Finding Gorgeous Wooden Dining Chairs

For some time now I have been looking at old antique shops and garage sales, hoping to come across the perfect set of chairs for our dining room. Currently we have ugly, uncomfortable folding chairs which we basically have kept around just because we haven't had anything better to sit on, but now they will finally be replaced!

Today we picked up a gorgeous set of maple chairs and a table from a local thrift shop. I was not actually looking to buy a table, however you could only buy the chairs as part of the set, and thinking that since this is a drop leaf table, I will probably use it as a sewing table later when we get settled a bit more, so it kind of works out perfectly.

aren't the twisted spindles at the back of the chair such a nice detail!

I have really wanted to find old chairs instead of new ones. Why? Because old chairs tend to have so much more character, plus high quality new ones are rather expensive so you're likely to wind up with higher quality, better looks and a more reasonable price if you go used when it comes to wooden furniture like chairs. Based on a stamp under the table, we think this set is from 1953.

There are two different kinds of chairs in this set: two arm chairs which have a gorgeous old fashioned Windsor-like design with thin spindles, and two regular chairs of a similar, yet a little different design. The chairs are gorgeous just the way they are, however considering we want to stain the top of our dining table a bit darker (and paint the base and the legs antique white) we were really planning on painting the chairs. Plus, we're also planning on bringing in more wood in the form of darker bookcases to compliment a mahogany desk and we want to be careful of having too too much wood in this small space, considering the floors. So we most likely will paint the chairs a nice shade of blue. However looking at them, my heart almost breaks at the thought of painting them, they are so beautiful just the way they are! 

So in other words, I'm beyond excited about these chairs (and the table will come in handy too!) Not only are they nice looking, they are also really comfortable, and I somehow like the idea of two different types of chairs, it mixes things up a bit. I also really like that they aren't overly large and heavy. Instead, even with the arms they feel rather light and they add such a nice feel to the entire space.