A Beautiful Little Chair That Could

You probably remember the story about ‘The Little Engine That Could’. My mom used to read it to me and it was one of my favorite stories. In a world with big important shiny trains, it was overlooked. But the little blue engine stepped up when she was needed to pull a load of toys over the mountain- even though she wasn’t so sure she could, she chanted ‘I think I can’ the whole way and did it. 

Maybe that engine was overlooked or otherwise unimportant to some- but she was just as lovely as the other engines and found her place. And I often times think of old forgotten things that are kind of like that too. Maybe they have lost some of their polish and they are overlooked rather than appreciated. 

Our house was kind of like that when we found it too. You have heard the story before, it had been abandoned for most of the years it had lived, no family had lived in it and filled its walls with laughter and memories. It felt cold and lonely and forgotten. And when I first saw it, I swear you could see the house stand up tall and put on a smile in hopes that a family would love it. And we did. Our children grew up filling the house with laughter noise, musical instruments playing the latest song, their little feet running down halls – all while living among the tattered parts and broken things that came along with a fixer.

Truth be told, it would be considered a fixer even after all these years. The old original drawers in the kitchen drop when you pull them out too far. There is no air conditioning or heating other than the fireplace in the living room. The floors are not so much level and some walls lean, which causes doors to not work as they should. But, I would never think of fixing some of those- they are part of the story that we love. 

And when someone asks me why I fall head over heels for something like a worn out old house that is a load of work just waiting to happen, I tell them, I don’t see it as ‘worn out.’ I see it as ‘well loved’.  I have always seen ‘potential’ to a fault.

And that goes beyond old houses and fixer uppers, I see the same thing in furniture that has a little ‘extra patina’ like this dainty little antique vanity chair. It is full of old stained fabric that has torn in places, the lovely little skirt is jagged in spots, the floral fabric is threadbare and delicate and the ruffles are less than perfect. But I look at that old torn fabric and see all the ways this chair is beautiful. 

And it is AMAZING and So beautiful to me. And it reminds me of our old house in tatters and the little engine finding her way.

This old chair talked to me from the first time I saw it. I knew it would be beautiful tucked in a corner. Placed in the garden for a photo. Or by the old floral painted dresser in the attic. And you know, I loved every inch of the tattered old stained fabric. And though it was offered for sale as a chair that needed to be re-upholstered- there was no consideration of doing that over here. That well loved fabric is staying.

And while it was listed for sale for a very low price because it needed so much work and most people didn’t glance past the ripped fabric and stains, I could hardly wait to pick it up and bring it home. 

And once it was home, I carted that dainty little chair out to the garden path and placed an armful of fresh cut flowers on it and smiled. And as the sun started to set and the light danced across the flowers, I soaked up the magic and that little ‘worn out’ chair seemed to smile back at me while I photographed it. 

Happy Monday friends.