A New Old High Chair

 Way back when my kids were babies, I wanted an old fashioned wooden high chair.  But, such things were a) hard to find, and b) out of my budget.  Besides, I'd been gifted a nice new high chair at the baby shower that was thrown for me when I was pregnant with DS1.  So, a wooden high chair just wasn't in the cards.

Fast forward many, many years.  More than thirty, in fact.  Toward the end of her pregnancy with Faline, DD1 sent me a text with a picture of what looked like a 1950s wooden high chair.  It was followed with a text that read "$15, are you interested? It's just down the road from me, I'll go get it."

She had a modern high chair all ready for Faline, but knew that I still wanted a wooden high chair to use at this little place here when grandkids visit.

I jumped on the offer, telling her that if it was sturdy and in usable shape, to please get it. So she did.  And I'm so happy she saw it, because it's in great shape.

The finish had worn off the tray, most likely from years of use, but the rest of it just needed a wash.

When I was staining the porch swing last summer (talked about in this post), I also refinished the high chair tray.  I put on two coats of the same stain/sealant as the swing, and the tray looked good as new.

The stain almost matches the original color on the high chair.  I thought about maybe sanding down the rest of the chair and refinishing it too, so that it all is the exact same shade, but that would be about impossible without damaging the cute rabbit decal that is on it.  So, I left the rest alone.  Under most lighting, you can barely tell that the tray isn't a perfect match.

And that is how I finally got my wooden high chair.  It is missing the identifying plaque that once upon a time was on the footrest, so I don't know when it was made, or who manufactured it.  Searching the internet tells me it could be as old as the 1940s, or as young as the 1960s.  Either way, it's worth way more than the $15 I paid for it.  But, to me, the value is in it's usability.  Like the vast majority of the other antique items in my possession, it's purpose is utilitarian rather than decorative.

Faline totally approves.