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I had a bit of a postpartum hiatus from most things crafty while I figured out how to get basic, everyday tasks (like dinner and laundry) done with a baby in tow. Now that I'm feeling a little more on top of things, I've really been enjoying getting my creative juices flowing again. The next step is carving out time to blog about it! My mom likes to promise posts from me, because she knows that I do well with deadlines.
This is the biggest project I've done recently. I found Pippo a cute wooden high chair (I had my heart set on wood) on craigslist. It was sturdy, but a little beat up.
It was $18. Which, if you ask me, is a random price to set for anything on craigslist. Ordinarily I would have taken it as a sign that they were happy to accept $15, but then the woman selling it started telling me how she couldn't help me carry it because she was just diagnosed with MS, so I decided not to quibble about a few dollars, picked my baby up in one arm and my new high chair up in the other, went back down the three flights of stairs, popped both baby and chair in my car, and said a prayer for her on the way home.
(One of the reasons I like craigslist is that I like people, and I like stories, and I like it when my things remind me of people and stories.)
Where was I? Oh yes. It was a little beat up.
It looked like it had a history of being well-scrubbed.
I started fixing it up about a month ago, worked on it in fits and spurts, and finally finished last week.
(Projects involving spray paint and other scary chemicals take more time when your baby humors you by resting his eyes for fifteen or twenty minutes and calling it a nap!)
But it's done, and I'm really excited about it.
Giving it a good scrubbing outside. I'll start fresh with my own dried-up food goo, thank you very much. |
The finish was very worn (and unevenly so), making painting the only sane option. I'm not quite crazy enough to strip the whole thing.
I was able to sand just the tray down to a pretty even finish, and it seems like the tray gets the most wear and tear in its little high chair life, anyway. So I decided to paint the chair, but stain the tray.
That way I can scrub with abandon.
Plus, I thought it would look cute.
Priming at my old-sheet-and-crib-mattress-box spray painting station. |
I went to the hardware store to get what I needed, which included a long screw to replace one of the ones holding on the tray. (You might be able to tell in the first picture above that there's a little wooden bead between the tray and the chair? There wasn't one on the other side. And the screw that held the tray on had gotten warped on that side as a result.)
As I stood there in front of all the many sizes of nails and screws, two very nice employees (a man and a woman) came by and asked if I needed any help. I showed them the screw I was trying to match, and they asked me what it was for.
It was at that point (of this shopping trip whose sole purpose was to find supplies for my high chair) that I forgot the word for “high chair.”
Not my finest hour.
I stood there like a deer in the headlights, pointing at Pippo with one hand and making a vague sweeping/waving motion with the other. The best I could stutter out was “He sits in it? …to eat?”
The female employee looked at me with eyes full of pity and asked, “Do you mean a high chair?” The man's jaw dropped, and he just shook his head.
I think I need more sleep.
But I got my replacement screw, I got my stain, and I got my (spray) paint.
It was very… green.
Shockingly so, especially against the white primer (I used spray primer to make myself feel better about not sanding the whole thing).
I went through all the other color options again in my head (and over gchat with my mom, who is an excellent cheerleader from afar) and decided that, despite its scary beginning, this was in fact what I wanted, so I plunged ahead.
After a few coats, it's bright, but I love it.
The tray looked much better too after a few coats of stain. You can see there around the groove there's a lighter band where I wasn't able to sand off all the previous finish, but it's not too noticeable.
The whole thing got a few coats of water-based polyurethane – or rather, the tray, seat, arms, and other high-impact zones got three coats (one advantage to buying a used chair: I knew which spots were likely to wear out first!), and all the spindles and rods that are hard to get at with a brush just got one.
But it was a good one. I'm sure they'll be fine.
The straps were also pretty grody, so I went ahead and replaced them, too… using the same fabric I used to cover my dining room chairs! Why not?
I'm not sure I did it in the most efficient way, but I used a double layer of thick iron-on interfacing and then reinforced the spots where the straps are screwed into the seat. They're quite sturdy.
I moved Pippo's jumper upstairs so he could keep me company while I sewed. |
I almost just sewed the scratched-up buckles back on, but then remembered I had a can of bright red spray paint in the garage that was specially designed to paint plastic. So I figured, what the heck?
Through a little bit of trial and error (I cleverly lost the one remaining bead on that first sleep-deprived trip to the hardware store), I found replacements for the little wooden beads that help the tray swing smoothly, and they even matched the finish of the tray perfectly, which was a nice bonus.
I put it all back together, and voila!
The paint color looks a little uneven in these shots, but it's just the light being weird. It's all the same green, and it's not at all florescent. |
It looks even better with a baby in it.
He's a little bit little for it yet; he's still perfecting his sitting-up skills, and can't do it for too long at a time.
A strong start. |
Starting to slide! |
But he'll get there! In the meantime, maybe a little pad would help. Hmm…
Sandra Modersohn says
So cute! I love wooden high chairs. There is something so warm and homey about them!
adailyportion says
That is adorable– well done!
Beth says
It looks great! When my oldest was old enough to sit in a high chair, we also went the wood route and four children later, we still use it! When the baby is still perfecting the sitting up stage, but could do it with some help (i. e. in a a high chair.) we picked up some of the no slip shelf liner you find near contact paper at the store and cut a square. It worked perfectly!
_Rosie says
That's a good idea – I think I'll try that!
Bethany says
Love it!
Little Dorrit says
Amazing! You did a fantastic job!
prairieprincess says
Coming out of lurkdom to say that looks great. AND… We liked to use non-slip drawer/shelf liner on the seat of a high chair to keep baby from slipping around. Works great. We've used it at church, too, on wooden pew seats for little people whose legs are too short for the bench.
Susan says
Well, that is just fantastic.
Susan says
Well done, you! I love the green.
bearing says
Beautiful.
Now, tell me if you have any tips for quickly cleaning the food goo out of the crevices of such a chair. My kid's wooden high chair is always really gross….
_Rosie says
Well, he hasn't actually *eaten* anything in it yet…
But other than the post-meal wiping down, I think my plan of attack will involve using a warm soapy wet rag to wet down the gross bits. Leave it for a few minutes to soak in and loosen things up and then wipe it up. If necessary, I have a little brush under my sink that I use for jobs like that.
I think the paint will help, actually – there are fewer crevices now than there were before because the paint sort of stopped up the joints. This is my hope, anyway!
Jennie C. says
Nice job! I never get around to refinishing my old stuff. I just wash it up and use it as is. 🙂
Bethany James says
I love it! And, no offense, I laughed so hard about forgetting the word for “high chair”. Just because I've done things like that SO many times before. I don't even have a baby for an excuse, so you should not feel bad at all!
_Rosie says
I laughed pretty hard, myself!
Phyllis says
I laughed, too, and somehow it made me feel better about all the forgetting words that I do. Thank you!
priest's wife says
just beautiful- and I love the straps
RedTartan says
Oh, Rosie! I just love your high chair! It is gorgeous! So much better than those plastic ones. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!
Abby says
Love this! I'm on a hunt for a wooden…what's it called? Thing for eating in?….Oh yeah, I'm on a hunt for a wooden highchair myself. Love the color, love the straps…great job!
Ginger says
Fantastic….that is my favorite green…..Grody is one of my words, haven't heard it in awhile.
Now back to laundry.
Blessings
mary says
lovely. towels eolled up and stuck on each side work great to prop up a baby so he can play for five more minutes while mommy is cooking and he is learning that sitting in a chair alone is great fun!
Mrs. Pickles says
So bright and pretty and cheerful! Well done!
And your Pippo is quite the handsome little man!
_Rosie says
Thank you!
FishMama says
Amazing!
Bobbi says
You're right it's even CUTER with the baby in it. For sure!! I also giggled when you forgot the word for high chair…I wish I could tell you that'd be the last time that's gonna happen. I've had many a similar fine hour myself. HAHA!
Anitra says
Hahah. I totally understand what you mean about forgetting the name “high chair” and then being embarrassed! I think “mommy brain” is a combination of being overtired and needing to keep track of SO MANY things – when did I last feed the baby, how much/how long did he eat, when did I change his diaper, when did he sleep, my to-do list for the day, etc. For me, at least, it only gets worse with additional children in the mix (now I also need to keep track of when the toddler slept, what she ate, and when she went potty). I sometimes wonder that mothers of 3 or 4 littles can EVER carry on a sensible conversation!
The highchair looks great – much more attractive than the scratched-up plastic one I have. After this baby graduates from it, it's going in the trash. I don't feel like I could clean it well enough to feel good about giving it to someone else.
Emily says
I love the result! (Although I agree, I probably would have been nervous about the color initially, too.) How long do you think it took you to do it, in actual hours?
_Rosie says
It actually didn't take very long at all – it was just very (very) spread out. Four hours, maybe? Not counting waiting for things to dry, but counting me being dumb (especially with the straps) and having to do things twice.
Rachel P. says
It's looks wonderful, Rosie! Our last highchair got tossed in our last move thanks to a case of black mold and we don't have the money to replace it. For the first nine months we held our latest baby on our laps and then we realized that she would do just as well sitting in one of the dining room chairs with a soft fabric belt around her middle and around a few of the slats in the back of the chair to keep her from toppling out. It's worked like a charm! Pippo does look adorable in his high chair and it is very nice for him that you are so willing to go to all that work for him and babies to come.
Dawn@OneFaithfulMom says
Okay, the high chair is beyond adorable. But that last photo of little Pippo is the BOMB!!! That has got to be one of the cutest baby pictures I've ever seen!! What a cute little guy!!
_Rosie says
Aw, thank you!
MamabearJD says
Love it! All of it! I wish I had done a wooden high chair! The green is great, and bravo for you getting that done. I wonder what Pippo will think when he's older and finds out about all of his fans? 🙂 Will he wonder why we are all so excited about his high chair?
BLD_in_MT says
Fabulous
Provincial Homemaker says
Love, love the green.
We bought a similar style high chair ($15) and spray painted it red. I would advise keeping a spare can on hand; as ours has been in service for 6 months and is worse for wear between Ginger's excitable fork and spoon banging and corner chewing !
Ours did not have same safety strap system as yours, but what it did have was not enough to hold Ginger in securely – we ended up buying a folding travel high chair (we bought it at Big W – the Australian walmart equivalent) which we strapped on – it gave her a height boost and an array of straps to hold her in place.
Sue says
Wow! It looks so gorgeous!! That last photo of Pippo is even more so. You have inspired me to get off the computer and go do… something. Anything!
Anne says
wow! i am so impressed! you really went all!! out and it looks great! And pippo shows it off nicely too. so cute in that first picture looking out like “hey, this is my seat, what do you think? nice?”
Katherine Lauer says
Beautiful! You did a wonderful job.
Barbara says
Awesome job, Rosie!
Lorraine says
I love green! And I miss you forgetting words! 🙂
regan says
you did a phenomenal job! and that green is boy perfect! i painted a bookshelf i found on the side of the road (read:someone else's trash!) that same color once and it really brightened up our tiny house…a word of warning with that high chair: we had a similar one and i had the darndest time keeping my oldest from lifting up that tray. one time he did it when i turned for a second and bam! there he was face first on the tile! i was so devastated! so perhaps some kind of pad with ties to keep the tray down would be a good remedy for that!
_Rosie says
Oh, poor baby! Thanks for the heads up. I will definitely look into that.
Lisa G. says
Excellent job!! Wow. And the green – light Kelly? Anyway, you'll never lose it.
justamouse says
Not that is the art of the Viola! Absolutely adorable.
womanofthehouse says
It looks great! You did a wonderful job, and I love the green!
Celine says
Awesome job. You are very inspiring! I would never have thought to replace the straps–brilliant. I have to add, the colors would work equally well for a girl baby–so smart!
_Rosie says
That was the idea! 🙂
Margo says
I'm so impressed with your hard work and the final result!! It's FANTASTIC. That green is very cool and I had no idea there was plastic-specific spray paint! I can think of some plastic things I want to paint, oh yes sirree.
I laughed out loud at the blank-out in the hardware store and your description of the man's face. ha hahaha Maybe we realize we're getting old in a good way when we can laugh at ourselves over that, instead of getting purple-faced in frustration. Because, I hate to tell you, even uninterrupted, adequate sleep has never fixed my blank-outs that started when my children were born.
Erika says
I love it! You and your mother have such a knack for totally transforming furniture with a little bit of elbow grease and a can of spray paint. So inspiring!
Joy in the South says
Love the green! And I could look at pictures of your sweetie all day long!! Keep 'em comin'!
Natasha says
I am so impressed! What an awesome high chair! Love the color.
Mary says
My climbing, table-crawling baby needs to be strapped down in his chair, and I'm totally in love with your rad, fabric straps. I might just have to make some this evening.
Debbie says
Absolutely fantastic! From that shade of green, to the red, and that fabric! Oh my…
Blessings, Debbie
Anne Marie says
I've become addicted to your blog! You and your mom are so creative with your cans of spray paint! I just love it. Thought you might be interested in entering the following contest. You're sure to win! http://www.krylondualduel.com/
Emily B says
I just wrote a blog post about how your high chair has inspired me to repaint all of my kids' furniture bright colors! I love this idea! And, your little man is too cute!
Amy says
I saw this post a day after walking away from a wooden high chair at a garage sale (although, I was not pregnant at the time, so really there was no need for a high chair). My husband loves your high chair (as do I), but I'm concerned with the practicality. How has it worked out for you? I'm concerned that it is not adjustable in any way, like the tray cannot slide in and out to adjust to a child. I'm also concerned about the tray coming down on little fingers. Is it a pain to clean because you cannot remove the tray? I ask all this for my husband, since now we are expecting and are thinking about things like high chairs and such. Thanks! 🙂
_Rosie says
Amy, I still love it! My only real issues with it have to do with my own choices in fixing it up (ie, I'm thinking of redoing the straps in a more wipe-able material).
Pippo's now a tall 15-month old, and the fact that the tray doesn't adjust hasn't been an issue. The straps kept him from sliding out when he younger and from climbing out now. (straps are definitely crucial!)
These days I mostly just leave the tray down in place because the whole chair is more stable that way when he's not in it (he likes to push furniture around…). When it's time to eat, I lift him into it and he sits down. We haven't gotten any crushed fingers from the tray yet (I think it probably helps that it's not swinging back and forth all the time).
Being able to take the tray off to clean it would be nice (my mom's wooden high chair does that), but it hasn't been a big issue for me. He's made some pretty thorough messes, but you'd end up having to wipe down the chair whether or not the tray comes off, so it's not that big of a deal to do it all in the same place.
In short, I like it, and would recommend the same style chair (with straps!) if you came across one!
Amy says
I'm excited to say that we now have in our possession our own wooden high chair thanks to Craig's List and a very sweet Russian couple. We haven't decided how we want to refinish it…we have commitment issues when it comes to painting and other DIY projects. But we have plenty of time, since the little one is still baking away. Basically…we own the one thing we really don't need. LOL! I'll have to post pictures when we do decide what to do with it…which will probably be several months from now. Sorry, but I like yours so much, I may have to copy your design entirely 🙂 Thanks for the review of your high chair! My husband is happy 🙂
_Rosie says
Amy – exciting! You'll definitely have to post a link here when you're done. I definitely understand the DIY commitment anxiety, and look forward to seeing what you do. I'm sure it will be great and your little one will love it as soon as he/she's big enough to use it! 🙂
(one other note: if yours has a plastic buckle on the strap, I don't recommend spray painting it like I did. It's the one thing that really hasn't held up!)
Gemma says
Hi! I’m looking for similar screws for my high chair tray. Do you happen to remember what they were called or looked like? 😬 I know this is an ancient post.😅
Rosie says
Sorry, I just brought one in and had someone help me find one that matched. It’s the kind that is flat at the end, rather than sharp (I know the sharp ones are wood screws, but am not remembering the name of the other). If you think you might be looking for the same exact screws I could try taking one out and taking a pic for you?!