The wonderful thing about telling people you're a scavenger is that they offer you materials and items you didn't even know you needed. Some of those items you graciously turn down. (It's easy: Just remind them you have a teeny, tiny house.) Other offerings are pure treasure. For example, the vintage folding lawn chairs that had been tossed in the corner of a room in an old house friends are selling.
"They're broken," they told me, when I was walking through the house with them after they'd offered to let us scavenge some old boards.
But unfolding the chairs, I could see that that the wood frames were intact. Only the fabric back and seating were moldy and torn. I realized they'd be perfect extra seating for us, because we could fold them away when not in use. I even knew where: there's a small space in the screen house between the "sink" and the wall.
I happily took possession of the chairs; then they sat in the garage for months while I researched upholstery for them. I didn't have a sewing machine, so I was looking for fabric the exact width I needed. Or maybe I would pay someone to put fabric on them. Both options proved expensive.
Then one day my sister Jill offered me a bolt of upholstery she wasn't going to use. (Note: she had already covered a seat cushion in the fabric for me. Thanks, Jill!) I accepted it. With nothing to lose, I figured I could experiment with replacing the fabric. I folded over ends instead of sewing. I stapled away.
After a couple false starts, I have two of the chairs in use. (One more to finish up today!) We can pull them out to seat guests in the screen house, on the deck or in the tiny house. Now, the next time we have ten people in the tiny house, the last two to arrive won't have to stand!
"They're broken," they told me, when I was walking through the house with them after they'd offered to let us scavenge some old boards.
But unfolding the chairs, I could see that that the wood frames were intact. Only the fabric back and seating were moldy and torn. I realized they'd be perfect extra seating for us, because we could fold them away when not in use. I even knew where: there's a small space in the screen house between the "sink" and the wall.
I happily took possession of the chairs; then they sat in the garage for months while I researched upholstery for them. I didn't have a sewing machine, so I was looking for fabric the exact width I needed. Or maybe I would pay someone to put fabric on them. Both options proved expensive.
Then one day my sister Jill offered me a bolt of upholstery she wasn't going to use. (Note: she had already covered a seat cushion in the fabric for me. Thanks, Jill!) I accepted it. With nothing to lose, I figured I could experiment with replacing the fabric. I folded over ends instead of sewing. I stapled away.
After a couple false starts, I have two of the chairs in use. (One more to finish up today!) We can pull them out to seat guests in the screen house, on the deck or in the tiny house. Now, the next time we have ten people in the tiny house, the last two to arrive won't have to stand!