Harriet Chair

After our Wal-Mart dining room chairs started falling apart (after 8 years of use) I decided it was time to replace those ugly old things with something a bit more unique. The Harriet Chair really caught my eye, so I set out to build it! My wife, Judi, chose the mustard yellow color and we thought it would be cool to add contrast with some red and white polkadot seat pads from IKEA ($9.99 ea.).

These are the first two I've built, with a goal to eventually build a total of 6-8 to fit around a table I also plan on building.

I made the addition of the front support as Judi likes to rest her feet on it. And, as you can see in the second photo, I added a small brace, cut at 15 deg., on the bottom side screwed to each backrest 2x2, and screwed to the underside of the seat (chair is upside down in photo). This gives additional rigidity and support for the backrest and also provides a nice guide to ensure the backrest has an exact 15 deg. angle on every chair. This was at no additional cost as I used scrap 2x2 pieces for it. And best of all this addition stays hidden and in no way changes the original aesthetic of the chair.

The chairs are extremely sturdy, comfortable and look great in our dining room! The only change I will make on the next set is using higher quality plywood as I had to putty this plywood a bit more than I had hoped. Otherwise, what an easy and inexpensive upgrade to our space!