Back In The Day

Back in the day all home furnishings were designed to be owner friendly.

In the sense that the wooden frames were designed to last a hundred years or more.  That the pieces were meant not to use an excessive amount of materials. That anyone with practice and intent could re-upholster them when the fabric needed freshening up.

 This frame is as tight as it was when assembled in about the 1970's.

The setting height is very nice & it's got some great lines & style to it.

Lots of staples to pull to get the lines smooth.

 And with a thick high striped chenille, this ones gonna be a challenge to keep up with the style.

 The base rubber stretch webbing has deteriorated, hardened & bagged out over the last 50 years or so.

 They sure ran some big staples in this webbing.

 Should be good to go for another 50.

Mirror tailoring is what I look out for.

It's been said that two wrongs make a right.

Sometimes thats true.

The inside arms & wings are sewn together before applying.

Lines nice and strait to wrap up the outside of the chair with the inside.

 Seams married, split & steamed.

 Mirror set wings.

 The back doesn't have a spring set, which is fine.I've added a fresh coat of full cotton to keep this comfortable and crisp.

The top of the wings.

The outsides are always a challenge to keep the lines straight.

 I had real nice success matching the inside striped with the outside stripes.

Over the arms & wing tops.

 Lots of fine tailoring getting the seat cushion matched all the way up.

 The down proof ticking I have seen last a hundred years or more.

Some more feathers is all thats needed.

 Little arm covers for that proud special arm fronts.

Top of the top follows on through.

 Planned ahead.

 What a nice piece.  With a great quality fabric.

Thanks for looking here.

Practical Upholstery

The #1 blog in all of blogdom

for North American Upholstery shops!

Provincetown Ma Sunset Pictures

Upholstery art is a true passion of mine.  I also enjoy photography with my Lumix FZ40 camera.
These pics were taken with only 640 X 480 pixels but still came out with some nice detail.
They were taken from Race point beach on 14 April.

 Thanks for looking here!

North Europe Furniture Restoration

This pair of chairs are not over engineered. 

 They do not require a unreasonable amount of materials.

 They simply serve the owners. 

 Craftsmanship at their creation intended to last many generations.

Designed to be owner friendly.

 Probably created in the early 1980's.

 35 or so years later it's time for a restoration here in Southern New Hampshire.

The frame plates removed, a freshen up on this finish wood worked well.

 Before & after.

 This stretch gum webbing has deteriorated after 35 years or so.

 Reset with this synthetic stretch webbing, they should last longer.

 New 2635 foam with the sides set are really gonna pay off when tailoring up the fabric, chosen from my fabric books in house.

4 yards completed these 2 chairs.

A lot of new American designed furniture require 9 yards for one chair.

 The arch on the inside back really needs to be kept an eye on throughout the restoration.

When the back plate & seat plate meet They need to be pleasing.

 Super soft 1 inch back foam with foam edges set.

 Cotton coats really give this pair a nice feel & really help these tailor up with style & flair.

There was an odd space between the frame & inside back.

I shimmed them up to please the eye.

 Mission accomplished.

 A thinner coat of cotton for the outside backs.

 Proper size piping to draw out the lines.

 And a top end dust cover set tight & clean.

 The outside back, clean, back & soft set.

Thanks for looking here!