Sometimes you find something that you think will be a great project, and it turns into something even more. That’s the case with this dining table and chairs.
When we lived in California, we saw an ad on a neighborhood site for a free table and chairs that needed a lot of work. Chad and I went to look and thought it would be a fun project to refinish and sell. The table was pretty solid, but the chairs were unsafe to sit on. I immediately loved the chairs. Chad loved the table. So we brought it home.
After looking at the chairs some more, I found this tag stapled to the bottom on one of them.
And as I read more about the Bernhardt brand and saw the dates from the 1920s I got more excited. And then we moved. We thought for a few seconds about trying to sell it as is before moving, but I had started to become attached to them, and instead we packed them all up and took them with us.
Once in our new home, the remodel on Mabey Manor started and the table and chairs sat for a year–until I hosted a cookie exchange at my home and we needed more chairs to sit on. So I took off the cushions and Chad started working on them.
Since the chairs were in such bad shape, he first had to take them apart, and start from the beginning to make them sturdy again. He’s amazing an carpenter, and they’re super sturdy now. Next came sanding them (and the table) down and prepping them for lacquer.
We chose a gray for the table, and white for the chairs, and I LOVE how they turned out. I recovered the seats with a beautiful white and yellow upholstery fabric I also found in California, and they were done about an hour before we needed to use them.
And I’m totally in love with the set. I can’t get over the svelte shape of the chairs, the combination of colors that brought the set alive, or the details like the metal weave on the backs of the chairs.
And the funny part is that when we sold our house, the new owners really wanted to buy the dining table and chairs (they asked more than once) but we both just couldn’t let it go even though it looks as though it was made for Mabey Manor. Some things are just too good to let go of!
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They turned out gorgeous! Thanks for sharing the tags, I love to see "old" things like that!
I was so excited when I found a tag--most of them were gone, but this one made my heart skip a little. It also made me wonder whether I should just leave them, but refinishing it just turned out best for our family.
Inspiring, beautifully done!
Thank you, Kathy!
Lisa, the table and chairs are so gorgeous. I'd be begging you to let me have them to if I thought it would sway you. :)
My husband was so attached he priced them at $5000 (because no one would pay that much) so we could keep them. Ha!
Gorgeous! One of my favorite tables ever! Great job, Lisa! (ps..miss you!)
Thank you! It's such a fun set now. I miss you too--I hope everything is going well for you and your family!
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