A Shaker-style ladder-back, restored by my dad, makes the case for fixer-upper furniture I?m looking right at my most treasured piece of furniture, but I can?t actually see it.
What I do see is a pile of T-shirts, sweatshirts, bras, pants, a shopping bag filled with tulle for a yet-to-be-started craft project, and who knows what else (probably a few New Yorkers and some junk mail). I feel kind of guilty that my favorite chair is choked by stuff. It probably deserves better. But sit in it" I wouldn?t dare.
The chair?a Shaker-style ladder-back with a herringbone caned seat?holds a special place in my heart since it reminds me so much of home.
I grew up going to estate sales and garage sales, and practically all of the furniture in my parents? house is secondhand. My dad got this chair from a neighbor. It was just a frame with no seat. I loved it because it was different from all the dark, bulky behemoths in our living room. The frame was featherweight and finished in oil. It looked modern.
The chair languished in our crowded garage for years, surviving our own yard sales and trips to Goodwill. It was sturdy and solid wood, and therefore valuable in my parents? eyes?even if it was in a totally unusable state.
But one day, my dad decided the chair needed a seat, so he borrowed some library books with instructions on how to weave a splint seat, bought some flat reed, and taught himself to make one. I remember it took a lot of time?and a lot of broken reed?before t...