My new Don Draper chairs

 

"Be still my beating heart," I told myself, when first I laid eyes on them. Beautiful, rich leather and deep lustrous timber I hoped would be walnut. They'd been listed on Gumtree as vintage armchairs and they came as a set of ten. They were just gorgeous and I was in love. I was so very lucky to have them.

They're so very Mad Men-esque wouldn't you agree? I'm calling them my Don Draper chairs. They came out of a divine heritage office in Charlotte Street, where the lift had an old manual gate and the walls were exposed brick. The chairs were around a meeting room and were being replaced with a new set. I had no idea what I was going to do with ten, but I knew exactly where two would go.  The buttoned leather was similar to the couch in our lounge room...it's like it was meant to be.

The design is so unique yet classic and the quality of workmanship is how it used to be in an era when people took their time and had pride in their work.

I love this arrangement, under the new tea towel art. Having two armchairs now in the set means a more people can comfortably sit in the space and have a conversation. I do need a new side table for the middle though, this just doesn't quite work. I feel it will need to be a lighter coloured table for contrast, just maybe in a round shape. For the moment though, it will do just fine.

Originally I thought this would be a good restoration project, but they really are in pristine condition, especially considering their age and the number in the set. There's really no need for restoration at all.

The leather is still supple without any cracks, scratches or fading, it's really quite astounding. There's just one chair with a button missing and it's hardly at all noticeable. The frames are still sturdy and with a few minor chips on the inside of a couple of the chairs. Nothing you would notice unless you were underneath and up close and personal with the chair.

I gave the chair pads a quick wipe with a leather cleaner and the frames a wipe with some furniture wax and that's all that was really needed. It's so cliched, but they really did look like brand new...I still can't believe it.

The remaining eight are earmarked for our new house (way down the track) where I'm hoping we'll have a large dining room. For the moment though, they'll be stored at Jansen's office. It works out perfectly as he only had a couple of office chairs. I have no idea what he did if he had more than a couple of clients in the meeting, but from here on in, he can have a meeting with eight (very) comfortably!

Over this projects I've really come across some amazing bargains and some amazing finds. I'm going to count this in my top five.