Saturday, September 14, 2019

Restoring 2 Vintage Paul Mccobb Open Arm Chairs



This post is a sponsored post or  uses affiliate links to help you find the products I trust and love

1950s chairs, Calvin Furniture, chairs, dining chairs, excellent condition, four chairs, high quality upholstery, minor surface flaws, modern dining chairs, Paul McCobb, seating, set of dining chairs, solid walnut frames, sturdy chairs, United States
Welcome back my Beauties!
Bet you didn't expect to see me back so soon did ya?
Well, I have to say I have been on a roll working on some old pieces I have had in the garage and I figure I better not wait as long to post about them as I did to finish the pieces :) 
This is the story of more furniture that has been sitting in my garage for a few years.

1950s chairs, Calvin Furniture, chairs, dining chairs, excellent condition, four chairs, high quality upholstery, minor surface flaws, modern dining chairs, Paul McCobb, seating, set of dining chairs, solid walnut frames, sturdy chairs, United States

Last time I showed you this dresser that had been sitting in my garage for over 2 years. You can see that makeover HERE.

Well, those 2 chairs you see, they have been sitting just as long.

1950s chairs, Calvin Furniture, chairs, dining chairs, excellent condition, four chairs, high quality upholstery, minor surface flaws, modern dining chairs, Paul McCobb, seating, set of dining chairs, solid walnut frames, sturdy chairs, United States
I don't know what inspired me to get my rear in gear, but I think I honestly just got tired of looking at them.
Plus I was overwhelmed by the work both projects were gonna take.
I am not one to shy away from hard work, but I have to be in the right head space to do it.
So around the same time I started working on the dresser I decided to tackle the chairs.
I think part of the reason I was nervous was that they were very very cool chairs by a very famous designer Paul Mccobb.
Unfortunately, I found these chairs on the side of the road.
They had been left in the rain. 
I was so ticked because the finish I am sure would have been fine had they not been left in the rain. 
You can see what the rain had done to the finish in the above picture.

Ryobi battery powered cordless random orbital sander
So after 2 years of looking at them stacked in my garage I finally decided it was time.
I grabbed my Ryobi cordless sander and got to work.
1950s chairs, Calvin Furniture, chairs, dining chairs, excellent condition, four chairs, high quality upholstery, minor surface flaws, modern dining chairs, Paul McCobb, seating, set of dining chairs, solid walnut frames, sturdy chairs, United States

You can see here the sander made quick work, since the finish was almost non existent.

1950s chairs, Calvin Furniture, chairs, dining chairs, excellent condition, four chairs, high quality upholstery, minor surface flaws, modern dining chairs, Paul McCobb, seating, set of dining chairs, solid walnut frames, sturdy chairs, United States
Here is the part where I went a little crazy.
I know Paul Mccobb is suppose to be dark walnut stained and then finished, but I wasn't feeling it and since he liked to make modern things, I decided to modern them up too. :) 
I wanted their natural grain to show and only slightly darken it.
So I hand rubbed on a couple coats of Minwax Wipe on Poly
to just finish the natural beauty.

1950s chairs, Calvin Furniture, chairs, dining chairs, excellent condition, four chairs, high quality upholstery, minor surface flaws, modern dining chairs, Paul McCobb, seating, set of dining chairs, solid walnut frames, sturdy chairs, United States
For the seats I just used some black and white striped fabric that I had picked up at goodwill for an astoundingly cheap 3.99 a bolt.

1950s chairs, Calvin Furniture, chairs, dining chairs, excellent condition, four chairs, high quality upholstery, minor surface flaws, modern dining chairs, Paul McCobb, seating, set of dining chairs, solid walnut frames, sturdy chairs, United States
And there you have it.
Can you even believe the difference?
After all these years, I can't believe they are done.


1950s chairs, Calvin Furniture, chairs, dining chairs, excellent condition, four chairs, high quality upholstery, minor surface flaws, modern dining chairs, Paul McCobb, seating, set of dining chairs, solid walnut frames, sturdy chairs, United States

I love how the striped fabric works with the modern lines of the chair.


Now I have to hurry and take them to my booth before I decide to find a place in my house.
(believe me I have already walked around with them and tried to make them work :) )
1950s chairs, Calvin Furniture, chairs, dining chairs, excellent condition, four chairs, high quality upholstery, minor surface flaws, modern dining chairs, Paul McCobb, seating, set of dining chairs, solid walnut frames, sturdy chairs, United States


I hope you enjoyed this makeover!
I have another awesome piece that I saved from a friends garage 
that I am working on as I type.
Hopefully I am on a roll and will get that posted next week.
Fingers Crossed!
Until next time have a Beautiful Day! 

3 comments:

suzieQ said...

those are some fine looking chairs, glad you saved them.

Charlotte said...

I love the chairs. Great job!!!

Sarah @ The DIY Mommy said...

What a beautiful find! These are some excellent looking chairs.