piece rather than gone out and bought something new.

Now, as I watch Edward slumped in it while playing Gran Turismo 5, if I could just convince him that this isn't his new "gaming chair"...