Do you find joy in curbside finds? You can’t beat free! Right? I was in a neighborhood in Tennessee picking up a FaceBook Marketplace find, and much to my delight, there was a fabulous antique chair lying by the curb at one of the neighbor’s homes. I hopped out of the car to discover this beauty only had 3 legs, but they were three beautiful legs. So I tossed it in the back knowing I could find a use for it anyway because I love a good chair repurposing project. Of course, I didn’t remember to take a picture until after I had taken the legs off. Sigh. Before pictures is #1 on my list for 2020.  I put those aside for another project and discarded the rotten seat, but here’s how it looked minus the legs.

Cedar Grove Farms

After I pulled off the old, rotting fabric, I found this beautiful burlap and these cool springs. I knew this piece was destined to be a wall hanging. I loved the old springs and wanted to show them but needed to make the piece able to hold things. So I put a piece of burlap down into the springs to make a pocket.

In floral design, there are three elements to make a beautiful, full-looking arrangement: the spill (the part that flows down), the thrill (the part that is a tall attention grabber), and the fill (the part in the middle that makes it all look full and robust). Here the burlap is the spill.

wall pocket

 

Since only certain old chairs will have this type of spring pocket, you can do the same thing by 1). keeping the chair bottom and cover it with chicken wire to hold your stems OR by 2). screwing a metal or plastic planter (needs to be lightweight) on to the back of the chair where the bottom should be. Just cut a piece of foam to fit your container, and arrange your flowers in it.

 

Creating this pocket gave me a place to add some flowers. My plan was to make little changes for different seasons and holidays and hang this to welcome guests at my front door. First I added these white stems to contrast with the burlap. Also because they are very neutral, I plan for them to be in the arrangement most of the year. They are the tallest element in the floral arrangement and are therefore the thrill element.

cedar grove farms

 

 

 

Next I filled in the bottom with some pink ranunculus, since spring is officially here and blush is THE color for spring 2020. And this shade of pink really pops against the white porch walls.

Now I needed to add a sign for the season that fills in the blank space on the old chair back. Of course, everyone loves bunnies and Easter will be here soon, so I added a white bunny painted on an old roof shingle. 

Now I have this one-of-a-kind wall hanging to welcome guests and brighten up my porch, AND there’s one less treasure heading to the land fill. Never underestimate the power of a good chair repurposing project.

I don’t have all the seasons planned out yet, but here’s a little preview for fall.

cedar grove farms

cedar grove farms

The possibilities are endless!