We needed to either replace the chairs of our dining room suite, or replace the lot, and as usually there are only the two of us, we have decided to downsize, a smaller table and only four chairs instead of six, it will give us more space, and if we have visitors we can always improvise, we usually eat outside anyway, so it wouldn\’t often be a problem.
Having scoured the area, with the exception of the big Furniture Stores, which import their suites, most here are made by the Shop concerned in a workshop above or behind their shop. We found a design we liked, but hate the finish they used, it is a choice of either black or dark brown paint, which allows them to reduce the quality of the finish.
The construction itself is in Oak, albeit not the bets quality timber, it is workable, they tend to use a bit of filler, so that all the wood can be used. We negotiated with the shop, as a result of which we went with the trailer today, and collected our Suite, which includes the table with a thick glass top, and four chairs with covered seat pads, for the grand total of £125, unfinished.
I will now spend some time sanding all the pieces, then staining/varnishing them, to give us quality finished timber grain furniture, rather than paint!
An Englishman in Colombia 