Saturday, September 22, 2012

Dumpster Dive Find: Vintage Beauty Shop Chairs! Project of the Future

Driving to a nearby estate sale the other day, I slowed down when I spotted some vintage chair legs sticking out of a pile of junk destined for the landfill.  I stopped and checked things out (can't break that habit!) and spotted these great orange hair dressers chairs.


They looked good, no tears in the vinyl, all the legs there and they hadn't been rained on yet, but we were due for a thunderstorm.  I left them there and continued on to the estate sale where I scored a few small things.


I couldn't stop thinking about those chairs though.  Maybe I could just remove the legs and at least save them from the landfill?  Finally I couldn't stand it any longer and I got the pickup truck.  The chairs were still there, and I figured I would just bring them home with me rather than stand in the street and strip pieces off of them.  You can see where this is going, can't you?  :-)


If they get in the way or become a nuisance, I can always part them out, right?


Check out those cast aluminum armrests.  These chairs would be perfect seating in my future garage, but there's absolutely no room in the man cave or the rumpus room or anywhere in the house.   So for now, they're living in the back of the truck.


You can see the hole in the back of the chair where these at one time had those old beehive hair dryers.  I'm thinking maybe I'll get some PVC pipe and paint it and maybe wire up some kind of lamp for each chair.  Maybe I should make my own Captain Kirk Star Trek Chairs!

Hit me with your ideas, and maybe these will become a future project!

18 comments:

  1. Wow, what a great find! Wish I could spot awesome things like this sticking out of my local skips! :)

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  2. Uncle,
    Those chairs are the bomb! I like the wired for light idea or do something real steampunky clock facey thing to them. And the Star Trek chair idea is another good one! Maybe a movie set company could use them...if you can figure out how to contact someone in that line of work. Anyway, great score and the price was so right!

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  3. There's a bar here with a 50s beauty shop theme where you can get a manicure while you sip a martini, and they have similar chairs.

    I'm sure you'll think of something fun to do with them.

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    Replies
    1. Do the manicurists have the customer soak their fingers in Palmolive?

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  4. Those are AWESOME!!! I think your lamp idea sounds great....or you could just find some old hair dryers to re-attach and open a salon! :)

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  5. Gee! I never find anything good at the curb! I'd have snagged them too. Covered porch chairs maybe? They look comfy!

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  6. I think you should keep them intact and clean them up and do something fun and funky. Even if you found a clever way to cover the holes. It would be a shame to part them out.

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  7. What an awesome find! You should definitely keep them. With thorough cleaning, I don't even think they need to be jazzed up.

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  8. I agree on cleaning them first, and keeping what's there as original as possible. Keep the ideas coming!

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  9. Cool find!

    I'm glad your bionic mid-century eye spotted them and that you decided to rescue them.

    I can't wait to follow the progress.

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  10. Replies
    1. Hmm - interesting. I'm going to think about that. Thanks

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  11. These are an awesome find and I would never part with them. It is hard to tell from the pics. can the backs be taken off with the chair still intact?

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  12. Ummm YES "Captain Kirk chair" is a go!

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  13. Great dumpster dive! I would have brought them home in a heart beat too! I bet they clean up really nicely :-)

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  14. How fantastic are these! Great find! Keep up the wonderful work with your site :) I'm going to link you on mine so I can keep checking back!

    xxxLottie Lee

    http://vintagewarbride.com

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  15. I have more vintage Beauty Shop furniture if you are interested. I even have a bee hive hair dryer as well as a Paider hydraulic chair that lays back. What would you be willing to offer?

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