I thought I'd try something different with this entry, so if you don't like it, comment or I may end up doing it again.
When my Mum's mum passed away, I was lucky enough to inherit quite a few of her beautiful pieces of furniture. Many of them extremely old, some of them showing their age, but all of them holding cherished memories. For me they were especially dear, as my mother's parents lived in California & as you know, I grew up in Hawaii. We did not get to spend many vacations with them, so a lot of my memories have ties to those pieces.
One of my most favorite pieces of furniture that I inherited from Grandmother's house was the dining room table & matching chairs. These were gorgeous pieces of furniture made in a time when smooth, curling lines & elegant design were standard. I loved this set because it reminded me of the few meals we did get to experience at my grandparents' house. I have seen pictures of me as an infant at that table (actually I was in a swing in the background, but everyone else was at the table). I think they even had it when my mum was a child.
Sadly, with all that family history came wear & tear. Most notably on the chairs. Unfortunately, the chairs had experienced the results of many, many meals & after a year or two with us, they begged to be retired. Heartbroken, after almost a year of stalling, I agreed to let my husband replace those beautiful old chairs. But not without attempting to salvage some part of them, something to hold onto. Something to remind me of my Grandmother.
After discussing it with my husband & inspecting all six of the chairs to see what was safe enough to salvage & what could actually be used safely, we decided to keep the actual seats. Instantly I knew what could be done with them. French Memo Boards! Of course, my mother-in-law had them all over her house & I loved the way she was able to keep so many pictures of her adorable grandchildren on display all year 'round.
So, having made my decision & saving the seats from a lonely unknown fate away from the only family they'd ever known (yes I know, horribly mean of me), I set out to find the perfect fabric for my memo boards. Little did I know, the search for the perfect fabric would take me almost five years.
During the long, sometimes maddening search for the perfect fabric (long because I'm picky & maddening because I'm picky) many things happened. The most devastating was a house fire that claimed not just belongings, but a beloved feline family member. The dinning room table was completely lost, along with every physical item I inherited from my Dad's mom. (Luckily, I have many precious memories of her as she lived in Hawaii & I was fortunate enough to see her on almost a weekly basis.) But the seats from the original dinning room chairs happened to be in the garage at the time. Miraculously the whole house did not burn down & even though we had to completely rebuild, there was enough that was salvageable that we did not have to completely start over.
So, fast forward (finally) to the reason for this post. A French Memo Board. I decided, somewhere during the epically long search for fabric, that I should just try to make a smaller version. If only to prove to myself that I could do it. And I did! And here it is.....
One of my most favorite pieces of furniture that I inherited from Grandmother's house was the dining room table & matching chairs. These were gorgeous pieces of furniture made in a time when smooth, curling lines & elegant design were standard. I loved this set because it reminded me of the few meals we did get to experience at my grandparents' house. I have seen pictures of me as an infant at that table (actually I was in a swing in the background, but everyone else was at the table). I think they even had it when my mum was a child.
Sadly, with all that family history came wear & tear. Most notably on the chairs. Unfortunately, the chairs had experienced the results of many, many meals & after a year or two with us, they begged to be retired. Heartbroken, after almost a year of stalling, I agreed to let my husband replace those beautiful old chairs. But not without attempting to salvage some part of them, something to hold onto. Something to remind me of my Grandmother.
After discussing it with my husband & inspecting all six of the chairs to see what was safe enough to salvage & what could actually be used safely, we decided to keep the actual seats. Instantly I knew what could be done with them. French Memo Boards! Of course, my mother-in-law had them all over her house & I loved the way she was able to keep so many pictures of her adorable grandchildren on display all year 'round.
So, having made my decision & saving the seats from a lonely unknown fate away from the only family they'd ever known (yes I know, horribly mean of me), I set out to find the perfect fabric for my memo boards. Little did I know, the search for the perfect fabric would take me almost five years.
During the long, sometimes maddening search for the perfect fabric (long because I'm picky & maddening because I'm picky) many things happened. The most devastating was a house fire that claimed not just belongings, but a beloved feline family member. The dinning room table was completely lost, along with every physical item I inherited from my Dad's mom. (Luckily, I have many precious memories of her as she lived in Hawaii & I was fortunate enough to see her on almost a weekly basis.) But the seats from the original dinning room chairs happened to be in the garage at the time. Miraculously the whole house did not burn down & even though we had to completely rebuild, there was enough that was salvageable that we did not have to completely start over.
So, fast forward (finally) to the reason for this post. A French Memo Board. I decided, somewhere during the epically long search for fabric, that I should just try to make a smaller version. If only to prove to myself that I could do it. And I did! And here it is.....
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I am rather proud of myself. It may not be as professional looking as something you can buy in a store & certainly isn't as fancy as the ones you can buy on Etsy. It is however hand made with plenty of Aloha poured into every inch of it.
In case you are wondering, no I cannot find a picture of the table or chairs. No I have not made a memo board from the seats, as I am still looking for the right sized nails. Yes, as soon as I have everything I want to make them, I will at the very least take pictures of my process so that you can join me in my (hopefully successful) quest to preserve the temporary resting places of many of my family's behinds. ;)
Aloha until next time my lovelies.
In case you are wondering, no I cannot find a picture of the table or chairs. No I have not made a memo board from the seats, as I am still looking for the right sized nails. Yes, as soon as I have everything I want to make them, I will at the very least take pictures of my process so that you can join me in my (hopefully successful) quest to preserve the temporary resting places of many of my family's behinds. ;)
Aloha until next time my lovelies.
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