This weekend we got these vintage kids chairs (they’re just 2 feet tall) for $7.50 each at a local yard sale. They were marked as $10 a pop but we bartered using the old “how about two for $15?” method. Sold!
We knew they looked like oldies (we loved the solid construction, steel legs, clean lines) and were pleased when we tipped them both over and saw the word “Brunswick” engraved on the bottom. Not that we knew what it meant, but we thought google might. A little bit of searching turned up this description here:
This original vintage 1950’s children’s chair, with its mid-century danish-modern design is actually made by Brunswick – the same designer/maker of the famed bowling equipment and supplies. In fact, it was also in the 1950’s that Brunswick introduced the machine that automated the resetting of bowling pins. This is a very sturdy chair.
Cool. And guess how much one of them was going for online? $125!
Our reaction pretty much went a little something like this: Holy cow, are you telling me that we paid $15 for two chairs that could retail for $250? Oh yard sales, how do I love thee. Let me count the ways. And how cool is it that current 65-ish year olds probably used these as kids? Gotta love stuff that’s built to last and handed down to total strangers (and their children) thanks to the phenomenon that is yard sale-ing.
As for what we’ll do to our chairs & what table we’ll pair them with, check out our BabyCenter post (where we whipped up a little mood board of sorts with three options that we’re currently debating). On some monitors the one on the left in that top photo seems to be reading as teal, but it’s a murky forest green in real life. Which is really not our thing. And we’re more partial to darker and less yellow wood tones too – so change is a brewing.
Some folks wouldn’t touch something from the 50’s, but we’re all about it in the name of making them fit into our home and not look so mismatched. After all, we didn’t buy them to make a profit (or to keep them in mint condition as “collectables”) – we bought them to use for the long haul (hopefully with multiple kiddos over the years) since we love their look and their solid and sturdy construction. And you know we love a good refinishing project (like this 50’s dresser that we redid for Clara’s nursery). It might take us a while to actually do anything with them though (since our playroom is also our crazy storage room for now). But someday we’ll get ‘er done. And it’s never too early to start planning, right?
Update: After closer examination we realized that the forest green chair (which looks teal on some monitors) has already been painted. It was originally blonde like the other one. So I thought I’d share that update for the don’t-paint-them peeps. Looks like 50% of them are already painted! Too funny. We’re still un-enamored with the scratched blonde wood and murky green color so we’ll definitely be staining or painting them – but we completely understand that other people might do things differently if they were their chairs!
Kristen @ Popcorn on the Stove says
What cute chairs… and what a steal! They remind me of the ones in elementary school (although often, those were attached to desks).
Stephanie Phillips says
I love yard sales! Almost as much as Craigslist (don’t have to wake up early for good ol’ CL). ;)
Jamie says
You see, if it were me, I’d sell those bad boys for $250 and buy Clara something else. They are super cool, but think of what you could buy with your $235 profit!
Brittany says
Sweet! Can’t wait to see what you do with these! (This may be one of the shortest YHL posts ever! :( )
Robin @ our semi organic life says
yay yard sales! How very cool!
my honest answer says
Score! You guys always find the best yard sale stuff, I’M JEALOUS.
Amy @TriangleHoneymoon.com says
That’s so awesome. Congrats on a great find!!
Devon @ Green House, Good Life says
It’s hard to tell the scale in the picture — they look like grown-up chairs. Can we see a picture with a Petersik? : )
YoungHouseLove says
When we make them over I’m sure we’ll have lots of people-next-to-them shots for ya! In the meantime, the measurements are: 15″L x 17.5″W x 24″H. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Julia @ Chris loves Julia says
I can’t really tell how tall they are from the picture, but I am guessing if you are thinking of putting them in a playroom, they must be pint-sized. How sweet and what a steal! Hopefully who ever sold these to you doesn’t read this post.
Chris loves Julia
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, they’re just as small as the chairs in those three playrooms I dug up on Pinterest. Very cute indeed!
xo,
s
Kim says
You plan on painting them?! Oh my gosh, nooooo. Sell those puppies and buy crappy ones to spraypaint. They’ll lose all their worth if you mess with the original state it’s in! Just think what you could buy with those extra dollars!
YoungHouseLove says
Check out our post over on BBC for a little more of our philosophy on that. We love the look of the chairs and they were cheap at a yard sale so we’re all about making them our own (we’re not looking to sell them and give Clara crappy ones, we prefer stuff that lasts)!
xo,
s
Reenie says
They may be worth that much….but can they get that much out of them ;)
I’m with you Youngsters ~ I buy things because I like them and can transform them with a lil spray paint. I don’t buy things because they are worth lots of $$ and to turn them. But I reckon ~ to each their own. =)
Love the cute lil chairs ~ and can’t wait to see what flavors you paint them ~ and what kind of a table you put them with.
Kristin @ Ogo's Love Nest says
We went yardsaling last weekend and found some amazing deals including a $90 Pottery barn lamp for $10 in excellent condition.
I’ll be checking out the mood board next!
tinajo says
The chairs are lovely – what a bargain! :-)
Rachel Tatem says
Great find on those chairs! I love yard saling, you never know what goodies you will walk away with!
Jenni says
Wow, what a steal! We haven’t had the chance to go to any garage sales yet this year, but I’m hoping this weekend we’ll finally get the chance. Hopefully we’ll end up with something as cool as you guys did!
Mandy Ford says
Great find! We have two very similar chairs for our boys that I found at a local antique shop. I think I paid $15 for our pair also!
Tash says
I vote for the teal chair makeover. The pink might not work so well if the next kid is a boy. I know whatever you do it will be marvelous!
Cait @ Hernando House says
I was thinking teal, too.
Megan says
Great buy!!! I wouldn’t sell them either, as I love to buy things (especially at great prices) that last for generations! We went to an auction at a school that closed (they moved to a new location and had bought all new things) and bought 8 kids chairs, 4 in green and 4 in red. Not sure why we bought so many but it was less than $30 for all of them. We’ll probably sell half of them once I figure out which color I prefer. For now, we have one of the smaller sizes in use with a small desk (also bought at the same auction) for my 2 year old to draw at. She LOVES them!
Another good thing about knowing they are old and well worn – you’re not getting crappy plastic that emits toxic odors. Some new stuff scares me!
Tanya from Dans le Townhouse says
Yay! I love yard sales. What a great find! I’ve been blogging about my “treasure hunting” finds, too, so I love reading about the yard sale scores of other folks too.
Brooke says
Cute chairs!
How can I find you on Pinterest?
YoungHouseLove says
I think http://www.pinterest.com/younghouselove works?
xo,
s
Candice says
Great find! Ah, yard sales, the great American transfer of wealth. BTW, your curtains look fantab, very breezy. Do you/did you watch ‘Friends’? Unlike Monica, your curtains could say they were breezy, but that wouldn’t negate the breeziness.
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahaha, oh Friends. How I miss you so.
xo,
s
Ashley says
“So, no one told you life was gonna be this way. Your job’s a joke your broke. Your love life’s DOA. It’s like you’re always stuck in second geeeear. When it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month or even your year. du-na-na-na-na BUT I’ll be there for yoooou…”
Haha… oh my heart! With the death of that show it was like I lost 6 really good and ridiculously hilarious friends of my own.
YoungHouseLove says
I completely agree. Nothing compares.
xo,
s
Katie Rose says
Awesome! I follow you on Pinterest and it is always a treat to see what you pin :)
I’ve always wanted to ask…is it totally weird when you come across your own photos of your house on Pinterest? I’ve seen multiple pins especially of your frame wall, for example.
YoungHouseLove says
It catches me off guard every time, like wait a minute how did our hallway get on here. Haha. Then I realize it’s because someone pinned it. Crazy!
xo,
s
Ellen says
I’d go with the gray palette. A bit gender neutral and will make them work for a boy child if that’s in your future.
Shunta says
what a good deal!!!! And I LOVE playroom designs!! Can’t wait to see what you choose!! I just pinterested the 3rd picture for a playroom inspiration myself!!
bridget b. says
great score you guys! first Clara’s dresser, now these chairs. i never find anything remotely this antique-y or heirloom-ish at garage sales in texas. could it be a regional thing?
p.s. how cute are the teal roman shades in that playroom!
YoungHouseLove says
I think it might just be dumb luck. We hear of others finding amazing things that we’re always looking for (and can never seem to find), and sometimes we stumble across things like these chairs (that we weren’t looking for, but were so enamored with that we had to buy them). I say keep looking and you’ll find something awesome someday!
xo,
s
DDay says
I love the idea of painting over chairs! I’m currently trying to collect a bunch of different basic looking dining chairs (for under $10 a piece) and plan on painting them all a deep indigo color for a fun domino type look for our dining room. Plus, if I screw it up and it looks bad, I’ve only wasted under a $100 on the whole thing.
Althea says
I did that for just 3 chairs and did a light aqua. It worked out great.
Ashley says
Those are such sweet chairs. Please don’t redo them! You could easily make them work with your current color scheme. If you want my 2 cents you should leave them as is and “make it work” a la Tim Gunn!
Sarah says
Cute cute cute! Of all the rooms in your house, I think I am most excited to see what you do with your playroom. And I don’t even have kids yet!
Skye says
What a great find!! And who would have thought that a bowling company would make such great, long lasting chairs! What are they made of?
I can’t wait to see what you come up with for the play room – it will definitely be awesome coming from you guys!
YoungHouseLove says
They’re solid wood with steel legs. Super sturdy little things!
xo,
s
Meagan says
Love the chairs…and I checked out the baby center post – I would vote option 1. Its gender neutral for future potentially boy babies and I think it goes best with Sue. Plus I am partial to teal what can I say. It will also hide crayon marks the best :) can’t wait to see the transformation.
Sarah says
I like no. 2 on your mood board. Would go with any decor ;) The chairs are adorable – good luck!
Erin @ One Project at a Time says
What a great score! I’ve got a playroom makeover of my own coming up, (eventually, once we get through our list of projects), so I can’t wait to see what you guys do for a little inspiration.
em says
Not trying to dissuade you from painting them, but, well, yes I am. I get that you didn’t buy them to sell them, but there is a little history there that will be lost and I don’t think the spray paint finish will be as durable as whatever the chairs are made of. They seem to be in very good shape and isn’t one of them already teal and the other a pretty gold and hence totally Sue-approved? How about making each a teal and gold little cushion to make them “match” and pairing with a cool little table with maybe steel legs and a chalkboard top?
I know I will be one of many annoying “please don’t paint them” commentors, so I will add that if you must paint them, don’t do pink (in case the next kiddo is a boy AND for when Clara’s boy friends come over).
YoungHouseLove says
The chair that might be reading as teal on some monitors is a murky forest green. Very dated and not Sue-ish at all in person. Haha. But who knows, maybe we’ll sand and stain the seats a deep brown or even dark teal or white. It won’t necessarily be a spray painting thing (we refinished Clara’s 50s dresser without spray paint at all- and the painted top has been super durable over the last 14 months of everyday use- not a scratch to be seen).
xo,
s
Pamela says
I thought this statement was so cute:
…”were pleased when we tipped them both over and saw the word “Brunswick” engraved on the bottom. Not that we knew what it meant…”
I wouldn’t have known what it meant either! :) Awesome score on the beautiful chairs! I adore the rich, vintage (yet current) colors of both of them & such rock-solid quality too, no doubt. Nice!!
maria says
painting them will ruin them, take away all their charm and make them look like something out of ikea or target. i’d rethink painting something that has held up so well for over 50 years with cheap spray paint, and that has nothing to do with selling them or making money off of them. things were made to held up in the 50s and you are lucky enough to have found something so amazing. sorry but i am very anti painting beautiful old furniture to look like it came out of ikea. besides the colors seem like they’d work so well in your house and already match sue the napkin!
YoungHouseLove says
We painted the top of our 50s dresser that we refinished for Clara’s room and it has held up amazingly over the last year and a half of everyday use! It really depends how ya do it! And it definitely still looks vintage (and not Ikea).
xo,
s
Amanda @ Our Humble A{Bowe}d says
Those chairs are so stinkin cute! What a great find! Especially because they retail for $250! I like the idea of a dark wood stained seat and a poppy colored table.
Cait @ Hernando House says
I like that idea, too!
Kati H. says
It’s too funny that even though you spell out “We’re not even thinking of re-selling these, we are definitely going to make them fit in our house by painting them because they were so cheap” people still commented on your Baby Blog ‘Don’t paint them!” That would annoy me so much! Good job staying chipper, but if behind the scenes it enrages you – I feel ya’! Can’t wait to see what you do with them, I know whatever it is will be lovely!! (Honestly mostly I’m just looking forward to seeing Clara sitting in one because I can’t really imagine how small they are and two I just Looooooove Clara pics)
YoungHouseLove says
Nah, we know some folks are really opposed to painting old things (like wood paneling and brick and stuff). Purists are a-ok with us, but we’re definitely more of the “refinishing” type. Haha.
xo,
s
Audrey says
LOVE the chairs. i was able to find a school chair/desk combo for i think 7 dollars at a garage sale. it’s perfect for my daughters to do their homework on!!!
Deanna says
Wow!! Great score! Congratulations. I’m sure whatever you go with it will turn out beautifully. As does everything you guys do.
alg says
I’m usually ALL ABOUT painting stuff, but I agree with one of the responders over on Baby Center on this one.
I wouldn’t touch those awesome chairs. They’re total classics & don’t need any help, IMHO.
Also… what if you go all girly, then have a couple of boys? The current look of the chairs “works for everyone” & would look so good in a gender-neutral playroom.
Sorry. I’ll stop nagging now.
Christa M says
Awesome find! I love those chairs. You didn’t ask, but I figured I’d brag about a Goodwill find. Mid-Century Eames Era metal folding chairs. I paid $25 for a set of 4. Saw them online for $65 each :) I’m with you though…I want to spray paint them and recover the seats. I bought them for me and how I’d like to use them!
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh those sound amazing! What an awesome find. I feel like the Eames era stuff is the most elusive sometimes!
xo,
s
[email protected] says
SCORE! LOVE the chair and love love love yard sales! So fun! That’s great that you were able to snag two chairs… since there may be a second kiddo in your future and the Bower kiddo can use it in the meantime! :)
Adam says
Boy do those chairs take me back to kindergarten! Great deal on the pair. As far as the playroom pics, the last is my favorite. I wish my parents would have encouraged creativity more with a wall to display artwork like that!
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says
Awesome find! I really like the look of the chairs as is, very retro and fun.
Crystal says
Great score! I had similar success at a yard sale a few weeks ago. I got this great kid’s art table and 4 chairs for $25. I talked her down from $35 because the table top had marks all over it. But after a little scrub with a Mr Clean Magic Eraser, it was good as new: http://theweekendhomemaker.com/garage-sale-magic
YoungHouseLove says
HOLY COW THAT IS AMAZING! Wow, so lucky that it cleaned up so well!
xo,
s
OwningSingle says
Vintage finds are the best. You guys scored with this one.
reyanna says
Whoa! I see those all the time! Now I need to pick some up and re-sell them! LOL. :-p I’ve been wanting to save two or three for the kids we’ll have down the road as well… (#1 is due in less than two weeks.) I totally dig the vintage vibe. :-D
Courtney says
I love the chairs and also feel they look like a school house score. My question for you is, when you start searching these type of “antique” purchases, where do you look? I have several things I have bought or inherited, but have had little luck with the genius of Google.
YoungHouseLove says
I always look for the engraving or the sticker with a name. If you’re lucky enough to find that then you can usually search it on google (at least that worked with the old 50’s dresser that we refinished for Clara’s nursery and these chairs).
xo,
s
DanielleR says
Awesome! I love getting deals on stuff … the chairs are so cute! I can’t wait to see what you decide to do with them. On another note I have a question, I have tried googling and it’s not working out so I figured I would ask the low VOC paint experts at Young House Love … Does anyone make a low VOC mold/mildew resistant paint for the bathroom? I need to repaint my bathroom and fight off some mold and the last mold resistant primer and paint I got almost made me pass out from fumes (no, seriously lol). Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated so I don’t bounce my head off the toilet when I faint from the VOC’s lol.
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, I would just visit Home Depot or Lowe’s and ask. They come out with new stuff all the time (and more of it is becoming no or low VOC – yay!). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
wilma says
The Benjamin Moore “aura” line has a bathroom paint that is low VOC.
Pamela says
Just read that the gorgeous chair that is reading a beautiful “teal” on my monitor is actually a murky forest green in person, so that color is not “current” as I stated earlier. They’re still absolutely amazing though, regardless.
hillary says
SO CUTE! I wouldn’t paint them either but I like the mismatched schoolroom vibe, which isn’t really your thing.