Search This Blog

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

antique upholstery

I would Like to share a few thoughts here on "antique" home furnishings.
The chair featured in this post I found at a tag sale in Milford New Hampshire for $20.
Some points that make this century old chair attractive are....
Solid "beefy" frame
Long wooden arms
A very nice sitting height of 19 inches
Not a lot of fabric needed to upholster, just 3 yards
I'd estimate it was created between WW1 and WW2
All natural cotton and horse hair stuffings
The wood carvings are simple and soft
This chair has held up well
 And is it ever comfortable!
 One most common mistakes folks make is they look and consider the fabric only when assessing a older piece of home furnishings.
It would be a fair statement that; now-a-days to obtain upholstered home furnishings that are functional, will stand up with time and remain financially reasonable  for most of us for many years, upholstering quality older furnitue is a great viable option.
After a hundred years the wood needed some attention as well as rebuilding the inside back.
This chair is a great example of functional "old" furniture.
Some big draw backs that are common with older furniture are....
The setting height is to low
They are too complex requiring excessive labor to restore (overstuffed)
Thin framed chairs
not comfortable
Just too delicate to be used on a regular basis.
The fabric was chosen from my in stock library. It has been coined a "transitional fabric" Because of its traditional look but the fabric is new and fresh design. Not considered contemporary.
A simple deck, hand sewn inside.
A quality decking fabric was used on the outside back, adding value to the tapestry.
                         I have been specializing in home furniture upholstery for 20 years now.
20 years ago the folks I worked for generally were more aware of home furnishings that are practical then they are now.
With corporate television and print advertizing Quality older furniture is being overlooked in Americas furniture market.
Some of the best moments we have in life can be found in our family living rooms.
This chair I am taking to mine.

Thanks for looking!

Practical Upholstery
The #1 blog
for small town American upholstery shops
in all of blogdom!

1 comment: