Jumble Treasure

I recently got into Jumble sales.  So much more fun than a car boot, as everything is much cheaper and tightly packed together.  You never know what treasure you'll find.

I was late for yesterday's jumble and had forgotten it was on, I let my jumbling partner down and rocked up an hour late not expecting anything to still be there.  It was my first time taking Yoyo and she was in awe of the currency being in pence rather than pounds.

And there I saw them.  It took me a while to spot as they were hidden beneath picture frames and boxes and not placed as a group.  We really do need new dining room chairs as we have some faux leather ones that our cats have ruined and are also very uncomfortable.  New chairs weren't on the endless 'things we need for the house' list though - we just don't have the budget for it at the moment.  So when I saw these my mind went into overdrive....I just needed to know the cost.  £8 for all of them. Decision made.   I couldn't believe it and they were packed safely into my car as swiftly as possible (before anyone changed their mind on the tiny price tag - is it just me that reacts like that?)

I kind of thought they looked familiar, and sure enough a little research when I returned home revealed they were Ercol! £179 each, so in a round about way I had saved £177 x 4 = £708.  But mine are original 60's versions with little bit of history.

The Queen of Clean approved.  He has nicknamed me Mrs Trebus in the past for my adventures in bringing home junk for him to transform, but on this occasion my efforts were praised.  For those not in the know, Mr Trebus was an infamous hoarder that the BBC made a documentary about, would never throw anything away bless him.

So with sandpaper in hand we began immediately.  Clearly he was feeling very enthusiastic - we were supposed to be getting ready for friends coming for dinner.  So it became a multi task cooking/tidying/chair sanding fest!

He used an electric sander on the seat and legs, but all those spindles need to be done by hand and that became my task.  We only had time to complete one, am sure it will be another few weeks to restore all four, but below you can see the difference between the one we have sanded and the one still clad in its stained varnish.  We'll get to you soon enough my lovely.

We need to research the best way of sealing our sanded beauties - I don't want to varnish, am thinking a wax of some kind to keep the wood pale.

So our only challenge now is that we are a family of 5 with 4 chairs.  Whoops.  We could search ebay or indulge in the new version from John Lewis, but I've also seen this bench which I'm rather taken with.  Excuse the tiny picture, but you get the gist I hope.  A hefty £399 though so I will need to save up or go for the more eclectic mix and match chair approach I think. 

So yesterday was a good jumble day.  Wish they were always like that.