Meet Beatrice and Bugly
I have chairs now. They’re not exactly what I was going for but they’re growing on me. We’ve named them Beatrice and Bugly. Beatrice is the gold one on the right. I wanted to name them Ugly and Fugly but Bug thinks the golden chair is rather pretty and princess-like and deserves a better name than Fugly. So we compromised and came up with Beatrice and Bugly. Hopefully Bugly doesn’t turn out to be an omen for creepy crawly bed bugs that you all have so graciously warned me about in the comments. Eeeeee…. I’m totally creeeped out.
I’m pretty sure they are clean though. They smell like a combination of dry cleaner and moth balls and I’ve inspected them deeply and see no sign of bugs or dirt. But I guess time will tell. My Uncle who happens to be a pest control operator is visiting so I’ll ask him to check them out too.
I really like the lines of the top part of the chairs. I love the velvet and the colors. I feel like I’m on a tv show from the late sixties. But I hate the bottom part of the chairs. They’re rocking chairs! Which I do not like at all. They swivel around in circles and are always pointing the wrong way when I walk into the room. I think they secretly are plotting against me when I’m not around.
I thought maybe I could detach the bottom ruffle and the circular rocking parts and then attach some spindly wooden legs that would look much cooler. However, upon closer inspection I found that the rocker is totally incorporated into the chair structure and taking it apart would seriously compromise their stability. So rocking I am stuck with. Though I do have to admit that my guests who have sat in them so far approve. They are quite fun to swivel around in so you can converse with anyone in any part of the room.
And the best part? The dogs do not like them. So far there have been no dogs sitting on chairs. I think that’s great.
I’m not 100% on them though and since they only cost $12 and $17 respectively, I might take them back to the thrift store if something better comes along. We’re also talking about making an outdoor living room where my carport is so they might work out there for a summertime thing. I don’t know. I figure I’m just renting them for a flat rate of $29 and I can return them whenever I like.
But for now they’re kinda fun. I even bought a mumu for fifty cents at a garage sale to get in the spirit. It so groovy and unflattering. I’m sure it would look super cute on me if I was seventeen though. Maybe I should make it back into a tablecloth. Or I could just keep it around for those crazy days when you don’t care what you look like because it’s ONE HUNDRED AND FIVE DEGREES IN THE SHADE! I’m so not looking forward to those days.
For now I can just wear it when nobody is looking and pretend I’m living in the good old days back before I was born.
Were you wondering where I put my old white chair? It was quite a conundrum at first. I went from having no chairs to suddenly having too many chairs. I tried to fit them all in my living room and while it was great for conversation, it really got on my nerves that everything was so crowded. I didn’t realize what a neurotic freak I was until I found myself up at night stressing out about having too many chairs in my living room.
The next day I moved everything around in a manic blur and ended up with the white chair in my Parisian bedroom. I can’t believe it fit. It is actually kind of nice there. Holly thinks I put it there just for her.
Addendum:
Now that I’m looking at Bugly in photos, I’m not loving him so much. What do you say? Hot or NOT. I’m thinking most of you are thinking I’ve lost my mind in some kind of seventies haze. He really does look better in real life and that crocheted blanket actually is so clashy it’s cool, in my mind.
25 Comments
sizzle
I really like the Beatrice chair. I wish I could find a cool chair for under $20. Seattle jacks up the prices of everything. Sigh.
bethany actually
You’re so funny that you don’t like rocking chairs! They are very comfy to sit in and handy for conversing, and if they’re facing the wrong way when you walk in the room, just kick ’em to get them back in line. That’ll show ’em who’s boss! :-)
alissa
Well, I really like both of them and I can’t believe you got them for such a great price. The chair in your bedroom looks like it was made for that space :)
Aunt B
When we were young we had two swivel rocking chairs. My dad got tired of us swiveling, rocking and probably making way too much noise that he screwed something to the underneath(or something) so we could not swivel & rock any more but I’m sure that didn’t stop us from making noise.
bethany
they both look perfectly comfortable, like I’d never want to get out of them. just what a living room chair should be. and i honestly like bugly better, though beatrice isn’t bad herself, I’m probably just remembering the gold shag carpet of my childhood :). the stripes are groovy in my book (and yes the crocheted blanket on it is cool!). I got a small orange swivel rocker at the salvation army when douglas was born, finally ditched it last year as it was threadbare and had bandannas pinned over the cat-scratched spots for entirely too long.
Jessica
I actually really like the lines on both the chairs and love how they both have that nice high back. I really hate a chair with low back that hits you just the wrong way… Know what I mean?
And that mumu? It’s to die for!! I don’t know that I’d actually wear it, b/c I’m totally not a mumu wearing kind of girl… But it looks like one of those things that could totally be given new life as a set of drapes, or something fun like that! I mean it’s essentially just a nice pretty piece of fabric! Heck, it could be a lovely swag at the top of a pair of curtains! Sheesh, the potential…
And really, for .50? You could dye it black and use it as something completely different. Regardless, I love it.
kelly
I have a similar problem with a couple of chairs in my house.
My plan to rehab them this summer is to sew right over/into the upholstery with other fabrics …and maybe deploy fabric glue/staples other embellishments till it looks right and has all the colors and patterns I want in my room. I was thinking that you could maybe easily recover the seat cushion, keep the tufted back and just go crazy looking for things that speak to you to add..maybe dots with your stripes? Maybe adding velvet ribbon stripes with iron on sewing stuff? Fabric Paint? Fabric Markers? something on the buttons?
Madge
I love swivel rockers!! Maybe because they remind me of the good ol’ days? I hope your chairs get a clean bill of health from your uncle. I have this mental image of you up late at night shouting, “The chairs! The Chairs!!” in you head though, hahaha
JennyBean
I might be with you on the Ugly/Fugly thing, HOWEVER I’m also thinking they might just be that way in isolation; I can see how they might be very cool in the wider context of your awesome retro vibe.
What about slipcovers? The chairs generally have a nice shape and, roller-wheels aside, they could look very nice if you just popped some slipcovers on them. You made the slipcover for the white chair, right? (or am I getting confused again)
I’m enjoying seeing your little home come together piece by piece, by the way. Thanks for sharing. :)
Elizabeth
I think that both Beatrice and Bugly are lovely in the context of your 60’s/70s vibe house. They even blend nicely with the color of your wall paneling! I say keep them!
emily
I love the mumu and would wear that in public any day. Man, great thrifty finds!
Jenn Bo
The chairs look comfy. I bet in time you’ll find a way to change the look to something you love.
Although, I don’t recommend spray paint. Did you ever watch “Trading Spaces”? There was one episode where the designer spray painted the fabric of a chair. I couldn’t believe it!
Andrea
I love your white chair…..
Ninabi
Oooh- I love swivel chairs! Can one person stand and spin the chair while a small child goes for a ride? My mother in law’s chairs had that much swivel to them and when my kids were little, going to her house was like going to Six Flags. She never got mad no matter how rowdy they got.
I love your chair names- we’ve given our cars private names but the chairs seem like old friends when given monikers.
Tammie D
I LOVE ALL OF IT–the chairs, the mumu!!! I was born in the early 1970’s so I would just go crazy if I could find chairs like these. They would go great with my burnt orange sectional.
TexasLea
I like them! Have you tried a smaller pillow on the gold chair instead of the big pink one? Maybe in one of the stripe colors from the other chair?
Also, I happen to like the rocking swivel action, but if you really want to stop it, try putting a couple of bricks under the chair- one on each side of the swivel mechanism. I had to resort to that once because we had a swivel chair in an awkward spot and it was rubbing the paint off the wall.
As for the mumu, that looks soooo comfy! I think it is a really pretty pattern too, before you write it off for a house dress try tying a pretty ribbon around as a belt. I think it would look pretty cute with some flip flops and big sunglasses. :)
Taibi
I think the chairs are great. Keep them! If you like their shapes but not the fabric, you could always consider making custom slipcovers.
Shosh
I like them! Is it a fortune to recover them?
SAJ
I know you’ll think I’m crazy but I actually like the material they are covered in already. Especially the golden one. I’m just not sure I like having TWO rockers. It feels a little too 70’s to me, like I need to mix it up with something else. I’ll probably end up moving the white chair back and returning Bugly but I’m going to sit (heh heh) on that decision for a while.
Recovering is possible but it is a lot of work and can be expensive if you hire it out.
Emily
I like Bugly more than Beatrice! And she makes me feel sad because I once had a chair just like her that I had to send to my sister’s house when I moved across the country. I’m back home now, and miss her but my sister is attached :( I think both match the theme of your home. Give them time.
Clover
Ooh, swivel rockers are the best! I could never pry my brother out of ours when he visited. And they make conversation so much easier because you can turn to talk to different people at different times. Have fun with your new chairs!
Kristy
I really like the chairs! We have a gold one the exact color and fabric as yours. It belonged to my husband’s grandfather and my husband refuses to part with it. I wasn’t a fan in the beginning, but I’ve grown to dig it over the years. Those old chairs sure are comfy!
Bethany
Thumbs up for Beatrice. Thumbs down for Bugly.
OMSH
I can offer nothing other than kudos for the names – because they are STILL cracking me up.
Beatrice and Bugly, indeed.
anna b bonkers
Oh man, the mumu thing is a hoot! I had no idea what that was but it is something! Not sure what…..and I would keep it around too for those insanely hot and who cares what I look like kind of days. But I like things a little off the wall!
Beatrice and bulgy. Seriously. Since you named them I can’t help but love em, liked them from the get go but the names…awesome!