Come On In

My nephews were coming for a week’s visit, and I needed two wood chairs for the kitchen. I was looking for basic, nothing-special, affordable $50 chairs. And, I was firm about my $50 budget. Should have been simple, right?

I looked all over town without any luck. I found a cute, painted, white chair at Ross Dress for Less, but I needed a pair and they only had one.

After days of searching, my boyfriend, Oscar, and I finally found a Pine Riverside chair at City Mill for $39.99. Score! However, this chair was the only one in stock and it was the floor model. But, I was in luck. The Kaimuki store had two in supply and would hold them for me. When we went to pick them up I paid at the register, and the gentleman handed me two small boxes from behind the counter. I hesitated, and looked over my shoulder toward Oscar and said, “Ummm ... not exactly what I had in mind.” At the first location, I had failed to notice that they were unfinished, assembly-required chairs. But, no worries. Oscar was up to the job.

Once home, it turned out that glue was required for the assembly. I busted out the last of my Super Glue, which, well, dried super fast and didn’t allow enough time to hammer the joints into place. After assembling half of one chair, we also realized that, given Manoa’s humidity, it would be good to stain the unfinished wood.

Back to City Mill:
$1.69 Hobby ’n Craft Glue
$3.99 Puritan Pinewood finish
$8.39 Shur-Line staining brush

Back at the house, we wrapped up the job. A bit high off of glue and staining fumes, Oscar sat back, enjoyed a beer and admired his workmanship.

Chairs put to the test by nephews Tate and Kyle.

Days later, once the stain was dry, I pulled out one of the chairs for a test sit, and I heard its feet scrape across the floor. I figured, some sliders would do the trick.

Back to City Mill:
$4.89 Super Sliders

Total per chair?
$49.47 (not including tax)

In the end, I realized why I couldn’t find a ready-to-sit-in chair for $50.

About a week later, I stopped by a Kaimuki used-furniture shop and noticed two, nice wood chairs for $30 each. For a moment, I considered buying them to replace the ones we had built. Then I thought of all the effort that had gone into building the chairs. And, although it was a lot of work, it was also weekend downtime ... creative energy ... and building something together that we now use every day. That was something I couldn’t put a value on and that couldn’t be replaced easily—even ready made.

Enjoy the read!
aimeeh@pacificbasin.net"> aimeeh@pacificbasin.net

Publisher’s Pick: I love the bright polka-dots and swirled stripes of this playful “Berryware” from Executive Chef. Set of four nesting bowls, $62.95; utensil holder, $31.25; salt & pepper shakers, $24.95; silicone whisks (safe for non-stick cookware), from $18.95. Happy home! terryr@pacificbasin.net