Friday, July 24, 2009

What was old is new again...

When I was a newlywed, and setting up my first apartment, my mother paid $20. for an old wing chair at a yard sale. It had sad, coarse, faded gray/green upholstery. I wasn't exactly impressed when I first clapped eyes on it. But I knew that my mom had an eye for seeing the beauty in things that others missed. She showed me that the chair was comfortable, sturdy, had nice lines and didn't have any unpleasant odors. A new custom made slip cover and the chair became a treasured thing. We moved it with us to several apartments and then to our first house. I nursed my baby in it, read a hundred books curled in its arms, and offered its comfort to weary guests.

Fast forward a few years and we bought our second house. I had the chair upholstered in blue and it looked great until one of the dogs chewed the arm. At that point I bought an inexpensive "one size" slip cover for the old thing and relegated it to the back room.

Now, in our third house, I recently looked at the little chair with my mothers eyes. I noted its pleasing scale and shape, bought it a new slipcover and moved it to the living room. A few days later my 20 year old daughter plunked down in it. "I love this chair. Can I have it for my first apartment?"

I think I'll start looking for chairs at yard sales for her.

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