Saving a Seat

In the Beginning:

This chair belonged to my great GREAT grandparents. It has been in my Aunt's garage for years now, and they gave it to me thinking I might be interested in repairing the rocker. After years of use, and many more of sitting, the bottom had fallen out (it was originally a thick cloth material crisscrossing and holding in the cushion. The sides had popped out so that the arms were out of their holes, the fabric had faded, etc. I didn't really capture all this, BUT the wood was solid, and intact. Conveniently, I know a carpenter, who also happens to be related to me, and he agreed to fix the base when I bought some wood to reinforce the cushion, and he managed to get the slates back into place and reinforce them with wood glue. Next it was time to recover the faded fabric. Sure, I could have picked something befitting this rocker's history but, I think it's important to add a little 'me' to it so that in a hundred years, when my great great-someone recovers it, they will wonder about this funky fabric I chose. I wanted to stain the wood darker, but at my Mom's request, I left it the original color, so....I can deal, for now. OK, really, I don't know if it will hold up even A year b/c I pretty much made up how to do all the repairs, but I can because there are no furniture police allowed access to my house, and I could list all the things I did wrong times ten, but I'm OK with that!
The Finished Product:

When I sit down, and hear the creaks, I have to wonder about my grandparents, and their parents, AND their parent's parents who sat here and rocked, and were soothed by the rhythm. I like to imagine who sat here and rocked, who was rocked in this chair, and I look forward to adding a few of my own stories to be saved inside these creaky wooden slates.