This weekend we picked up a pair of vintage children’s chairs — each just about two feet tall — at a local yard sale for $7.50 apiece. They were originally priced at $10 each, but we used the classic “two for $15?” negotiation and the seller agreed.
At first glance they had that unmistakable mid-century look: solid construction, steel legs and clean lines. When we turned them over we noticed “Brunswick” stamped on the underside. A quick search revealed that these are original 1950s children’s chairs with a Danish-modern influence, made by Brunswick — the same company known for bowling equipment. The description we found noted that they’re very sturdy and reflect the design trends of that era.
To our surprise, similar chairs were listed online for around $125 each.
We were pretty thrilled — paying $15 for two chairs that could retail for roughly $250 felt like a score. There’s something satisfying about finding items that were well built and still in usable condition decades later. It’s also fun to imagine that people who are now in their 60s may have used these very chairs as children.
We’re still deciding how to finish them and which table to pair them with. We put together a small mood board in a BabyCenter post to explore three styling options we’re considering. Depending on your monitor, the left chair in the main photo might appear teal, but in person it’s more of a murky forest green — not exactly our preferred color. We also favor darker, less yellow wood tones, so we’re planning a refresh.
Some collectors might avoid items from the 1950s, but we bought these to use, not to keep in mint condition as collectibles. We appreciate their durability and design, and we expect they’ll see long-term use — hopefully with multiple children over the years. We also enjoy refinishing projects (we’ve redone other mid-century pieces before) and look forward to giving these chairs a new life. That said, our playroom is currently doubling as a chaotic storage area, so it may be a while before we have time to tackle the project.
Update: On closer inspection we discovered that the forest green chair has been repainted — it was originally the same blonde tone as the other chair. So for anyone who prefers original finishes, note that one of the two we bought had already been painted. We’re leaning toward staining or repainting both chairs to match our tastes, but others might choose to preserve or restore the original finish depending on their plans.